[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 10, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CONSOLIDATED LAND, ENERGY, AND AQUATIC RESOURCES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. RICK LARSEN

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 30, 2010

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3534) to 
     provide greater efficiencies, transparency, returns, and 
     accountability in the administration of Federal mineral and 
     energy resources by consolidating administration of various 
     Federal energy minerals management and leasing programs into 
     one entity to be known as the Office of Federal Energy and 
     Minerals Leasing of the Department of the Interior, and for 
     other purposes:

  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Chair, I rise today to speak in support 
of H.R. 3534, the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources 
(CLEAR) Act.
  The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the worst environmental 
catastrophe that our nation has ever faced. Unfortunately, this human 
and environmental catastrophe revealed many shortcomings in our current 
oil spill pollution and response laws.
  Today's vote on the CLEAR Act is an important step towards 
strengthening our nation's oil spill response and prevention laws. The 
CLEAR Act contains three critical provisions for which I have 
advocated.
  First, this legislation ensures that oil companies will be 
responsible for 100% of the cost of cleaning up their mess, and every 
penny of the damages they cause to Americans. The current liability cap 
of $75 million has proven to be grossly inadequate to cover the damage 
caused by a major offshore oil spill.
  Second, immediately following the spill, President Obama and 
Secretary Salazar took immediate steps to reform the troubled Minerals 
Management Service (MMS). This legislation codifies those changes to 
prevent conflicts of interest.
  Third, the bill puts in place safety regulations to reduce the risk 
of catastrophic spills. It requires new regulations on well designs, 
including blowout preventers, and requires a third party to certify 
safety plans.
  I have concerns, however, regarding the bill's ``Requirement of 
Certification for Responsible Stewardship,'' which makes the issuance 
of new Outer Continental Shelf leases contingent on a company avoiding 
citations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 
and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I strongly support 
efforts to protect worker safety in our nation's oil and gas industry 
and have cosponsored the Protect America's Workers Act to give OSHA the 
tools it needs to enforce rigorous worker safety laws. I believe that 
strengthening OSHA and EPA authorities is a more effective way to 
improve worker safety than threatening oil companies with the loss of 
revenue from OCS drilling, and I am committed to working with my 
colleagues in the House to strengthen worker safety in the oil and gas 
industry.
  As a representative from the Puget Sound, I understand how 
devastating an oil spill would be to a coastal region. I want to do 
everything possible to prevent an oil spill from occurring in Puget 
Sound and other areas of the country.
  I am committed to continuing to investigate the impacts of this 
massive environmental disaster and examining the best ways to ensure 
any future offshore drilling will live up to oil companies' claims of 
safety and reliability.

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