[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5041]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERING THE ``EXXON VALDEZ''

  (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, 15 years ago today the Exxon Valdez ran 
aground and gushed 11 million barrels of oil into Alaska's pristine 
Prince William Sound. It is pristine no more.
  Fifteen years later, Exxon still has not paid the $7 billion in 
damages a jury awarded to thousands of Alaskans whose livelihoods were 
devastated. The Exxon Valdez ruined 1,300 miles of Alaskan coastline, 
decimated wildlife, and devastated fisheries. What have we learned?
  Fifteen years later, single-hull tankers continue to be the common 
method of oil transportation. Fifteen years later, America continues to 
consume fossil fuels with a blatant disregard for global climate 
change. Fifteen years later, we are still just as vulnerable.
  Mr. Speaker, I wonder if Vice President Cheney invited Exxon into his 
oil policy meetings that he says should be kept secret from the 
American people. Perhaps if we knew who had been sitting at the table, 
we would be able to figure out why 15 years later we are looking at 
this. Tomorrow it is the budget wreck.

                          ____________________