[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     DISASTER IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

  (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, we have a disaster in the Gulf of Mexico 
which makes it absolutely obvious that we do not have the answers to 
preventing and combating such carnage. We have not, any of us, 
Republicans or Democrats, invested in the necessary science and the 
important steps to prevent and combat an oil spill of this size.
  That's why, as a result of the San Francisco Bay spill over a year 
ago, I introduced H.R. 2693, to streamline from 17 to three agencies 
and oversee the prevention and the responsibility to respond to 
preventing oil spills and to cleaning up oil spill emergencies. I would 
have the three agencies be:
  NOAA, which brings its expertise on how to protect marine life and 
sensitive marine ecosystems. It would be the lead agency. I would have 
the Coast Guard, which will bring the expertise as the first responder, 
and the Environmental Protection Agency would be the third agency, to 
provide an understanding of the environmental and public health needs 
of any response and prevention methods.
  We may need more. We'll find out later.

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