[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9429-9431]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING WORKERS WHO PERISHED IN DEEPWATER HORIZON ACCIDENT

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 1347) honoring the workers who perished on the 
Deepwater Horizon offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the 
coast of Louisiana, extending condolences to their families, and 
recognizing the valiant efforts of emergency response workers at the 
disaster site.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1347

       Whereas 11 workers tragically died on the Deepwater Horizon 
     offshore oil platform following an explosion on April 20, 
     2010;
       Whereas the Nation is greatly indebted to offshore workers 
     for the strenuous work they perform to provide the energy 
     that drives our Nation every day;
       Whereas the Nation has long recognized the importance of 
     safety protections for offshore workers who labor in 
     difficult and uncertain conditions;
       Whereas these men were loving husbands, sons and brothers;
       Whereas these workers should be remembered for their valor 
     and contribution to our communities;
       Whereas Coast Guard and local rescue crews worked 
     tirelessly night and day in courageous rescue and recovery 
     missions;
       Whereas the families of the lost workers have endured a 
     great loss; and
       Whereas residents of the Gulf Coast and the Nation came 
     together to support these families: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes the untimely and tragic loss of the 11 
     workers from the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas 
     who died on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil platform in 
     the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana;
       (2) extends the deepest condolences of the Nation to the 
     families of these men;
       (3) recognizes all employees on the Deepwater Horizon for 
     their hard work and sacrifice;
       (4) commends the rescue crews for their valiant efforts to 
     rescue these workers and others on the platform; and
       (5) honors the many volunteers who provided support and 
     comfort for the families of these people during this 
     difficult time.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Speier) and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Cao) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I present H. Res. 1347 for 
consideration. This resolution honors the 11 workers who perished on 
the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil platform following an explosion on 
April 20 of this year. We mourn their loss and extend our prayers and 
condolences to their families.
  H. Res. 1347 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from 
Louisiana, Representative Charlie Melancon, on May 11, 2010. The 
measure was reported to the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform, which waived consideration of the measure to expedite its 
consideration on the floor today. The resolution has the support of 
over 50 Members of the House.
  Mr. Speaker, the deaths of the 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon 
offshore oil platform last month were a tragic reminder of the severe 
hazards that offshore workers face every day. As we mourn the loss of 
these men, let us take a moment to reaffirm our commitment to the 
safety of our offshore oil workers and all Americans who perform such 
dangerous and necessary work every day. Let us also take a moment to 
commend our Coast Guard and the local rescue crews for their tireless 
efforts responding to this catastrophe. Their jobs are also incredibly 
difficult and dangerous, and we thank them for their hard work.
  Mr. Speaker, the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the ongoing crisis 
of the oil spill it produced will have significant political and policy 
ramifications. We will debate those here on the House floor, but that 
is not what we are here to do today. As we are joined today by the 
family of one of the victims of the explosion, let us put aside all 
differences and offer our united, heartfelt, and profound sympathies to 
the families and friends of these 11 workers.
  I would now like to place into the Congressional Record the names of 
these hardworking Americans who lost their lives in this tragedy: Dale 
Burkeen, Donald Clark, Roy Wyatt Kemp, Jason Anderson, Stephen Curtis, 
Gordon Jones, Karl Kleppinger, Blair Manuel, Dewey Revette, Shane 
Roshto, and Adam Weise.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure. I 
thank the gentleman from Louisiana for introducing it, and I also thank 
the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
Congressman Towns of New York, as well as the ranking member, 
Representative Issa of California, for their support.

                   [From Times Online, Apr. 30, 2010]

              The Missing Men of Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig

                           (By Joanna Sugden)

       Eleven men were missing presumed dead after the Deepwater 
     Horizon oil rig exploded last week.
       Dale Burkeen, 37 was a crane operator on the platform and 
     was trained to lower crew members to boats in an emergency.
       He had returned to the rig from Neshoba, near Philadelphia, 
     about a week before the explosion. He and wife, Rhonda, have 
     two children, Aryn, 14 and Timothy, 6.
       Donald Clark, 49 of Newellton, Louisiana, was expected to 
     leave the rig the day after the explosion for a three-week 
     break. He was an assistant driller.
       Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, has two children, Kaylee, 3, and 3-
     month-old Maddison, with his wife, Courtney.
       He loved fishing and the outdoors and attended a Baptist 
     church in Jonesville, Louisiana, where a memorial service for 
     him will be held today.
       Jason Anderson, was a father of two from Bay City, Texas.
       Stephen Curtis was an assistant driller on the rig from 
     Georgetown, Louisiana.
       Gordon Jones, 28, of Louisiana, was expecting to become a 
     father to a second son with his wife, Michelle.
       Karl Kleppinger, 38, of Natchez, Mississippi was a Desert 
     Storm veteran who spent more than ten years working on oil 
     rigs. He was a floorman who made about $75,000 a year working 
     off the Louisiana coast.
       Blair Manuel, 56, resident of Gonzales, Louisiana, was a 
     chemical engineer on the rig.
       Dewey Revette, 48, from State Line, Mississippi, was a 
     father who had worked for the company as an oil driller for 
     29 years.
       Shane Roshto, 22, was from Franklin County, Mississippi. 
     His family were named on law suits filed by Louisiana's 
     fisheries industry, accusing BP and Transocean, the rig 
     operator, of negligence.
       Adam Weise, 24, of Yorktown, Texas, came straight from high 
     school work on the rig in 2005. He loved to hunt and fish and 
     play football. He was the youngest of four children.
                                  ____


               [From the Houston Chronicle, May 24, 2010]

            Relatives Remember the 11 Lost in Oil Rig Blast

                           (By Dane Schiller)

       Yorktown.--The hand-scrawled note on the cover of the steno 
     pad is as simple as it is startling.

[[Page 9430]]

       ``April 20, 2010 . . . Start of Hell,'' wrote Texas mother 
     Arleen Weise.
       At ``6:00 AM'' the next morning, Weise noted, she got word 
     of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon, the massive oil 
     rig where her youngest son, Adam, was working in the Gulf of 
     Mexico when he was killed.
       ``I knew in my heart,'' she said of her son's fate as she 
     stood beside his jumbo-size pickup parked outside his home in 
     this tiny town near Victoria. didn't say it to anyone; I just 
     knew.''
       With the pad, she has kept a record of people she has 
     spoken with since that first phone call: Coast Guard officers 
     discussing the search for her son. Oil company officials 
     talking about benefits. A preacher framing a eulogy. 
     Craftsmen chiseling a black marble headstone.
       The notepad will travel with her today as she and the 
     families of all 11 workers killed in the accident gather for 
     the first time for a memorial service to be held behind 
     closed doors at a convention center in Jackson, Miss.
       Twenty-one of Adam Weise's closest friends and family will 
     be flown on a charter flight paid for by Transocean, the 
     company for which he worked.
       He was one of two Texans killed.
       The other was Jason Anderson of Midfield, who left behind a 
     wife and two young children.
       Anderson's funeral was held Saturday at a packed church in 
     Bay City. One of his spare blue safety helmets and an XXL 
     work shirt, complete with an embroidery of the drilling rig 
     on the right breast pocket, were on a stage filled with 
     flowers.
       On one side of the church, where Anderson married his wife, 
     Shelley, sat his family; on the other, fellow rig workers.
       ``We definitely do not understand why Jason is gone and the 
     other 10 members of his rig,'' said Pastor Clyde Grier. ``We 
     cannot let the things we don't understand dismiss what we 
     do.''
       He spoke of the burly man who played high school football, 
     loved to hunt and was known for his Texas two-step.
       Anderson, like Weise, knew of the dangers of working on a 
     rig. But along with the physically demanding work and sweat 
     came paychecks that could easily surpass $50,000 annually.


                             Left to wonder

       Arleen Weise said she doesn't know what to expect today, 
     whether other families will be angry and confrontational or 
     comforting. She does understand, though, that none of them 
     will ever know what happened in those final moments, no 
     matter what her steno notepad says.
       She knows her son was in the pump room. A surviving co-
     worker told her so.
       And she knows how many rescue flights were flown and miles 
     covered before the search was abandoned. There were 28 
     flights covering 6,600 nautical miles, she said.
       She has imagined her 24-year-old son--the youngest of 
     four--plunging into the nighttime sea and flailing to untie 
     his heavy work boots and slip out of his jumpsuit.
       She decided that the explosion was so massive he never even 
     knew what hit him.
       It is comforting--no pain, no suffering,'' she said. ``He's 
     on the bottom of the Gulf with the Deepwater Horizon.''
       She and three other women--Adam's girlfriend, sister and 
     grandmother--agreed to talk with the Houston Chronicle in 
     hopes that more people will know not just how Adam died but 
     also how he lived.
       Adam's older sister, Gwendolyn Weise, said that somewhere 
     deep she still holds a glimmer of hope he'll be found.
       ``I just can't get over not having anything . . . him, by 
     himself,'' she said.
       Adam Weise loved playing football for the Yorktown 
     Wildcats, but he wasn't the best of students in high school.
       He worked on a ranch and then headed for the oil fields. He 
     didn't like the filth but could handle the details in a world 
     where even a dropped wrench could tumble for a mile through 
     pipeline.
       He made enough not only for his truck, which was nicknamed 
     ``Big Nasty,'' but the neat two-bedroom home he shared with a 
     cat. A red Transocean jumpsuit still hangs beside camouflage 
     shirts and jackets for hunting.
       When he was back on land at home, he was a prankster.
       His mother said he once used a bullhorn to make her think 
     the police had surrounded the beauty shop where she worked.
       ``This is the police,'' she recalls hearing over the 
     bullhorn. ``Arleen Weise, come out with your hands up.'' She 
     fell for it.
       Remembering him makes her laugh as well as cry. She said 
     she has had so much to do since his death that only now are 
     some things really taking hold.
       ``These last few days it has hit me that my son is never 
     coming back to me. I'm not holding it together,'' she said. 
     ``Now, I keep seeming to be more of a mess.''


                            `Well from hell'

       Adam Weise and his friend Caleb Holloway, of Liberty, were 
     nearing the end of their last shift and at the end of their 
     three-week rotation before heading home when a supervisor 
     needed one of them to go to the pump room.
       Weise took the job and told Holloway he'd see him later. 
     Holloway survived.
       If Weise had made it, he never would have been able to live 
     with the guilt over those who died, his family said. ``We'd 
     have never had our Adam back,'' said his grandmother, Nelda 
     Winslette.
       Added his mother: ``There is not enough counseling in the 
     world to have brought him back.''
       His girlfriend, Cindy Shelton, said he had been calling her 
     before and after every shift--unusual for him. She says he 
     was frustrated with problems on the project.
       ``Everything that could go wrong was going wrong,'' she 
     said. ``Every time he'd call me, he'd say, `This is a well 
     from hell.'''

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CAO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1347. This 
resolution honors the workers who perished on the Deepwater Horizon 
offshore oil platform off the coast of Louisiana and extends our 
sincerest condolences to those families. It also recognizes the valiant 
efforts of emergency response workers and volunteers at the disaster 
site.
  I commend my colleague and friend, Congressman Melancon, for bringing 
this important piece of legislation before the House, and I extend my 
appreciation to him and to the rest of our colleagues in the Louisiana 
congressional delegation for working together to address this disaster.
  Mr. Speaker, I have come to the House floor a number of times since 
April 20 speaking of the ongoing impact of this tragedy on the gulf 
coast. Today, though, I wish to focus this body's entire attention on 
those whose lives were lost on that day and those who continue to 
respond to the crisis.
  As I listen to my colleagues speak in support of this resolution, my 
heart is heavy. As with their families and friends, I mourn the loss of 
those who died aboard the oil platform. On that tragic day, the 11 
men--Jason, Aaron, Donald, Stephen, Roy, Karl, Gordon, Blair, Dewey, 
Shane, and Adam--were on the rig doing what they knew best. The demands 
of working the rigs, as anyone who lives along the gulf coast knows, 
are great. It is physically demanding work, and it takes loved ones 
away from their families for long stretches at a time.
  Our coastline is a working coastline because we are blessed with an 
abundance of natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico. From fishermen to 
those working the rigs, each day you can find thousands on the waters 
laboring to produce these resources and to contribute to the industry 
and economy of this Nation.
  On April 20, the 11 men were working to provide the energy that has 
driven this Nation for centuries and that continues to be a force in 
the economy of my home State of Louisiana. This is dangerous work, and 
it is our responsibility to ensure that safety precautions are taken 
and that procedures are strictly followed.
  The explosion is being investigated by various parties, including 
congressional committees, and it is our responsibility to ensure the 
findings are swiftly addressed with new policies to strengthen safety 
procedures for those working in dangerous and uncertain conditions. You 
have my word this will be done.
  In times of tragedy, this Nation has come together as one, and this 
is especially the case for those along the gulf coast. I wish to 
recognize the extraordinary work of the thousands of volunteers and 
emergency personnel, from the Red Cross to the U.S. Coast Guard, whose 
unhesitating response to the call of need thus represents the 
compassion and dedication of this great Nation.
  To the families of the 11 who perished, I realize that nothing my 
colleagues nor I here today can say will return your sons, husbands, 
and brothers to you, but it is my hope that the gratitude and respect 
we express on behalf of the citizens of this great Nation will provide 
some comfort to you while you grieve your loss.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House 
Resolution 1347.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman, a great leader, from Louisiana (Mr. Melancon),.
  Mr. MELANCON. Thank you, Representative Speier. Thank you all very 
much.

[[Page 9431]]

  I rise today with a heavy heart to remember the 11 men that died on 
the offshore rig Deepwater Horizon. Those men and thousands of them 
like them, women included, travel out to offshore rigs every day to 
work hard and provide opportunities for the rest of us to make a 
living.
  As the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico continues to grow, we see 
shorelines, fisheries, and other economies threatened. This 
unprecedented event has the entire gulf coast and country watching to 
see how soon we can end this.
  Setting aside the present crisis for a moment, I am proud to stand 
with Members of this Congress to remember those men who represent a 
very human face to this tragedy.
  I would also like to take a moment to recognize the families of those 
11 people. Those men were doing what so many other men and women do in 
Louisiana every day. They were working to provide a better life for 
their families while braving difficult and sometimes dangerous 
conditions to provide domestic energy needed to drive our Nation and 
our economy. Our thoughts are with these families, and I pray that 
their grief is not forgotten by the rest of us.
  And we should also recognize the courageous work of the emergency 
responders who fought the blaze and saved lives that night. The loss of 
those 11 workers is a high cost to their families, and so I ask 
everyone to please remember the personal side to this tragedy as we 
move forward. Please keep them in your thoughts and, particularly, keep 
them in your prayers.
  Mr. CAO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my distinguished colleague 
and friend from Louisiana (Mr. Alexander).
  Mr. ALEXANDER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  All along the gulf coast, there are many communities hundreds of 
miles from the edge of the water, communities that are filled with 
families that, for generation after generation, have produced the 
workers that are required to produce gas and oil in the gulf region. 
Some of those workers leave home for periods of 7 days, 14 days, 
perhaps 21 days before coming home. Sadly, some never return home. 
Families can't be prepared for losing those loved ones, and for that, 
our hearts and prayers go out in this resolution.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. CAO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my distinguished colleague 
from the State of Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).
  Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from New Orleans for 
yielding.
  This is a sad time for those of us from south Louisiana. It's a sad 
time especially as we look at what's happening every day as more oil 
gushes into our marshland, our valuable, fragile ecosystem. But if 
there is anything that eclipses the sadness we're experiencing on the 
coast, it's the loss of those 11 lives, the 11 brave men who died on 
that Horizon rig, and the families that they left behind. So many of 
those young men left behind young children and wives who now have to 
cope with the loss and somehow find a way to move on.
  So our prayers go out to those who lost their lives, and their 
families who are continuing to experience the tragedy that we're all so 
sorry for experiencing on the gulf coast. So it's a sad time for all of 
us on the gulf coast, but we want to give a special pause for those who 
lost their lives and the young children and spouses that they leave 
behind.
  Mr. CAO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1347, 
which honors the lives of the 11 workers who were tragically killed in 
the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil platform off the 
coast of Louisiana. It also commends the rescue workers who 
courageously responded to the explosion. They showed tremendous 
strength by risking their lives to save those of others.
  I thank Chairman Towns for his leadership in bringing this bill to 
the floor. I also thank the sponsor of this legislation, Congressman 
Melancon, for honoring the individuals who lost their lives in the 
explosion. In addition, I would like to commend the Congressman for his 
commitment to serving the people of South Louisiana and promoting the 
interests of the Gulf Coast region throughout the many challenges it 
faces. Congressman Melancon is a champion of South Louisiana's hard-
working people, ecologically unique coastal environment, and nationally 
cherished culture.
  My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the 11 
individuals who passed away in the explosion. I know that they will be 
missed by their neighbors, friends, and coworkers, but most of all by 
their families, who will mourn their loss more than we can imagine. The 
men who passed away on April 20, 2010, were loving husbands, sons, and 
brothers. We must offer our support and care to their families in this 
time of need.
  Hopefully, this tragic event can serve as a poignant reminder of the 
need for strong regulations and workplace protections in the offshore 
oil and gas industry. Measures must be put in place to ensure that a 
disaster of this kind never happens again. Offshore oil and gas 
exploration is a line of work that inevitably carries personal safety 
risks. However, with frequent safety checks, more stringent 
regulations, and the implementation of the most modern technologies, we 
can mitigate these risks and promote the safety and wellbeing of all 
workers in the industry.
  In addition to the tragic human cost of the explosion, the resulting 
oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to pollute and degrade the 
vital ecosystems in the Gulf and the surrounding coastal regions. We 
are only beginning to feel the massive environmental toll of the spill, 
which is likely to devastate an environment that is the backbone of the 
South Louisiana economy and on which thousands of individuals depend 
for their livelihood. We must stand in solidarity with the people of 
the Gulf Coast region. We must work to limit the impact of the spill, 
clean up the damage that has already been done, and hold the 
responsibile parties accountable. The costal environment and culture of 
south Louisiana are national treasures. We must work day and night to 
ensure that the damage endured is not irreparable.
  Again, I extend my deepest condolences to the family of the 
individuals who were tragically killed in the explosion. The thoughts 
of our Nation are with them as they grieve the loss of their loved 
ones. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 1347.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in 
supporting H. Res. 1347, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1347.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________