[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12010]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HOLDING BIG OIL ACCOUNTABLE

  (Mr. MORAN of Virginia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, the Republican Party's mantra 
of ``drill, baby, drill'' dropped from sight almost as fast as the 
Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Yet the fact is, while this was the worst 
ecological catastrophe in American history and an accident, it was also 
an inevitability. It was inevitable because, for 8 years, the Cheney-
Bush administration allowed Big Oil to operate with almost complete 
disregard for the protection of our environment.
  So I am proud of the fact that President Obama and the Democratic 
Party are now holding BP accountable for all of the costs of the 
cleanup and for the devastating impact on the local economy in the 
gulf. I am also proud of the fact that they are holding Big Oil 
accountable to explore and produce domestic energy on already leased 
lands at competitive prices in a clean and safe manner.
  The gulf coast catastrophe underscores the need for comprehensive 
energy and climate reform to rein in Big Oil and to reduce our reliance 
on dirty fossil fuels and foreign sources of oil. It is what the 
Democratic Party wants. More importantly, it is what the American 
people need and want. Let's pass an energy reform bill now.

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