Making Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010--Continued
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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to strongly support the legislation called the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act. With all we have seen in the gulf coast over the past several weeks, I have to say I am more committed than ever in moving forward on three fronts to protect our taxpayers, our families, and all of our workers across the country.
First of all, I am going to keep working to hold BP accountable and make sure taxpayers in Washington State and across the country are not left holding the bag for this devastation. This is exactly what the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act is going to do.
Secondly, I am going to fight to guarantee that what we are seeing in the gulf coast is never allowed to happen on the west coast.
Third, I am going to make sure BP, Transocean, and all industry owners and operators are doing everything possible to protect their workers and make sure tragedies like this do not ever happen again. Here are the facts:
On April 20, 2010, there was a massive blowout and explosion on a BP oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven workers are still missing and presumed dead, and 17 more were injured. That explosion caused a gushing spill that has now poured hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf and threatens still to spill millions more. It has, as we all know, created an environmental and economic tragedy the magnitude of which we are only just beginning to comprehend.
It is threatening entire communities and industry, and now the oil and chemical dispersants that are being sprayed into the gulf have the potential to kill underwater wildlife and create underwater ``dead zones'' for decades to come.
Those are the facts. Now, the questions are: Who should be responsible for this cleanup? Who should bear the burden for big oil's mistakes? Should it be the taxpayers, families, and small business owners who are already being asked to bear so much today or should it be the companies responsible for this spill, including BP--a company, by the way, that made $6.1 billion in profit in the first 3 months of 2010 alone.
I cosponsored the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act because, to me, the answer is pretty clear: I believe BP needs to be held accountable for the environmental and economic damage of this spill. I am going to fight to make sure taxpayers do not end up losing a single dime to pay for the mess this big oil company created.
To me, this is an issue of fundamental fairness. If an oil company causes a spill, they should be the one to clean it up and pay for it--not taxpayers. This bill I am talking about this evening eliminates the current $75 million cap on oil company liability so taxpayers will never be left holding the bag for big oil's mistakes.
This is straightforward, it is common sense, and it is fair. I have to say, I am extremely disappointed this commonsense bill continues to be blocked by some Republicans every time we bring it up. But I want you to know, I am going to keep fighting for the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act to pass, and I am going to keep fighting so families and taxpayers in Washington State and across the country do not end up holding the bag.
The bottom line is this: If oil companies are going to make billions of dollars in profits when times are good, they should not be allowed to leave taxpayers hanging when they create a problem.
The Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act writes this commonsense policy into law, and I urge every Senator to side with our taxpayers and support this important legislation. But I do not think that is enough. I have always been opposed to drilling off the coast of my home State of Washington, and this tragedy is just one more very painful reminder of the potential consequences of opening up our west coast to drilling.
The economic and environmental devastation that was caused by the Exxon Valdez disaster 20 years ago is now still impacting industry in my home State of Washington. Our coastal region supports over 150,000 jobs, and it generates almost $10 billion in economic activity, all of which would be threatened if drilling were to happen off our west coast.
That is why I am going to keep fighting for legislation that bans drilling off the west coast and makes sure big oil companies are never allowed to roll the dice with Washington State's economy and our environment.
We need to hold big oil accountable and we need to make sure that disasters such as this never happen again, but we also have to remember the workers who were killed and injured in this horrible tragedy. We cannot forget this is an issue that is larger than this one tragedy. The entire oil and gas industry has a deplorable record of worker and workplace safety. We have to make sure every worker is treated properly and protected, and that companies that mistreat their workers are held accountable.
We know the oil industry is able to operate under stricter safety standards
and regulations because they are already doing just that in Europe and in Australia, and even in Contra Costa County, CA, where the county has a set of stricter guidelines that have now reduced injuries and fatality rates. But we also know that worker safety should not be measured just by injury rates. We should be looking at reducing dangerous conditions--conditions such as fires or hazardous spills or releases of toxic gases. Then when accidents do happen, we have to record them, we need to learn from them, and we need to build on a program to prevent them from ever happening again; and we need to make sure our workers are treated with respect and their rights are protected.
That is exactly why I am so concerned about the recent reports of very callous and unacceptable treatment of Transocean workers in the hours following that April 20 explosion. Those reports suggest that Transocean put their bottom line above safety standards, above environmental impact, and the well-being of their workers. I have called on the company to release copies of legal waivers that surviving crew members of the Deepwater Horizon were reportedly forced to sign following that oil rig explosion. I am going to stay on top of this to make sure that Transocean produces those requested documents so we can get to the bottom of exactly how this situation was handled.
Workers everywhere ought to be confident that their employers are putting their safety first, and companies that betray that trust have to be held accountable. So I am going to work to make sure that happens, and I am going to continue fighting to keep drilling away from the Washington State coastline. I am going to keep pushing for this bill to make sure taxpayers don't have to pay for big oil's mistakes.
Anyone deciding whether to support this legislation ought to ask themselves a few simple questions: Who are you fighting for? Who are you trying to help? Are you here to protect and shield big oil companies or are you going to fight for our families and our taxpayers? I support this legislation because, to me, the answer is pretty clear. I urge all of our colleagues to allow this bill to pass so our taxpayers in my home State of Washington and across the country can be protected.
Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
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