Letter to The Honorable Michael R. Bromwich Director Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement U.S. Department of the Interior

Letter

After being denied access to the New Orleans office of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and later being informed that a scheduled meeting with them has been cancelled, Congressman Jeff Landry (R, LA-03) sent a letter to BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich. The letter outlines Landry's efforts to provide the taxpayers a full oversight of BOEMRE.

"While I understand that for many years other Members of Congress have sat idly while Washington bureaucrats have attempted to rule over citizens, I will not allow it. The people of South Louisiana sent me to Congress to do a job and part of that job is to provide oversight to ensure that taxpayer funded offices are indeed completing the functions for which they were created. I intend to fulfill this mission," Landry wrote to Bromwich.

Landry - who was denied access to the BOEMRE office in New Orleans on September 2, 2011 -- is hopeful the letter will reverse Bromwich's decision to cancel their scheduled meeting: "There is no excuse for continued anti-transparency from this government agency. The hard-working people of the Gulf Coast deserve to have an open, honest office assisting them get back to work. I will again go to the BOEMRE office at the end of the month. I hope this time they will let me in."

The full text of Congressman Landry's letter is below:

September 20, 2011

The Honorable Michael R. Bromwich
Director
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Director Bromwich,

I have received with great regret your letter dated September 19, 2011, in which you attempted to persuade employees of your local field office that I had concerns with their work product. This is incorrect. You also attempted to completely mischaracterize my comments. It was my concern that these employees are not being allowed to do their job which drove me to visit the New Orleans office.

Your politically charged letter only seeks to further raise the concerns I have regarding your motivations on issues vital to South Louisiana and energy for the American people. After our exchange during the Committee hearing last week, which I felt was cordial and productive, I am even further dismayed.

I traveled extensively throughout South Louisiana during the August Congressional recess. On several occasions, I attended open forums to allow the people of the great State of Louisiana an opportunity to voice their frustrations. The lack of permitting in the Gulf of Mexico came up often as one of those frustrations.

In one meeting I attended with United States Senator David Vitter, a gentleman questioned whether or not I knew the New Orleans office had Department of Justice lawyers looking over the shoulders of permitting engineers. This did not seem to be in keeping with the intended purpose of your agency; and, as a result, I had hoped that your engineers might be able to shed light on this problem.

In order to assess what was keeping employees in the Gulf of Mexico Regional Office from doing their job, I took an action appropriate to the level of accountability my constituents deserve: I visited the office unannounced and requested to speak with a staff member who would be able to address this issue. When I was asked to wait for 20 minutes and -- ultimately -- was never given a meeting with someone who could address my concerns, I was deeply disappointed.

As my constituents still have concerns, I believe that an office visit is even more necessary and appropriate. Furthermore, as I did not and have never taken issue with any specific employees of BOEMRE other than perceived lack of truthfulness or responsiveness coming from your headquarters in Washington, I feel there is no reason to deny my request to visit the New Orleans office. As such, I will be there next week.

What has our country become when a sitting Member of Congress cannot simply visit a Federal office or speak to federal employees without approval of their bosses sitting in Washington? If a Member of Congress can't visit your office, how do you treat other taxpaying citizens? Based on the concerns I am hearing in my District, I think we know the answer.

While I understand that for many years other Members of Congress have sat idly while Washington bureaucrats have attempted to rule over citizens, I will not allow it. The people of South Louisiana sent me to Congress to do a job and part of that job is to provide oversight to ensure that taxpayer funded offices are indeed completing the functions for which they were created. I intend to fulfill this mission.

If there is any apology necessary, it would be from you to me and -- more importantly -- to the hard-working people of South Louisiana, many of whom are now unemployed as a result of decisions from your agency. They and their families have drilled over 40,000 wells in the Gulf of Mexico while plying a dangerous trade for decades. Yet you have chosen to make them suffer.

Your job is to rightfully hold BP accountable, enforce the laws on the books, and ensure accountability to the people who pay your salary.

As such, the people of my District await your response.

Respectfully,

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