Dear Ms. Desince:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the BP Gulf Coast oil spill. I appreciate hearing from you.
The BP oil spill quickly surpassed Exxon Valdez as the worst environmental disaster in our history. The need to improve our offshore drilling safety practices and develop safe, clean energy sources is now more essential than ever. Indeed, the recovery from the Gulf oil spill reminds us that we cannot wait to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and our reliance on imported energy continues to create national security challenges.
You may be interested to know that I joined many of my colleagues in urging BP to establish a $20 billion escrow account to ensure that the financial burden of the Gulf Coast oil spill is paid by BP and not taxpayers. As you may know, BP complied with our request and created a $20 billion fund to compensate victims and clean up the environmental and economic damage of this disaster.
Just as I was in the 111th Congress, I am also a cosponsor of several bills in the current Congress to address this matter: S. 214, the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Unlimited Liability Act, to eliminate the cap on the amount of damages an oil company is responsible for paying for an oil spill involving its facilities; and S. 215, the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Trust Fund Act, to allow greater access to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is financed by a per barrel charge on oil produced or imported to the U.S. and helps cover the government’s costs for its emergency response activities. In the 111th Congress, I also cosponsored legislation to increase penalties for environmental crimes to appropriately account for the actual harm to the public and the environment from such offenses. This bill has not yet been reintroduced in the 112th Congress.
Additionally, I voted for an amendment last year that would have eliminated $35 billion in wasteful oil and gas tax breaks for companies like Exxon, which made over $30.5 billion last year. This amendment also would have reduced the deficit by $25 billion and increased investments in energy efficiency, though the effort was unsuccessful. Similar provisions are included in S. 258, the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act, of which I am also a cosponsor. I have also supported efforts to ensure that big oil companies reinvest their windfall profits into developing alternate energy sources and back into the national economy.
As you may know, on January 11, 2011, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling released its report on the Gulf Coast oil spill and the future of offshore drilling. For further details on this report, please visit http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/.
Recently, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held hearings on this matter. For further information about the hearings, you may wish to visit the Committees’ websites, http://energy.senate.gov/public/ and http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/.
Your thoughtful comments are valuable to me, and you can be assured that I will keep them in mind during the 112th Congress as I continue to monitor this issue; address and alleviate the environmental and economic impacts of this oil spill; work to ensure such a disaster does not happen again; and fight for better and more comprehensive energy and environmental policies that match our long-term goals f or sustainability, economic growth, and national security.
Again, thank you for contacting me, and please do not hesitate to write, call, or visit my website, www.reed.senate.gov, in the future regarding this or any other matter.
Sincerely,
Jack Reed
United States Senator
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