10-01-2010, 04:39 PM
Here's what Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of LA said back in June about the importance of taking a hiatus from deep water drilling in the Gulf:
"Safely meeting America’s demand for oil and gas will require the federal government to clean house at the Minerals Management Service and hire, train, and pay the most-qualified people to oversee this important industry. As we consider the future of oil and gas production off our shores, a new regulatory regime should focus on deep-water operations (those in more than 1,000 feet of water) that feature greater risk and more challenging technology. At the direction of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, shallow water operations are proceeding. This decision will preserve thousands of jobs in the region and the future of hundreds of companies that would be put at risk with unnecessary delays.
We must learn the right lessons and take measured steps forward. Congress cannot afford to react to this disaster as we did following the meltdown at Three Mile Island, when the government unwisely halted all nuclear power plant construction for 30 years. Our nation should instead respond as we did after the Challenger tragedy. NASA put the shuttle program on hiatus, carefully reviewed what went wrong, and corrected those mistakes. As a result, the United States is still the standard bearer in space technology and an industry that generates hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs is thriving."
"Safely meeting America’s demand for oil and gas will require the federal government to clean house at the Minerals Management Service and hire, train, and pay the most-qualified people to oversee this important industry. As we consider the future of oil and gas production off our shores, a new regulatory regime should focus on deep-water operations (those in more than 1,000 feet of water) that feature greater risk and more challenging technology. At the direction of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, shallow water operations are proceeding. This decision will preserve thousands of jobs in the region and the future of hundreds of companies that would be put at risk with unnecessary delays.
We must learn the right lessons and take measured steps forward. Congress cannot afford to react to this disaster as we did following the meltdown at Three Mile Island, when the government unwisely halted all nuclear power plant construction for 30 years. Our nation should instead respond as we did after the Challenger tragedy. NASA put the shuttle program on hiatus, carefully reviewed what went wrong, and corrected those mistakes. As a result, the United States is still the standard bearer in space technology and an industry that generates hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs is thriving."
