Waxman Dismisses Industry Criticism of Oil Spill Response Bill

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is not moved by the oil industry’s argument that House oil spill legislation would prematurely require specific blow-out preventer technology and other well design measures.

Industry groups like the American Petroleum Institute say the cause of the April explosion on the Deepwater Horizon well should be determined before Congress passes a law requiring specific technology. Waxman — who chairs the House Energy & Commerce Committee and, along with Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), has conducted a months-long investigation into the oil spill — disagrees.

In a conference call with reporters today, he said:

I think it makes a lot of sense to put in the requirements that we are putting in that make sure the blow-out preventer works and the well design and cementing requirements are adequate. We don’t freeze this in place, but we do know from our hearings that these were the mistakes that were made…

Responding to criticism from American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard that the requirements would stifle necessary innovation in well technology, Waxman said the secretary of the Interior Department is allowed to to update the standards when necessary:

We allow the secretary to have the flexibility to adopt different specific standards if these other standards would provide greater safety. So, I don’t know what Mr. Gerard’s complaint would be. If he’s got a way to handle this in a safer manner then he can argue to the secretary of the Interior and have them as the minimum requirements. Perhaps he’d like to have no minimum requirements, but I think that would be a mistake.

The provisions were included in a bill authored by Markey, Waxman and Stupak, parts of which were incorporated into the oil spill package House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) unveiled yesterday. Markey noted that the bill passed out of committee unanimously.