Friday
May212010
U.S. Should Continue Drilling Despite Recent Spill, Says Senate Republican
Friday, May 21, 2010 at 3:33PM
By Alexa Gitler
Talk Radio News Service
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Friday that she hoped the nationwide anger and frustration caused by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last month would not have any negative impact on efforts to drill off her state's coast.
Speaking at a luncheon held by the National Press Club in Downtown, Washington, D.C., Murkowski's message was clear: Congress should not use the Gulf spill as a mechanism for obstructing any future plans to drill offshore.
“We are going to need oil for decades to come, and [the] technology is advancing because oil and natural gas are still the most economically viable energy sources in the world," she said.
If anything, Murkowski suggested that Congress ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), a UN agreement that was signed in 1982, and has since been ratified by 160 nations -- including the European Union (EU). The document requires nations to adopt regulations to control pollution of the marine environment, and invest heavily in technology that makes drilling safer.
“The spill in the gulf has shown us that there are certainly risks, and there will always be risks and impacts associated with producing energy but we must take every appropriate step to minimize the risks in the future,” Murkowski said.
Though she spoke at length, Murkowski did not address a bill introduced last week by New Jersey Senators Bob Menendez (D) and Frank Lautenberg (D), which proposes raising the damage liability cap on oil companies from the current $75 million, to $10 billion. Murkowski was one of two Senators to object to moving the bill to the floor.
Talk Radio News Service
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Friday that she hoped the nationwide anger and frustration caused by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last month would not have any negative impact on efforts to drill off her state's coast.
Speaking at a luncheon held by the National Press Club in Downtown, Washington, D.C., Murkowski's message was clear: Congress should not use the Gulf spill as a mechanism for obstructing any future plans to drill offshore.
“We are going to need oil for decades to come, and [the] technology is advancing because oil and natural gas are still the most economically viable energy sources in the world," she said.
If anything, Murkowski suggested that Congress ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), a UN agreement that was signed in 1982, and has since been ratified by 160 nations -- including the European Union (EU). The document requires nations to adopt regulations to control pollution of the marine environment, and invest heavily in technology that makes drilling safer.
“The spill in the gulf has shown us that there are certainly risks, and there will always be risks and impacts associated with producing energy but we must take every appropriate step to minimize the risks in the future,” Murkowski said.
Though she spoke at length, Murkowski did not address a bill introduced last week by New Jersey Senators Bob Menendez (D) and Frank Lautenberg (D), which proposes raising the damage liability cap on oil companies from the current $75 million, to $10 billion. Murkowski was one of two Senators to object to moving the bill to the floor.
Oil Spill Victims May Get Help From Alaskan Senator
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) announced at a press conference Tuesday that she will be introducing new legislation in an effort to reform the compensation process for oil spill victims.
Murkowski said that this new legislation was sparked after she revisited the site of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Cordova, Alaska, where, after 20 years, the effects of the spill are still evident.
“The Oil Spill Compensation Act deals with so many areas with what we are seeing with the situation in the gulf that occured in Alaska, [with the new bill] we would provide for compensation in a fair and a fast manner by establishing the option for an expedited, [third-party-administered] administrative claims process,” Murkowski said.
The Alaskan Senator said that by creating an option for an independent, third-party claims process, big oil companies like BP would no longer have the authority to validate prospective claims.
Murkowksi said the new legislation is aimed at restoring and strengthening the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, increasing its ceiling to $10 billion dollars. It would also provide additional funding and authority to the U.S. Coast Guard in order to conduct research and development for oil spill containment and it would direct 37.5 percent of outer continental shelf oil and gas revenues to states and affected communities of the Deepwater Horizon spill.
“I want to make sure that the people in the gulf know that we are not taking our eye off the ball when it comes to those measures that provide them with immediate relief,” Murkowski said. "We cannot lose sight of the fact that there are people hurting now that need our help and if we can move forward a measure that is going to help them, then that’s what we need to be doing."