BOEMRE Chief Blasted By Congress

By Philip Bunnell

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael Bromwich found himself the target of harsh questions and attacks on his department’s integrity when he testified at the House Natural Resources Committee.

Rep. Jeff Landry (R-La.) was particularly antagonistic, calling Bromwich’s data, that shows an increase in oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, “disingenuous.”  When Bromwich tried to defend the data, Landry raised his voice to cut him off saying, “This is my time!”

The Louisiana Republican wasn’t the only one who leveled Bromwich with criticism.  Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) dismissed Bromwich’s agency’s concern for Gulf residents since Bromwich is “a bureaucrat.”

Bromwich testified primarily over the reorganization of BOEMRE in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.