Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I must admit, I have to wonder what exactly any of us expect to achieve with this hearing. I know that what my constituents and the people I’ve talked to are concerned about is stopping the flow of oil that continues to leak into the Gulf, even today. But no one sitting behind the dais or sitting at the witness table believes today’s hearing will result in the solution to stemming the flow of oil into Louisiana’s, Mississippi’s, Alabama’s, and Florida’s coastlines.

The Majority didn’t call this hearing to talk about meaningful solutions to stopping the oil spill, because the situation poses too great an opportunity to give members the impetus for passing more regulations. And, likely increasing the energy taxes Americans will have to pay for the foreseeable future – all under the guise of “clean energy” Climate Change legislation. Rahm Emanuel spelled out the Democratic strategy for national energy policy best when he announced “You never want to let a serious crisis go to waste.”

This Committee undermines its own credibility when it capitalizes on a tragedy, like the loss of 11 lives, to push forward with a political agenda. I hope the Majority proves me wrong. I hope that during this hearing, Members will have laser-like focus on trying to discern exactly how we stop this leak. That’s all that matters right now.

That’s all that matters to the fishermen, shrimpers and individuals and families whose livelihoods have been put on hold while oil spills into the Gulf of Mexico. Not how much we spend in the future on solar and wind technology - both of which I have long supported. Not how much we invest in nuclear technology, as clean as that may be. And certainly not how much this Congress intends to cripple the American economy even further than it already has with job-killing Cap-and-Trade proposals.

We have had those debates. We will have them again in the future. But today should be about one thing. Plugging the well. Stopping the spill. Cleaning the Gulf.

So I respectfully request that each of today’s witnesses include in their opening remarks an idea they have that will stop the leak, because that’s the key question we must have answered today. If this hearing isn’t about stopping the leak, then why are we here?

In the alternative, if these men before us have no answer to the question of what to do to stop the leak, then I respectfully move that this Committee postpone this hearing until our witnesses can answer that question.

Finally, I believe the Majority is looking at crafting legislation in response to this spill. I am concerned that this tragedy will lead Congress to do what it so often does and rush into writing legislation that will have vast unintended consequences.

During the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Field Hearing in Louisiana last week, we heard testimony from two of the widows of men who lost their lives on the Deepwater Horizon. Both widows stated unequivocally that they believed the current regulatory requirements for offshore drilling are more than sufficient to keep the men and women working on offshore rigs safe.

The question then becomes in whether the regulations are being properly enforced. Ms. Natalie Roshto told our committee, “After all the safety schools, meetings, fire drills and safety regulations I just knew he was safe…We need to focus on making safety the most important priority. Not to focus on making more safety regulations, but on ways to effectively implement and use the ones already in place.”

Ms. Courtney Kemp followed that statement by adding, “I am not here today to suggest that Congress implement more safety regulations, but rather to encourage you to hold companies accountable for safety regulations already in place and merely neglected.”

Ms. Kemp went on to say that offshore drilling accounts for 75-80 percent of her small Louisiana town’s jobs. They said less offshore drilling would devastate the local economies of not only Coastal Louisiana, but also the economies of other Gulf Coast communities who rely on offshore drilling and oil rig jobs.

When all this is said and done, we need to find out why the agencies charged with enforcing safety regulations appear to have been asleep at the wheel. We also need to hold any party accountable that skirted safety measures.

But first, we need to stop the leak.