Press Releases
Markey: Timeout on Industry Proposals to Export American-Produced Oil and Gas
Contact: Jeff Sharp, Natural Resources Committee Democrats, 202-225-6065 Eben Burnham-Snyder, Rep. Ed Markey, 202-225-2836 or 202-494-4486 cell Thomas Seay, Rep. Rush Holt, 202-225-5801 Markey and Holt introduce trio of bills to restrain exports of American oil and gas WASHINGTON (March 14, 2013) - In the face of growing calls from the oil and gas industry to allow for the exportation of American-produced oil and gas resources, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-NJ… Continue Reading
03.14.13
Markey: Until Proven Safe, Keep Shell Arctic Drilling on Ice
Department of the Interior Assessment of Shell's 2012 Arctic Operations Stresses Safety First WASHINGTON (March 14, 2013) -- Shell Oil Company's failed attempt to drill offshore in the Arctic last year was marked by a series of incidents and safety failures. Today, the Department of the Interior released its assessment of Shell's 2012 drilling operations. Following the release of the report by the Department of Interior today, Rep. Markey, the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Comm… Continue Reading
03.13.13
Markey: Sequestration Threatens Progress in Renewable Energy Permitting
GAO Report Confirms Recent Progress in Permitting Renewables Projects on Public Lands under Obama Administration WASHINGTON (March 13, 2013) - As the Interior Department today announced the approval of three more utility-scale wind and solar projects on public lands, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released a report completed at his request by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that found permitting times have fallen considerably for wind, solar, and geothermal projects on public lands … Continue Reading
03.06.13
Markey Says Stick with the Science on Izembek Refuge Road
Proposed Road Through Alaskan Wilderness is Unreliable WASHINGTON (March 6, 2013) - Today, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asked Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to stand by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) decision to reject a proposal to build a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. FWS issued a final Environmental Impact Statement citing that the proposed road would cause irreparable damage to wildlife. Republicans in Congress are condemning the sci… Continue Reading
03.06.13
Markey Launches New Bill to Combat Fish Fraud
National Studies Show Rampant Fish Mislabeling that Cheats Fishermen, Consumers WASHINGTON (March 6, 2013) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today introduced a new bipartisan version of his legislation to combat rampant seafood fraud, a nationwide epidemic that cheats fishermen and consumers, while posing health risks to pregnant mothers and others. The legislation responds to studies showing most recently that seafood is mislabeled 33 percent of the time in restaurants, supermarkets, and other r… Continue Reading
03.04.13
Markey: United States Must Act to Stop Poaching, Illegal Wildlife Trade
Top Natural Resources Committee Democrat Presses for Immediate Hearing WASHINGTON (March 4, 2013) - Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) is pressing House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) and Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs Subcommittee Chairman John Fleming (R-La.) to hold a hearing on the ongoing wildlife poaching crisis in Africa. The recent increase in poaching -- particularly elephants and rhinoceros -- for ivory, horns and other body parts destined f… Continue Reading
02.27.13
Markey Statement on Shell Decision to Postpone Arctic Drilling
Instead of "Expedited Review" of Arctic Drilling, Full Reassessment Needed Following Multiple Arctic Incidents WASHINGTON (February 27, 2013) -- After Shell Oil's attempts to drill in the Arctic encountered multiple troubling incidents, the company announced today that it will not be drilling in the Arctic in 2013. Among the incidents were catastrophic failures of proposed containment systems, one of two drilling ships running aground while being towed through a storm to avoid tax… Continue Reading
02.27.13
5 Top Dems to NRC: Fukushima-style Reactors in U.S. Need Upgrades to Prevent Hydrogen Explosions and Radiation Exposure
WASHINGTON (February 27, 2013) -- Five House Democrats who lead their respective committees today pressed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to require that all U.S. nuclear reactors of the same design as the ones that melted down at the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan install vents to help prevent hydrogen explosions in the event of a severe accident and reduce exposure to radiation when they are used. The letter was sent to the NRC by Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the Ranking Member of the Na… Continue Reading
02.26.13
Markey Report: Oil Companies Pocketing Billions of Dollars in Free Drilling
Contact: Eben Burnham-Snyder, Rep. Ed Markey, 202-225-2836 Taxpayers, Congress Squandering up to $40 Billion as Nation Stares Down Sequester, Gas Prices Hit Highs; Report Details Company-by-company Windfalls WASHINGTON (February 26, 2013) - A new report, released today by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), shows how more than 100 oil and gas companies are drilling in U.S. waters in the Gulf of Mexico without paying royalties to the American people. Nearly 40 percent of these active royalty-free leases … Continue Reading
02.25.13
Markey Assails GOP Ideological Attack on VAWA
House GOP Eliminating LGBT, Tribal Protections from Senate Bill; Congressman Calls for Passage of Senate Version WASHINGTON (February 25, 2013) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today condemned House Republican leaders for their ideological alterations to the Senate-passed version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and called on Speaker John Boehner to bring the Senate version of the bill up for a vote. The House Republican bill will remove protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transge… Continue Reading
02.22.13
Markey Releases Massive Safety Violations for Shell’s Arctic Drilling Ship, Showing Company May Have Sent Unsafe Ship to Drill
Noble Discoverer Has Engine, Fire, Other Safety Hazards, According to Coast Guard; Congressman Asks Shell for Plans to Fix Ship, Prospects of Arctic Drilling WASHINGTON (February 22, 2013) - One of two Arctic drilling ships employed by Shell Oil does not have proper propulsion to handle all expected weather conditions, has engine trouble, and multiple fire hazards on board the ship, according to sixteen violations identified by the Coast Guard, which were made public today by Rep. Ed Markey (D-… Continue Reading
02.21.13
Markey: Consumers, Fishermen Need Swift Federal Action to Stop Seafood Fraud
Oceana Report Shows Rampant Seafood Substitution; Congressman to Introduce Bill to Stop Fraud, Empower Consumers WASHINGTON (February 21, 2013) - As the conservation group Oceana released a report documenting high levels of seafood substitution in restaurants and grocery stores across the country, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today pledged to introduce legislation in the coming weeks in Congress to improve seafood traceability. "This report proves that this problem is not going away unless we take… Continue Reading
02.20.13
Markey Asks BP to Settle Up with Congress on Information Requests
As BP Approaches Trial with Government, Oil Co. Still Hasn't Turned Over All Information to Congress; Congressman Asks EPA to Sustain Bar on Federal Contracts WASHINGTON (February 20, 2013) - As BP and the Department of Justice barrel towards trial -- or a last-ditch settlement -- to determine the fines levied against the oil giant for their 2010 oil spill, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today asked BP to settle their own debt to Congress in the form of documents withheld for nearly three years. Rep.… Continue Reading
02.19.13
Markey: GOP Sequester Threatens Energy Development, Safety and the Environment
Releases Analysis Showing Crushing Budget Cuts in Store for Oil and Gas Drilling, Exposing GOP Hypocrisy on Oil Production WASHINGTON (February 19, 2013) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today called on Republicans to end their hypocrisy on the sequester and oil and gas development, pointing to looming budget cuts that will decimate the Interior Department's ability to lease public land, issue permits for drilling, and enforce safety regulations to protect the environment. Rep. Markey released an ana… Continue Reading
02.15.13
Markey, Blumenauer Reintroduce Legislation to Close Tar Sands Tax Loophole
Legislation would save taxpayers nearly $2 billion. WASHINGTON (February 15, 2013) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) today reintroduced legislation to close a special tax loophole for oil companies that import tar sands oil into the United States. In May 2011, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a ruling that tar sands oil was not crude oil or petroleum product and therefore oil companies importing it are not subject to the same tax imposed on the oil industry t… Continue Reading
02.15.13
Reps. Markey & DeLauro Again Go After Wall Street Oil Investment Products
Legislation Would Disallow Speculation in Energy Commodity Index Funds WASHINGTON (February 15, 2013) - Two top House Democrats are again introducing legislation that would help hand back control of investments in oil and other energy commodities to airlines, trucking companies and other legitimate investors, and help dull the expensive impacts speculators are having on our oil and other energy prices. The legislation would tell Wall Street speculators that they can no longer invest in these fi… Continue Reading
02.13.13
Markey, Hanabusa Introduce Bill to Restore Federal Authority to Place Land into Trust for All Indian Tribes
WASHINGTON (February 13, 2013) -- Representatives Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii) introduced legislation today that would restore the authority of the Department of Interior to put land into trust for all Indian tribes, regardless of when they were federally recognized by the United States. The bill corrects a 2009 Supreme Court case, Carcieri v. Salazar, which broadly held that the Secretary of the Interior's authority to place land into trust under the Indian Reorganizati… Continue Reading
02.12.13
Markey: Chinese State-Owned CNOOC Should not be Allowed to Acquire Nexen's Royalty-Free U.S. Oil Leases
Congressman will introduce legislation to close foreign driller loophole WASHINGTON (February 12, 2013) - Today, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' (CFIUS) approved the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) takeover of Nexen Inc., which could potentially include Nexen's royalty-free drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico as part of the deal. In response to the potential transfer of royalty-free drilling of American resources to a Chinese national corporation… Continue Reading
02.07.13
Markey Applauds New Northeast Global Warming Pollution Cap
Leadership from Gov. Patrick, New England Shows that National Emission Cuts Are Possible, Positive WASHINGTON (February 7, 2013) -- Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the co-author of the only climate change bill to pass a chamber of Congress, today praised the announcement that the carbon pollution cap for states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) will be strengthened considerably - going from 165 million tons down to 91 million tons. The new cap level locks in emission redu… Continue Reading
02.06.13
Helium Reserve Bill Rises Above Partisanship
Congressmen Markey and Holt Work with Republicans, Introduce Bill to Avert National Helium Crisis WASHINGTON (February 6, 2013) - Bi-partisan leadership of the House Committee on Natural Resources today jointly introduced legislation that will address an impending national helium crisis as supplies of the resource dwindle. Democratic Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Rush Holt (D-N.J.) joined fellow Republicans on the Committee--Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) a… Continue Reading