Press Releases
Markey: BP Lied to the American People, Lied to Me
Settlement Includes Guilty Plea for Lying to Congress, Manipulating Data on Flow Rate of Spill; Congressman Releases Documents Given to DOJ for BP Investigation WASHINGTON (November 15, 2012) - A $4.5 billion settlement between the United States government and BP includes a guilty plea of obstruction by a BP executive for lying to Congress and manipulating documents related to the size of the spill. The BP executive charged with obstruction is David Rainey, who testified at the first closed-doo… Continue Reading
11.15.12
Markey Statement on BP Settlement, Including Charge of Lying to Congress
WASHINGTON (November 15, 2012) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) the leading investigator into the BP oil spill, released the following statement on early reports of the settlement between BP and the Department of Justice related to criminal charges and fines related to the company's 2010 oil spill. The settlement reportedly includes a guilty plea of obstruction for lying to the United States Congress related to the size of the spill. A full timeline of Rep. Markey's investigation into the size of the… Continue Reading
11.14.12
Markey, Holt Ask GAO to Expand GOP Energy Subsidy Analysis
Previous Requests Tailored to Ignore Tax Breaks Given to Oil and Gas WASHINGTON (November 14, 2012) - Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rush Holt (D-N.J.) today asked the Government Accountability Office to expand their previously-requested study into energy subsidies to include all forms of federal support for various energy technologies since the first creation of tax subsidies for the oil and gas industry in 1916. Reps. Markey and Holt asked today for this expansion of GAO's work due to narrow r… Continue Reading
10.25.12
Markey Leads Lawmakers’ Effort to Seek Resolution of Dispute with Mexico on Dolphin-Safe Tuna Labeling
22 House Members Ask U.S. Trade Rep. to Protect Dolphin-Safe Tuna Label WASHINGTON (October 25, 2012) - Today Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and 21 other members of Congress sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk, urging the Ambassador to include resolution of the ongoing dispute over dolphin-safe tuna labeling in upcoming negotiations with Mexico under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a multilateral forum made up of Pacific coast countries working toward a broa… Continue Reading
10.25.12
Markey Calls on BP to Devise Plan to Remove Oil from Containment Dome and other Debris
ROV Footage Still Not Available; Macondo Oil Still Remains in Environment WASHINGTON (October 25, 2012) - BP announced today that it has plugged the leaks in the 40 foot high containment dome, the so-called cofferdam, that had been leaking oil originally from BP's blown-out Macondo well. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today called on the company to devise a plan to remove all remaining oil from the dome and any other wreckage from the Deepwater Horizon incident. Rep. Markey also renewed his original … Continue Reading
10.25.12
As Historic Storm Approaches New England, Rep. Markey Releases Report on Climate Change’s Effects on Region
Sea-level Rise, Extreme Storms, Other Climate Effects Threaten New England Lives, Livelihoods WASHINGTON (October 25, 2012) - Weather forecasters are now saying the likelihood of Hurricane Sandy hitting New England in some fashion is increasing, delivering what could be the worst weather conditions since the Perfect Storm of 1991. Climate change scientists, meanwhile, have released study after study saying the extreme weather effects and changing climate of New England will result in storms tha… Continue Reading
10.22.12
New Report Shows Which Companies Are Not Using Drilling Leases
Natural Resources Democrats' Report Reinforces President Obama's Call for Oil Companies to "Use It or Lose It" WASHINGTON (October 22, 2012) - During last Tuesday's Presidential debate, President Barack Obama called out oil companies for leaving oil drilling leases of public land idle, repeating calls from his administration and Congressional Democrats for the oil companies to "Use It or Lose It." A new investigative report released today tells Americans for the first time exactly which compan… Continue Reading
10.18.12
Markey, House Dems Ask Agencies for New Plan, Report on Uranium Cleanup in Navajo Nation
Congressmen Request GAO Audit of Atom Bomb Legacy on Tribal Lands WASHINGTON (October 18, 2012) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and several other House Democrats today asked multiple government agencies to prepare a report and a new plan to continue the cleanup of uranium on Navajo Nation lands leftover from the development of the atom bomb and the Cold War's nuclear arms race. The current plan, developed by multiple agencies, is set to expire, and Rep. Markey and his colleagues say they believe a n… Continue Reading
10.18.12
Markey to BP: Release ROV Footage, Contain Leftover Oil
WASHINGTON (October 18, 2012) -- Today, the Coast Guard reported that BP's subsea evaluation of the Macondo well showed that an oil sheen that has been linked to the BP spill is likely the result of oil being released from a failed device used by BP in an attempt to contain the well in 2010. Reports indicate that oil is not leaking from the well itself but rather from a giant dome -- the so-called cofferdam -- the large device that BP had left on the sea floor following its failed attempt to use… Continue Reading
10.18.12
Markey, Miller Press Labor Dept. on Risky Pension Investments
Labor Dept. Says Commodity Investments Unknown WASHINGTON (October 18, 2012) - Continuing their recent examination of whether commodity index fund investments may run afoul of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and George Miller (D-Calif.) again wrote to the Department of Labor today expressing concern that the agency does not know the degree to which pensions plans are invested in potentially risky commodity index funds. Commodity index funds are fi… Continue Reading
10.17.12
Use It or Lose It? House Republicans TWICE Allow Oil Companies to Keep It
Obama Correct that Oil Companies Sitting on Oil Drilling Leases; House Republicans Vote to Protect Oil Companies WASHINGTON (October 17, 2012) - Last night, President Obama correctly pointed out that oil companies are currently holding oil drilling leases, but are not producing oil, and that these companies should be pushed to produce oil. House Democrats have been calling on oil companies to "Use It or Lose It" for several years, including twice on the House floor this year. Yet when those two… Continue Reading
10.16.12
Markey, Waxman Press BP on Macondo Oil Slick
Ask for Underwater Rover Footage of Leak, Potential Size of Residual Spill WASHINGTON (October 16, 2012) - The two leading Congressional investigators into the BP oil spill today pressed the company to turn over any and all information related to the recent Gulf of Mexico oil slick that has been sourced from the Macondo well. Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) wrote BP to ask them about the plan approved by the U.S. Coast Guard to inspect the well site, the wreckage of the… Continue Reading
10.12.12
Markey Asks Federal Regulators to Investigate Gasoline Price Gouging in New England
Abnormalities in Fuel Prices Raise Questions, Congressman Writes to Federal Trade Commission WASHINGTON (October 12, 2012) - Even as crude oil prices have receded from summer highs, gasoline prices in New England and in other parts of the country have not, raising price gouging and manipulation as potential causes of this abnormality in the fuel market, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) charged today. In a letter sent to the head of the Federal Trade Commission today, Rep. Markey asks the agency to inv… Continue Reading
10.11.12
Markey: API’s Pro-bribery Lawsuit Encourages Corruption
Oil Industry Group Sues SEC to Block Dodd-Frank Foreign Payments Disclosure Rule WASHINGTON (October 11, 2012) - The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's front group, has filed a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission to block a rule requiring oil companies to disclose payments above $100,000 to foreign governments. The rule is an attempt to end corruption and bribery in the oil industry's dealings with foreign nations. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on … Continue Reading
10.11.12
Markey, Keating, Frank Disappointed by Interior Dept. Rejection of Massachusetts-Mashpee Wampanoag Gaming Agreement
WASHINGTON (October 12, 2012) -- Several members of Massachusetts' House delegation today expressed disappointment in the decision by Department of the Interior Secretary Salazar issued a decision today to reject the agreement between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to establish a gaming site in Taunton. The compact reached between the government of Massachusetts and the sovereign Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was done in good faith, and was expected to generate milli… Continue Reading
10.11.12
Markey Calls for Full Undersea Survey Following Gulf Oil Sheen Sourced from BP's Macondo Well
Congressman Asks for Spillcam Return for Survey WASHINGTON (October 10, 2012) -- Following confirmation that an oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico has origins from BP's blown-out Macondo well, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today called for a full undersea survey of the Macondo site carried live on the internet so independent scientists can examine the activities as they happen. "One can only hope that the nightmare well has not come back to haunt the people of the Gulf. The federal government should o… Continue Reading
10.11.12
Markey, DeLauro, Welch Back CFTC Appeal of Dodd-Frank Position Limits Case
Wall Street Fights to Keep Commodities Casino Alive WASHINGTON (October 11, 2012) - One day after the head of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission backed an appeal of a court's decision to block a key rule in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform legislation, three key House Democrats threw their own weight behind appealing the ruling. The rule in question deals with "position limits" that would control the amount of contracts Wall Street traders and others could hold in key commodities like … Continue Reading
10.09.12
Markey: Obama Achieves Promise of Clean Energy on America’s Lands
10,000 New Megawatts Permitted for 3 Million Homes; Largest Wind Project in U.S. Announced in Wyoming WASHINGTON (October 9, 2012) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today praised President Obama and the Department of Interior for reaching the president's goal of permitting 10,000 new megawatts of clean energy on America's public lands with the announcement of a massive new wind project in Wyoming. Along with strong private sector investment in wind and solar energy, America's clean energy sector is gr… Continue Reading
10.04.12
Debate Response on Energy: Romney Flubs Public Lands Energy Production
WASHINGTON (October 3, 2012) - Tonight, Governor Romney once again flubbed his statistics on President Obama's energy record. Governor Romney said energy production was down on public lands, but the reality is that on "government land" onshore, oil production is higher than at any point under the Bush administration going back to 2003, according to the Energy Information Administration. Overall, oil production is higher than under the last three years of the Bush admin. Under President Obama, hi… Continue Reading
10.03.12
Markey Challenges 47 House Republicans Who Won’t Worry About Wind Jobs
47 GOP Members Push to Raise Taxes on Wind Industry, End 40,000 American Jobs; Markey Asks them to Support Ending Tax Breaks, Loan Guarantees for Oil, Nuclear and Coal Sectors WASHINGTON (October 3, 2012) - Following the sentiment of their GOP standard bearer to not worry about certain segments of America -- and with eerie numerical symmetry -- 47 House Republicans last week wrote to Speaker John Boehner to oppose the extension of the Production Tax Credit for wind energy. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mas… Continue Reading