Press Releases
Markey Questions Interior on Failed Arctic Spill Containment Test
E-mails Describe Containment Dome "Crushed Like a Beer Can" During September Test WASHINGTON (December 5, 2012) - After recently released e-mails at the Department of Interior show that a September test conducted by the Shell oil company on a containment system for Arctic drilling spills failed spectacularly, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today expressed concerns whether the company or others could safely drill in the harsh Arctic environment and whether other industry containment systems are at ris… Continue Reading
11.30.12
Markey: Wind Lease Sale Brings America Closer to Offshore Wind Revolution
Areas Proposed for Leasing Could Power 1.4 Million Homes WASHINGTON (November 30, 2012) -- Today the Interior Department announced the first-ever competitive lease sales for renewable energy development in federal waters offshore. The lease sales, to be held next year, will offer some of the nation's best offshore wind resources in one area identified off the coast of Virginia and another area off of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. "This wind lease sale will bring America closer to unleashing … Continue Reading
11.30.12
Markey: Coral ESA Proposal Recognizes Ocean is Ground Zero for Climate Change
WASHINGTON (November 30, 2012) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) hailed the proposal made today by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to take action to protect several coral species under the Endangered Species Act. As NOAA notes in their proposal, the three major threats to coral are either directly or indirectly related to climate change: rising ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, and disease. Rep. Markey, the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdic… Continue Reading
11.28.12
Markey: BP Suspension of Government Contracts Proper Punishment
WASHINGTON (November 28, 2012) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today praised the Obama administration for suspending BP's access to federal contracts, including new drilling leases on taxpayer-owned land. Rep. Markey had originally raised the issue of whether BP should be suspended or disbarred from future lease sales at an oversight hearing in October of 2011 with the then-head of the leasing arm of the Department of Interior, saying that those measures should be considered, "to protect everyone fro… Continue Reading
11.28.12
Markey Praises CIFIUS Review of CNOOC-Nexen Deal
Lawmaker Raised Gulf of Mexico Lease Holding Issue in July; Markey Released Report Showing Vast Holdings of Free Drilling Leases by Foreign Governments WASHINGTON (November 28, 2012) - According to the Canadian oil company Nexen, the deal for a planned takeover by the Chinese state-owned oil giant CNOOC has been resubmitted for review by the U.S. government due to lease holdings and operations in the Gulf of Mexico that could be transferred to China. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) first raised the fa… Continue Reading
11.27.12
Markey: Climate Negotiators in Qatar Desert Shouldn’t Forget Superstorm Sandy
Emissions Cuts, Adaptation Money Desperately Needed in Face of Accelerating Climate Change WASHINGTON (November 26, 2012) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today called on the U.S. delegation to the climate talks in Doha, Qatar to take the strongest possible position on cutting the carbon emissions that are driving climate change, and to work on creating a funding stream for adaptation measures. Rep. Markey noted that in the wake of Superstorm Sandy as part of a record-breaking two years of extreme we… Continue Reading
11.16.12
Markey: Gulf Oil Rig Explosion Highlights Continued Dangers of Offshore Drilling
Accident at Rig Claims 2 Lives, 2 Missing; Comes Day After BP Criminal Settlement WASHINGTON (November 16, 2012) - Just one day following the federal government's settlement with BP for 14 criminal charges relating to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, another explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico claimed two lives today, with two more missing and several injured. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today expressed sympathy for the deceased, missing and wounded workers, and renewed his c… Continue Reading
11.15.12
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