Press Releases
Markey Quizzes EPA, NOAA on Post-Isaac BP Oil Intrusion
One Million Barrels of Deepwater Horizon Oil Still Buried in Gulf WASHINGTON (August 31, 2012) - Now that Hurricane Isaac has relaxed its destructive grip on the Gulf Coast, the damage assessment and recovery phase will begin. Due to worries that 1 million barrels of oil spilled from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster from 2010 still persist in the sediments and elsewhere near the Gulf coast, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today asked two U.S. government agencies about their plans to detect and clean … Continue Reading
08.23.12
Natural Resources Dem Staff Release Analysis of Romney-Ryan “Oil Above All” Plan
WASHINGTON (August 23, 2012) - The "oil above all" energy plan released today by GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney would reduce the safety of drilling operations, hand over control of taxpayer-owned land to oil companies, and protect $4 billion in tax subsidies for oil companies while allowing 40,000 American wind energy jobs to disappear in the next year. These impacts and others are detailed in an analysis of the Romney-Ryan energy scheme that was released today by the Democratic staff o… Continue Reading
08.23.12
Markey: Romney Energy Scheme Means More Taxpayer Funds, Lands for Big Oil, Less Safety, Security for Americans
Romney Would Preserve $4 Billion in Tax Breaks for Big Oil Every Year, End America's Wind Energy Progress Right Now WASHINGTON (August 22, 2012) - The energy agenda unveiled by GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney would hand over America's lands and coasts to oil companies and preserve more than $4 billion in tax subsidies every year, even as it cuts key incentives to produce more American-made wind energy. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, today d… Continue Reading
08.22.12
Markey Praises Approval of New Rules to Combat Conflict Minerals, Require Transparent Payments to Foreign Nations for Resources
Congressman Led Bipartisan Effort Pushing for Approval of Rules to Reverse "Resource Curse" WASHINGTON (August 22, 2012) - Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, today praised the Securities and Exchange Commission for approving rules designed to address the so-called "resource curse", where natural resources are wasted by ineffectual or corrupt governments or for other reasons. Two rules were approved today by a majority of the SEC's Commissioner… Continue Reading
08.21.12
Ryan’s Wrongs: Natural Resources Committee Democrats Release Analysis of Ryan Budget Cuts to National Resources Programs
National Parks, Wildfires, Native American Health, Fishing All Impacted by Destructive Plan WASHINGTON (August 21, 2012) - The budget proposal devised by Republican Vice Presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) would potentially close National Parks, cut off valuable water resources to the West, slash clean energy funding, encourage more destructive wildfires, and put the health of Native Americans at risk. These impacts were detailed today in an analysis released by the Natural Resources… Continue Reading
08.17.12
New Report: Drought’s Impact on Energy Production and Water
Drought's Impact on Energy Production and Water New Markey report connects the dots between climate change, energy production and water needs Washington, D.C. (August 17, 2012) - New polling shows Americans' concerns about the drought and the extreme weather events that have punished our nation this year are on the rise. Their concerns are real: Nuclear power plants are shutting down over water concerns. Farmers and ranchers are suffering from fewer crop yields and higher feed prices. Familie… Continue Reading
08.16.12
Markey, Waxman, Luján, Pallone Urge Progress, Continued Resources for Study of Public Health Impacts of Uranium Mining on Navajo Lands
Markey, Waxman, Luján, Pallone Urge Progress, Continued Resources for Study of Public Health Impacts of Uranium Mining on Navajo Lands Renewed interest in uranium mining on tribal lands demands understanding of possible health risks say lawmakers WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for an update on progress of the Navajo Birth Cohort … Continue Reading
08.16.12
Markey Commends Offshore Drilling Safety Rule, Calls for Action in Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee and the leading investigative force in Congress during the BP spill, released the following statement after the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) today announced the issuance of a final offshore drilling safety rule. The rule makes final the safety reforms put in place in the wake of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. "I commend the Obama administration for … Continue Reading
08.16.12
Markey: President Obama Right to Consider Using SPR to Relieve Consumer Pain at the Pump
Markey: President Obama Right to Consider Using SPR to Relieve Consumer Pain at the Pump Washington, D.C. (August 16, 2012) - Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, today commended the Obama administration, who media report is considering releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in an effort to address rising gas prices. In February, Rep. Markey urged the Obama administration to release oil from the SPR and enhance its flexibil… Continue Reading
08.08.12
Markey: Time to Blow Out Global Warming with Wind Power, Clean Energy
July 2012 Is Hottest on Record Tweet !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Washington (August 8, 2012) - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) today announced that July 2012 was the hottest in the contiguous United States since recordkeeping began in 1895. Drought conditions expanded to cov… Continue Reading
08.06.12
Markey, Blumenauer Commend DOJ Settlement with Gibson Guitar for Lacey Act Violations
Lawmakers led effort with biggest names in music industry to protect law that prevents importation of wood from protected forests Medford, MA (August 6, 2012) - Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Oreg.) today applauded the settlement between the Department of Justice and Gibson Guitar Corp., who today entered an agreement resolving a criminal investigation into allegations that the company violated the Lacey Act by illegally purchasing and importing ebony wood from Madagasc… Continue Reading
08.02.12
Markey: GOP Solyndra Report, Romney’s No-Wind Position Shows Clean Energy in Crosshairs
GOP Hypocrisy on Display Yesterday, Voting to Protect Nuclear, Fossil Fuel Loan Guarantees WASHINGTON (August 2, 2012) - Energy and Commerce Republicans today released their "report" on their specious probe into the solar firm Solyndra. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today excoriated the GOP for their coordinated, specific attack against clean energy, personified by this report and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's stated opposition this week to a key tax credit for the wind industry and other… Continue Reading
08.01.12
Markey: More than Half of U.S. Counties in Drought, While More than Half of House of Representatives Promote Climate Doubt
WASHINGTON (August 1, 2012) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture today reported that more than half of the counties in the United States are currently considered disaster areas due to drought. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today called on the members who make-up more than half of the House of Representatives and who question the science of climate change and have repeatedly voted against taking action to cut the pollution that causes global warming, which leads to longer, stronger droughts and other… Continue Reading
08.01.12
Markey, Grijalva, Luján: Republicans Playing Politics with Fire
Republicans reject efforts by Dems to address catastrophic wildfire risk across the country WASHINGTON, D.C. - (August 1, 2012) Today, Republican members of the House Natural Resources Committee voted against a series of amendments offered by Democrats to address catastrophic wildfire risk across the country and provide much needed relief to communities impacted by extreme weather events. The underlying legislation, sponsored by Republican Congressman Scott Tipton (R-Colo.), also included anti-… Continue Reading
07.31.12
Markey to IRS: Tar Sands Spills Are Tax-Free???
Treasury Giving Tar Sands Free Ride into Oil Spill Response Fund; Comes on Heels of Second Enbridge Spill of Canadian Oil WASHINGTON (July 31, 2012) - An ill-informed decision by the Internal Revenue Service saying tar sands is not actually crude oil is giving tar sands oil a free ride from paying a tax which funds an oil spill cleanup fund, even though tar sands oil has properties that cause it to be costlier when it spills, and is more corrosive, posing increased risks to pipelines during … Continue Reading
07.30.12
Markey: CNOOC-Nexen Merger Could Allow Chinese Government Company to Drill For Free Off U.S. Coasts
Lawmaker Calls for Blocking Planned Merger If Chinese Company Doesn't Agree to Pay Royalties WASHINGTON (July 30, 2012) - A merger between the Chinese government's state-run oil company CNOOC and the Canadian oil company Nexen could result in China drilling for free on U.S. soil, depriving taxpayers of millions of dollars in royalties for taxpayer-owned oil, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today revealed. In response to this potential merger and the loss of taxpayer money to the Chinese government's … Continue Reading
07.30.12
Markey: Michigan Enbridge Canadian Pipeline Incident Means More Canadian Oil Spilled on American Soil
Expanded Canadian Pipelines Will Bring More Risk, Says Lawmaker; Enbridge Becoming "BP of the Midwest" WASHINGTON (July 28, 2012) -- Another pipeline from Canada has spilled oil in the upper Midwest United States, calling into question the ability of pipeline companies and systems to safely deliver oil from Canada to the United States, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said today. The latest spill is in Wisconsin, where more than 1,000 barrels is estimated to have leaked from a pipeline operat… Continue Reading
07.26.12
Markey Introduces SAFE Seafood Act to Fight Fraud, Ensure Safety
Bipartisan Bill Would Protect American Consumers and Fishermen WASHINGTON (July 26, 2012) - In response to rampant seafood mislabeling and fraud that is hurting the bottom lines of fishermen and threatening the public health, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has now introduced the Safety And Fraud Enforcement for Seafood Act (SAFE Seafood Act, H.R. 6200). The bill will increase inspections, establish new labeling standards to give consumers more information about the seafood's origins, and give author… Continue Reading
07.25.12
Markey: GOP’s Sixth Drilling Package another Giveaway to Big Oil
House Republicans Refuse to Enforce Iran, Syria Sanctions on New Drilling Leases WASHINGTON (July 25, 2012) - House Republicans passed their sixth massive drilling package this Congress, offering yet another giveaway to the biggest, most profitable corporations in the world. The latest Republican drill-only bill would open up nearly all of America's coastline to drilling without putting a single new safety measure in place following the BP spill. Every House Republican also rejected a Democrat… Continue Reading
07.25.12
Markey: Increased Food Prices from Drought is a Climate Change-fueled “Extreme Weather Food Tax”
Increased Food Prices from Drought is a Climate Change-fueled "Extreme Weather Food Tax" WASHINGTON (July 25, 2012) - The harshest, most widespread drought since the Dust Bowl era will soon be felt at the grocery line, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today, predicting an increase of 3-4 percent in food prices from the loss of crops on American farms and increase costs for American ranchers. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today made the connection between these increased prices at the checkout… Continue Reading