Press Releases
Markey: Clean Water Must Not Return to Polluted Past
GOP Rejects Markey Amendment to Protect Rivers, Wetlands, Other Vital Waterways WASHINGTON (July 13, 2011) - In their continuing efforts to eviscerate environmental laws, House Republicans today voted to overturn almost forty years of progress on cleaning our nation's rivers, streams, lakes and other waterways under the Clean Water Act. Among the votes today was a rejection (183-237) of an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) that would have protected rivers, wetlands, marshes or… Continue Reading
07.12.11
Markey: Natural Resources Republicans Push Lip-Service, Trojan Horse Renewable Bills
Alaska Oil Production Bill Duplicative, Misguided; Republicans Reject Amendments to Keep Alaska Oil in America, Protect Planes, Soldier Training Grounds WASHINGTON (July 13, 2011) - Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee today pushed several bills through the panel that would hamper development of renewable energy in the false guise of trying to help the industry, and piled on with a duplicative bill that would call for already-planned lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve Alask… Continue Reading
07.11.11
Markey: Republicans Vote to Increase Cash to Oil, Nuclear
GOP Rejects Markey Amendment to Shift Money to Clean Energy WASHINGTON (July 12, 2011) - The House Republican caucus continued to push an energy and water spending bill today that would actually increase funding to fossil fuel and nuclear energy, while slashing funding for solar, wind, and other clean energy technologies. By a vote of 154-266, the GOP rejected an amendment by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) that would have invested $100 million in clean energy technologies, shifting the money by reduc… Continue Reading
07.06.11
Markey: Two Years of Pipeline Accidents Highlights Need for Overhaul of Safety
WASHINGTON (July 7, 2011) -- Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and the Democratic staff of the Natural Resources Committee released the following summary of major pipeline incidents from the last two years. This recent history of spills, explosions, environmental damage and loss of life and property demonstrates the need for a comprehensive review of pipeline safety. "These recent spills may call into question whether federal regulations are sufficient to ensure that oil and gas companies are properly m… Continue Reading
07.05.11
Markey: The Report the Nuclear and Fossil Fuel Industries Don't Want You to See
EIA Says Domestic Renewable Energy Production Surpasses Nuclear, Gains on Oil; Report Calls into Question Republican Plans to Cut Clean Energy, Increase Fossil Funding in Spending Bills WASHINGTON (July 6, 2011) - The dirty little secret of the much-ballyhooed, but non-existent "nuclear renaissance" just happens to be big and clean - the growth of domestic clean energy production, that is. Buried in a report issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration are these facts: domestic product… Continue Reading
07.05.11
Markey: Republican Spending Bills an Assault on Sea, Air, Land
WASHINGTON (July 6, 2011) - House Republican appropriators today released their spending bills on issues related to energy, public lands, water, and the environment, and comprise a multi-front assault on America's air, land, water and public health, said Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee. Meanwhile, the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill restores $55 million in oil and gas subsidies. The Interior and Environment Appropriations proposed bill … Continue Reading
07.04.11
Markey Calls for Hearings into Exxon's Yellowstone River Oil Spill
Pipeline Inspection Regime, Spill's Impacts on Public Lands Need Examining, Says Congressman WASHINGTON (July 5, 2011) -- As concerns grow that the ExxonMobil pipeline spill into the Yellowstone River may be larger than previously thought, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee and a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, called for investigative hearings to be held into the incident and related safety and environmental issues. Rep. Markey and… Continue Reading
06.29.11
Markey Applauds NOAA, Western Governors Effort to Improve Climate Services
Agreement highlights need for timely, accurate delivery of climate information to help states prepare for impacts WASHINGTON(June 30, 2011) - Today, the Western Governors' Association (WGA) signed a joint agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to improve climate science and services needed for long-range planning and forecasting for severe storms, droughts, floods, tropical cyclones, and wildfires to the 19 western States and U.S. Pacific Islands. The bi-parti… Continue Reading
06.27.11
Markey on State of the Climate Report: Global Warming is Here
2010 Tied for Hottest on Record, 2011 Already Seen $32b in Damage from Extreme Weather WASHINGTON (June 28, 2011) - A new overview of climate indicators and impacts on America and the world show an increasingly unstable and unpredictable worldwide weather system that includes hotter weather, more precipitation that falls in increasingly extreme amounts, and continued disturbing levels of ice melt at the poles and major glacial areas. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the co-author of the only climate b… Continue Reading
06.26.11
Markey to SEC: Natural Gas Reporting Rules Violating "Trust, but Verify" Principle
New Rules by Financial Watchdog Allows Self-Reporting of Reserves by NatGas Cos.; Congressman Sends Investigative Letter to Agency WASHINGTON (June 27, 2011) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today asked the Securities and Exchange Commission whether a 2008 rule allowing natural gas companies more flexibility in how they reported on unproven gas reserves had allowed the companies to paint an overly-optimistic picture of their reserves and the industry's potential contribution to America's ener… Continue Reading
06.26.11
Markey Questions Natural Gas Shale Reserves
Asks EIA for Methodology, Materials Supporting Bullish Fuel Claims WASHINGTON (June 27, 2011) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today asked the energy experts working for the United States government to justify their bullish claims on natural gas resources and reserves in light of reports in The New York Times indicating skepticism exists within the Energy Information Administration (EIA) about its own estimates. In a letter to the head of the EIA, Rep. Markey asked how the agency was justifying optim… Continue Reading
06.23.11
Natural Resources Democrats Oppose Failing Republican "Self-Report Card"
GOP's "Activity Report" Proves that Action Doesn't Equal Achievement; Republicans Rejecting Democratic Bills and Hearings WASHINGTON (June 24, 2011) - Republican changes for the 112th Congress included switching back to Styrofoam cups, new budgetary restrictions that protect corporate loopholes for oil companies, and biannual self-congratulatory "activity reports." Today the Democratic members of the Natural Resources Committee assailed this first missive from their Republican counterparts as a… Continue Reading
06.22.11
Markey: Administration Follows Markey Legislation to Release 30 Million Barrels from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
WASHINGTON (June 23, 2011) - After months of calls by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to follow his legislation and release at least 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to respond to supply disruptions from Middle East strife and increased prices on American consumers, the Obama administration today announced that they would do just that. The action from the Department of Energy would also include an additional release of 30 million barrels from international partners such as… Continue Reading
06.21.11
Markey: Circular Finger-Pointing by Oil Companies Highlights Need for Better Safety Standards
WASHINGTON (June 22, 2011) - Transocean, the company that owned the drilling rig involved in the BP oil spill, today issued a report that continues the pattern of the companies involved in the spill passing blame in advance of expected protracted litigation. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the principal force in Congress pushing for oversight of the spill and the response, issued the following statement in response. Rep. Markey is the Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisd… Continue Reading
06.20.11
Markey Statement on Cobell Settlement
WASHINGTON (June 21, 2011) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over Native American issues, today praised the successful completion of a settlement to repay hundreds of thousands of Native Americans, effectively resolving over a century of mismanagement of trust funds and land claims. The settlement was authorized last year by a Democratic-controlled Congress by an overwhelming margin of 256-152, but still required the ap… Continue Reading
06.19.11
Markey Statement on SCOTUS Decision on Global Warming Emissions
WASHINGTON (June 20, 2011) - Following the 8-0 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate heat-trapping emissions, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), co-author of the only climate bill to have passed a body of Congress and the Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee, issued the following statement: "This unanimous decision by the highest court in the land shows that the ideological attacks against the EPA a… Continue Reading
06.19.11
New Report: National Climate and Energy Plan Needed
GAO Report Released by Rep. Markey Details Climate Funding, Programs in Federal Gov't WASHINGTON (June 20, 2011) - A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) recommends that the federal government set clear strategic priorities and goals to align funding for emissions-reducing technologies and climate research with national efforts to address climate change. The report examined funding from 2003 to 2010 for activities related to climate change… Continue Reading
06.19.11
Markey: Stopping Grand Canyon Uranium Mining Avoids Potential for Grand Mistake
WASHINGTON (June 20, 2011) -- Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) praised the Department of Interior today for their actions to prevent the expansion of potentially damaging uranium mining surrounding the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Natural Resources Democrats passed in 2008 a resolution requiring then-Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to suspend mining operations. The Bush administration ignored the recommendation, but the Obama administration is following those recommendations today. "Stopping unnece… Continue Reading
06.15.11
NEW VIDEO: Speculative Oil Trading, As Explained by "Trading Places"
As Republicans Move to Cut CFTC Speculation Investigations, Oil Traders Follow Old Script WASHINGTON (June 16, 2011) - Whether it's fictional trading of frozen, concentrated orange juice or real-life speculation of light sweet crude oil prices, Wall Street traders will continue to follow a similar script of price manipulation if House Republicans have their way. In a humorous video using the Eddie Murphy/Dan Aykroyd comedy "Trading Places," the Natural Resources Democrats and Ranking Member Ed … Continue Reading
06.08.11
Markey: OPEC Refusal to Boost Supply Means America Must Reduce OPEC Dependence, Prepare Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Decision Shows OPEC Sets Market, Price and Has Been Hijacked by Iran, Venezuela WASHINGTON (June 8, 2011) - With the stunning decision by the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries to not increase production despite continued high prices, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today said that the United States must engage in a full-scale OPEC oil independence campaign in the long-term to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and prepare to use the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the short… Continue Reading