Press Releases
Markey to NOAA: What's Up with the Wild Weather?
Congressman Asks for Analysis of Recent Extreme Weather Events, Effects of Republican Budget Cuts on Monitoring, Citizen Warnings, Research WASHINGTON (June 2, 2011) - In the wake of extreme weather events like this week's spate of tornados in Massachusetts, and now the beginning of hurricane season in the United States, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today asked the national scientific body tasked with monitoring and analyzing the nation's weather and climate for answers about these extreme weather … Continue Reading
05.25.11
Markey: Obama Admin. Shows Regulatory Protections Don't Have to Be an Endangered Species
WASHINGTON -- Following the Obama administration's announced modernization of how the Endangered Species Act is implemented, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, issued the following statement: "This modernization of the ESA shows that regulatory protections don't have to be an endangered species, they just need common-sense updates. The Obama administration knows we can preserve bedrock protections for wildlife habitat and still fin… Continue Reading
05.24.11
Markey: Time to Take Warming-Driven Extreme Weather Trends Seriously
Republican Cuts to NOAA and Weather Service Flies in Face of Recent Reports Showing Increasing Climate Change Concerns Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable \t{mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; \tmso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; \tmso-tstyle-colband-size:0; \tmso-style-noshow:yes; \tmso-style-priority:99; \tmso-style-qformat:yes;… Continue Reading
05.18.11
Markey, "Little Darth Vader" Use The Force to Push for Clean Energy, Lower Gas Prices
Lawmaker Calls for Clean Energy Revolution in New Video For Inaugural YouTube Town Hall Challenge WASHINGTON DC (May 19th, 2011) - Not long ago, in a galaxy very close to home, Republicans voted to protect billions in tax breaks for oil companies and championed an "Oil Above All" agenda while cutting funding for renewable energy research and development. In this fight for America's clean energy future and an end to our dependence on foreign oil, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) continues to use … Continue Reading
05.18.11
Markey: International Energy Agency's Oil Price Warning Highlights Need for SPR Action
Congressman Renews Call for Obama Admin to Ready Oil Reserves WASHINGTON (May 19, 2011) -- The International Energy Agency (IEA) today called on nations, including the United States, to "consider using all tools that are at the disposal of IEA member countries," to avoid negative global economic impacts of rising prices. This action by the world's energy agency led Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to renew his call for the Obama administration to prepare to use the fully-stocked Strategic Petroleum Re… Continue Reading
05.12.11
Markey Asks NRC for Answers on Pilgrim Nuclear Event
Tuesday Incident Raises Further Questions on Environmental and Safety Analysis of U.S. Nuclear Plants, Markey Writes NRC WASHINGTON (May 13, 2011) - On Tuesday this week, the Pilgrim nuclear power plant located 38 miles from Boston, Mass. experienced an apparent accidental incident while trying to restart the nuclear reactor core. A team of investigators will be sent to the plant to review the event on May 16. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an… Continue Reading
05.11.11
Markey, Holt: House Republicans' Oil Company Giveaways Won't Reduce Prices at the Pump
Republicans Open Up East and West Coasts to Drilling, But Won't Keep Oil in America, or Push Oil Companies to Drill Now WASHINGTON (May 12, 2011) - House Republicans finished off the last of their three "Oil Above All" giveaways to oil companies today by taking the first step towards opening up the East and West Coasts to drilling without enacting new safety reforms, without ensuring that any oil gained would stay in America, and without forcing oil companies to drill for the 11 billion barrels… Continue Reading
05.04.11
Markey, Holt: Republican "Oil Above All" Plan Won't Help Consumers at Pump, Decreases Safety
WASHINGTON (May 5, 2011) - Republicans passed the first part of their "Oil Above All" energy plan today that will make oil drilling less safe, while protecting billions in tax breaks for the largest oil companies. The bill passed today would use shoddy, pre-BP-spill environmental review to accelerate drilling lease sales already scheduled by the Obama administration, and would open up new areas off Virginia's beaches to new drilling. During the debate, House Republicans unanimously rejected the… Continue Reading
05.02.11
Markey on BP Alaska Pipeline Fine: Harbinger for Gulf Spill Fines?
EPA Issues Largest Per Barrel Fine to Date for Oil Spill; BP Still Pushing for Lower Fines in Gulf WASHINGTON (May 3, 2011) - Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $25 million fine for BP's Alaskan pipeline spill of 5,000 barrels of oil in 2006. EPA says that the fine is the largest per barrel penalty to date for an oil spill. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) encouraged the EPA to insist on a comparable level of financial penalties for BP and the other companies involved in… Continue Reading
05.02.11
Markey to Chu: Don't Water Down Pacific NW Wind Energy
Wind Facilities May Shut Down During High Water Runoff Periods; Markey Asks Chu to Study Alternatives WASHINGTON (May 3, 2011) - When the water is flowing from excessive mountain runoff in the Pacific Northwest, that's when the wind may be told to stop. In response to controversial plans by the Bonneville Power Administration to shut down wind energy facilities without fully doing the same for traditional forms of energy or by not optimizing the electrical grid's capacity during times of increa… Continue Reading
04.28.11
Markey, 90 House Members Push Back on Cuts to Energy Assistance in 2012
LIHEAP Program Under Fire, Even As Oil Industry Tax Breaks Protected WASHINGTON (April 29, 2011) - Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and 90 of his House colleagues today called for full funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in 2012. In a bipartisan letter sent to the leaders of the Appropriations Committee responsible for the funding of the program, Rep. Markey and the other members cited high energy prices and lingering effects from the economic downturn as reasons t… Continue Reading
04.28.11
Markey Queries Chevron on Advertisement Claims
As Oil Giant Reaps $6.2 Billion in Q1 Profit, TV Ads May Be Misleading, Says Congressman WASHINGTON (April 29, 2011) - Even as Chevron reported $6.2 billion in profits over the first three months of 2011, potentially questionable television advertisements by the company claim that it spent "every penny and more" of the $19.1 billion in 2010 profits on "bringing energy to the world." Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today queried the company about this claim, citing the $6.5 billion spent by the … Continue Reading
04.27.11
Markey: What's Good for Big Oil Isn't Always Good for America
U.S. GDP Slips on High Oil Prices, As Exxon, Others Report Robust Increase in Profits WASHINGTON (April 28, 2011) - High oil prices contributed to a slip in growth for the American economy over the last three months, according to the Treasury Dept. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil today reported profits of nearly $11 billion in the first quarter of 2011, a 69 percent increase over the first quarter from 2010. Shell reported an increase of 22 percent to $6.9 billion in the same time period. Along with BP a… Continue Reading
04.26.11
Markey on BP Profit Announcement: Time to Cap the Gusher of Big Oil Tax Breaks
Even Worst-Case Year for BP Leads to $1b Increase in Profits From 2010; Conoco Also Announces $1b Increase in Profits WASHINGTON (April 27, 2011) - Even after a major oil spill, huge capital costs and a restructuring of the company, and Russian oil deals on the rocks during the last year, BP's net profits increased by $1 billion in the first quarter of 2011, compared to the first quarter of 2010, from $6.08 billion to $7.12 billion. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natur… Continue Reading
04.26.11
Markey to Boehner: Bring Oil Price Relief Bills to a Vote
WASHINGTON (April 27, 2011) - Responding to increasing gas prices, and reports that Republicans will bring bills to the floor next week that won't help consumers in the short-term at the pump, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today called on Speaker John Boehner to bring a legislative package to a House vote next week that would decrease prices in the short term, increase drilling safety, and end oil company tax breaks and practices that hold hostage American oil underneath taxpayer owned lands. … Continue Reading
04.25.11
Markey: It's Agreed - Time to End 100 Year-Old Tax Breaks For Big Oil
Washington D.C. (April 26, 2011) -- After proposing a 2012 budget that maintains $96 billion in tax subsidies and royalty-free drilling for oil and gas companies while cutting investments in alternative energy technology development by 90 percent, House Republican leadership did an about-face and today stated that oil companies need to start paying their fair share, including suggesting an end to an almost century-old tax break called the depletion allowance. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the… Continue Reading
04.20.11
Markey: BP's $1 Billion Gulf Restoration Fund a Down Payment, But They Can't Skip Out on the Full Spill Bill
BP Still Litigating Responsibility, Fines, Which Could Decrease Further Funding WASHINGTON (April 21, 2011) -- Today, the Obama administration announced the release of $1 billion by BP for restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico identified under the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process. Yet even as the oil giant is doling out this down payment to help restore the Gulf of Mexico following last year's spill, it is litigating the size of the spill and the fines they should pay, pot… Continue Reading
04.18.11
Markey Statement on BP Spill Anniversary: A Spill Could Happen Again
WASHINGTON (April 19, 2011) - 364 days ago, the American public, government regulators and Gulf of Mexico families had been lulled into a false sense of security over the safety of offshore drilling and the ability of the oil industry to respond in the event of a severe spill. After years of systemic complacency and mismanagement by the U.S. government and the oil companies, weeks of poor decision-making on the part of BP and its partners in the ill-fated Macondo oil well, and a few moments of d… Continue Reading
04.12.11
Markey: One Week Before Anniversary of BP Spill, Republican "Oil Above All" Plan Represents a Pre-Spill Mentality
WASHINGTON (April 13, 2011) - During the markup of the House Republican "Oil Above All" bills today in the Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) issued the following statement: "Fifty one weeks ago today, the BP Deepwater Horizon exploded. Eleven men lost their lives. Two days later, the rig sank, and during the next three months more than 4 million barrels of oil poured into the Gulf of Mexico. "One year ago, most Americans had no idea what a blowout preventer was. We h… Continue Reading
04.11.11
Markey: Republican Spending Plan Kills Wolves Instead of Cutting Pork
Rider to Delist Wolves as Endangered, Welfare for Nuclear Power Included in Misguided Spending Bill WASHINGTON (April 12, 2011) - Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, today outlined the objectionable energy and environment policies in the yearly spending plan after details were released late last night. The plan continues corporate welfare programs for nuclear power, which hasn't provided significant new energy for decades, while making severe cu… Continue Reading