Press Releases
Markey Statement on Obama Energy Speech
WASHINGTON (March 30, 2011) - Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama's speech on energy policy. Rep. Markey is the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, and authored the House fuel economy legislation in 2007, co-authored the Waxman-Markey clean energy and climate bill in 2009, and is author of the USE IT legislation of this year that would compel oil and gas companies to use the leases they already own: "Presiden… Continue Reading
03.28.11
Markey: New Interior Dept. Report on Unused Oil Leases Makes Case for "USE IT" Legislation
Report requested by President Obama shows oil industry is leaving leases fallow even while requesting more public land to drill. WASHINGTON (March 29, 2011) - A new report requested by President Obama and released by the Interior Department today shows that oil and gas companies are leaving millions of acres of public land and water unused, even as they claim they don't have enough to drill. The report makes the case for legislation already introduced by Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rush Holt … Continue Reading
03.28.11
Markey Statement on "Oil Above All" Drilling Bills
WASHINGTON (March 29, 2011) - Responding to bills proposed today by Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) and other Republicans, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, issued the following statement: "The Republicans claim they are for 'all of the above,' but when they release their drilling-only bills, it's clear they are just for 'oil above all.' "Following the worst oil spill in U.S. history, House Republicans aren't just doubling down on drilling, they are bet… Continue Reading
03.27.11
Markey Queries Interior Dept. on Blowout Preventers, Outdated Spill Response Plans
WASHINGTON (March 28, 2011) - Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, today asked the Department of Interior to explain how it intends to address the recent finding that design faults in blowout preventers could cause widespread failure by the devices should a blowout occur. Rep. Markey also asked about the spill response plans for the six deepwater permits granted by the drilling agency, after the plan for the first drilling permit was reported by p… Continue Reading
03.27.11
Markey Joins Leading Nuclear Physicist, Children's Health Advocates Calling for 20-Mile Distribution of Potassium Iodide Near Nuclear Reactors in America
Bush, Obama Administrations Both Ignored 2002 Markey Law WASHINGTON (March 28, 2011) - On this day in 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident began, highlighting the need to keep American families prepared for nuclear emergencies. The ongoing Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan now brings new urgency to implement a law passed in 2002, but ignored by two presidential administrations, to distribute radiation emergency pills to people living within 20 miles of a reactor here in the United Sta… Continue Reading
03.23.11
Markey Statement on NRC IG Report
WASHINGTON (March 24, 2011) - Responding to a report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Inspector General's office stating that at least 24 defects in components of nuclear reactors that could cause a substantial safety hazard, as well as 11 additional defective components went unreported, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee and a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee issued the following statement: "This troubling study by the … Continue Reading
03.22.11
Markey on BP Spill BOP Report: Can Blowout Preventers Actually Prevent Blowouts?
WASHINGTON (March 23, 2011) - Following the release of the investigative report on the blowout preventer from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, called into question the effectiveness of blowout preventers as a last line of defense against a major oil spill. The report, conducted by the Norwegian company Det Norske Veritas (DNV) for the Department of Interior and U.S. Coast Guard, says that multiple mechanisms… Continue Reading
03.16.11
Reps. Markey, Frank, Keating, Tierney Call on Obama Administration to Support Massachusetts Fishermen, Coastal Communities
WASHINGTON (March 17, 2011) - Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Malden), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, sent a letter with Reps. Barney Frank, Bill Keating, and John Tierney asking the Commerce Department to provide immediate assistance to Massachusetts fisherman in an effort to address negative economic impacts associated with the initial implementation of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. Despite recent increased overall revenues at Massachusetts ports, addi… Continue Reading
03.14.11
Markey Requests Big 5 Oil Company Execs. Testify Before Congress
WASHINGTON (March 15, 2011) - Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, today requested that the Chief Operating Officers from the top five oil companies appear before the committee to discuss their industry's updated safety and response efforts following the BP oil spill, and to answer questions on the fair use of America's public lands and waters for oil drilling. The request was made in a letter to Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.). "The Co… Continue Reading
03.10.11
President Obama Right to Prepare to Use SPR While Pushing for Clean Energy Future
WASHINGTON (March 11, 2011) - Speaking at a news conference today on the Japanese tsunami, the budget debate, and other issues, President Barack Obama continued to leave the option open to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in light of continued Middle East strife and potential harm to the U.S. economy. Reflecting the USE IT legislation offered last week by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the president also said he was encouraging his administration to look into the fact that oil companies are not pr… Continue Reading
03.09.11
Markey on Republican Gas Price Statements: It's O-PEC, Not O-bama
WASHINGTON (March 10, 2011) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, today responded to statements from House Speaker John Boehner, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and others that ignored or dismissed the notion that Middle East strife was to blame for higher gas prices, instead attacking President Obama. Domestic oil production last year under President Obama was the highest since 2003. "When it comes to high oil prices, this is about OPEC, not Obama. … Continue Reading
03.09.11
House Dems Introduce New Oil Reserve Legislation
Would Release Oil Now to Help Consumers, and Modernize Reserves WASHINGTON (March 10, 2011) - As unrest has spread in the Middle East, and gas prices continue to rise, House Democrats today introduced new legislation that would initiate a modest release of oil from the nation's oil reserves to temper prices in the short-term, and update the reserves to provide long-term security. The Enhanced Strategic Petroleum Reserve Act would direct the Department of Energy to release at least 30 million b… Continue Reading
03.08.11
House Dems to Push New Oil Reserve Strategy
WASHINGTON - House Democrats will push a new strategy to deploy and enhance the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to provide short-term relief from high prices, and long-term security for the nation's oil reserve. The details of this new strategy will be announced at a press conference tomorrow with lead author Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and co-sponsors Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). WHAT: House Democrats introduce new oil reserve strategy WHO: Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ranki… Continue Reading
03.06.11
Markey Pushes House Support for Oil Reserve Option
WASHINGTON (March 7, 2011) - When Middle East unrest disrupted oil supplies and began to push oil prices higher, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and other House lawmakers first raised the option of using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to prevent price spikes and protect consumers. With continued strife expanding and escalating in key oil producing countries, Rep. Markey today expanded his push to garner support in the House to release oil from the reserve to calm prices, circulating a letter amongst h… Continue Reading
03.02.11
Markey, Holt Press EPA for Robust Fracking Study
WASHINGTON (March 3, 2011) - Responding to yet more revelations from a investigative series in The New York Times on natural gas extraction, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, today sent a letter to Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking whether her agency had excluded plans to study radioactivity in the… Continue Reading
03.02.11
Markey, Holt Legislation Tells Oil Companies: Use Your Drilling Leases
WASHINGTON (March 3, 2011) - Two Democratic Congressmen will today introduce legislation that would compel oil and gas companies to produce on the drilling leases they already own, instead of continuing the practice by the oil and gas industry to "squat" on their leased lands without producing. The legislation, the United States Exploration on Idle Tracts Act, or USE IT, is authored by Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, and Rush Holt … Continue Reading
03.02.11
Markey Statement on Upton and Inhofe Bill
WASHINGTON (March 3, 2011) - Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today issued the following statement on the Upton-Inhofe bill that would increase pollution and promote the importation of millions of barrels of foreign oil per day by negating advanced fuel economy standards: "Along with the threats to public health this bill presents, it would curtail American clean energy innovation and eliminate fuel economy advances that would save millions of barrels of oil per day. "The bill represents an imp… Continue Reading
02.28.11
Markey: Oil Closes at Highest Level in 29 Months, Yet ZERO Republicans Vote Today to End Oil Tax Breaks
WASHINGTON (March 1, 2011) - Oil prices reached their highest levels in 29 months today, ensuring continuing sizeable profits for oil companies, yet a bill offered by House Democrats today to revoke unnecessary tax subsidies received a grand total of zero Republican votes. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), whose legislation along with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) was the basis for today's offering on the House floor, said this dichotomy showed the true priorities of House Republicans intent … Continue Reading
02.27.11
Republicans' Anti-environment and Anti-energy Actions Detailed in New Report
WASHINGTON (February 28, 2011) - The Democratic staff of the House Natural Resources Committee today released “Dirty Work,” a comprehensive report on the anti-environment and anti-clean energy attacks in H.R 1, the House Republicans’ recently-passed yearly spending bill. The report, created at the direction of Democratic Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-Mass.), shows the skewed priorities and irrational attacks from House Republicans, highlights provisions in H.R. 1 which would affect existing enviro… Continue Reading
02.27.11
Markey, Holt Query Interior Dept. on Fracking
WASHINGTON (February 28, 2011) - Today, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.), the Ranking Democrat on the Natural Resource Committee's Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee asked Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for more information about the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," on federal lands. The New York Times recently published an investigative report on the practice of natural gas… Continue Reading