House Republicans demand Obama officials testify about 2010 drilling
ban
Washington (Platts)--18Jul2012/412 pm EDT/2012 GMT
A battle between House Republicans and the Obama administration over
the 2010 deepwater drilling moratorium escalated Wednesday, when a key
House committee called on administration officials to testify about the
six-month drill ban.
The House Natural Resources Committee had previously subpoenaed
documents surrounding a report compiled in the wake of the 2010
Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The report, which
recommended new offshore safety rules, served as the basis for a
decision by Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to halt new
deepwater drilling in the Gulf for six months.
Republicans say that Interior Department officials have not fully
complied with the subpoena and have not agreed to have five key
administration officials answer committee questions on the record.
The scheduling of a hearing on July 25 with the five officials as
witnesses sets up a showdown with the administration, which could face
new subpoenas if it refuses to make the officials available.
Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, Republican-Washington, has said he
was particularly interested in how the report was edited by White House
officials to falsely state that the decision to impose a six-month
drilling ban was supported by several independent scientists who were
asked to peer-review the report.
"Answers are expected from these Interior Department officials who have
direct knowledge of the events leading up to the moratorium decision and
the editing of the report that caused thousands of job losses,
widespread economic harm, and significant reductions in our nation's
energy production," Hastings said in a statement Wednesday.
An investigation by the Interior Department Inspector General concluded
that the editing of the report was inadvertent. The administration
apologized to the scientists after they complained that they had not
explicitly backed the drilling moratorium.
"Immediately after being made aware of the error in the executive
summary of the Report in June, 2010, the department moved quickly to
clarify the scope of the peer review and to apologize to the peer
reviewers," Interior spokesman Adam Fetcher said Wednesday. "In response
to the committee's inquiries on this topic, we have repeatedly
testified, responded to the committee's requests and produced nearly two
thousand pages of documents. Interior has made clear that we intend to
continue to cooperate with the committee's legitimate oversight
interests."
The five officials asked to testify are Steve Black, counselor to
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar; Neal Kemkar, special Assistant to Steve
Black; Mary Katherine Ishee, former deputy administrator of the Minerals
Management Service; Walter Cruickshank, former deputy administrator of
the MMS; and Kallie Hanley, former White House liaison and special
assistant.
--Gary Gentile,
gary_gentile@platts.com
--Edited by Richard Rubin,
richard_rubin@platts.com
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