(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA) questioned administration officials on the health impacts of the Gulf of
Mexico oil spill during a full committee hearing of the Senate Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). Senator Murray questioned
officials from the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Health and
Human Services on their efforts to monitor and respond to both short and
long-term health effects of the devastating oil spill in the Gulf on workers
conducting the clean-up, families living in the region, and our food supply
from the Gulf.
“I think back to the Exxon Valdez spill and recall
numerous reports on the negative health effects of responders there, and that
there were wide spread concerns that such reports and claims were largely
ignored. I absolutely want to make sure we don’t repeat that, and that we
take all claims and concerns seriously both now and into the future,” Senator
Murray said during the hearing.
Last
week, Senator Murray chaired
a hearing of the Senate Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee to
investigate the failure of oil and gas companies to learn from previous
tragedies and implement effective worker safety processes. Today, Senator Murray spoke on the
floor
to urge the Senate
to move forward with eliminating the liability cap on big oil companies for
covering the cost of oil spills and to make the ban on West Coast drilling
permanent. Senator Murray also called on BP to put forward $20 billion to set
up an immediate fund for cleanup and damage compensation.
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