BP Whistleblower offers chilling testimony
I assume that most, if not all, Americans were as frustrated and offended by BP CEO Tony Hayward’s testimony yesterday as I was. Neither his verbal nor nonverbal behavior communicated any genuine sense of personal responsibility or anguish for what the families of 11 dead workers and the inhabitants of the Gulf region have suffered and continue to suffer. His testimony was not surprising in light of his earlier self-centered comment that he just wants to get his life back. Poor Tony. NOT.
Hayward’s too-business-like demeanor was offset by the emotion shown by Rep Joe Barton of Texas, who, vying, for “Thoughtless Political Game-Playing of the Year” actually apologized to BP for the administration leaning on BP to agree to an escrow account that would be ensure funds to compensate those affected by the environmental disaster. Barton was strong-armed by the Republicans to subsequently apologize for his apology and to retract it. Way to protect our citizens from greedy corporations, Barton!
While nothing useful got accomplished during the hearing, in another hearing, a former BP employee and whistleblower was providing useful testimony. Cryptome.org has uploaded a copy of the testimony of Kenneth W. Abbott to the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Hearing. It provides downright scary information and also details how when Abbott repeatedly tried to warn our government, our government failed to take action that might have prevented the recent tragedy.
Among the recommendations Abbott offers:
- No one presently at MMS should be allowed a regulatory position in the new agency. The culture of corruption and coziness appears too deep to be fixable.
- Regulatory personnel should not come from the rank of the industries being regulated; statutes should close the “revolving door.” The present Deputy Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management having direct supervision over MMS comes to the Department directly from BP. At BP, she was VP for BP America’s Health, Safety and Environment department which was responsible for the Alaska oil spills disaster, the Texas City disaster, and, now, of course the Deepwater Horizon disaster, to name only a few. It does not make sense for a person with that record to be placed in charge of enforcement, yet Secretary Salazar’s new “reorganization” of MMS leaves this same person in charge of the new enforcement office.
Read his whole testimony. It really is very troubling.
