The Oversight Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce committee meets to hear from Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP 11:00:00 MOST UPSETTING ABOUT THIS TRAVESTY IS THAT IT COULD HAVE 11:00:01 BEEN AVOIDED. AS THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION BY 11:00:04 THIS COMMITTEE HAS ALREADY DISCOVERED, BP EXECUTIVES CREATE 11:00:07 AND ATMOSPHERE WHERE SAFETY CONCERNS WERE IGNORED IN ORDER 11:00:12 TO ENSURE THAT THE COMPANY'S ALREADY STAGGERING PROFITS THIS 11:00:15 YEAR, APPROXIMATELY $93 MILLION A DAY IN THE FIRST QUARTER 11:00:20 CONTINUED UNABATED. THIS APPALLING DISREGARD FOR THE 11:00:23 GULF COAST AND ITS INHABITANTS IS ONE OF THE MOST SHAMEFUL 11:00:28 ACTEDS BY A CORPORATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 11:00:31 IT'S THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EXAMPLE OF BP'S DISREGARD FOR 11:00:34 THE ENVIRONMENT AND WELL BEING OF ITS WORKERS. 11:00:38 A REPORT PUBLISHED BY THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY FOUND THAT 11:00:42 BETWEEN JUNE 2007 AND FEBRUARY 2010, BP RECEIVED TOTAL OF 862 11:00:49 CITATION FROM THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH 11:00:51 ADMINISTRATION, OF THOSE A STAGGERING 76 WERE' GRECIAN AND 11:00:57 WILL WILFUL. COMPARED WITH EIGHT AT THE TWO 11:01:01 OIL COMPANIES TIED FOR SECOND PLACE. 11:01:03 THIS PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR CONTINUED IN THE SPILL'S 11:01:06 AFTERMATH. I HOLD IN MY HAND A DOCUMENT 11:01:10 CALLED VOLUNTARY WAIVER OF RELEASE THAT BP MADE UNEMPLOYED 11:01:15 FISHERMAN SIGN BEFORE THEY COULD BE HIRED FOR SPILL CLEANUP T 11:01:19 STATES I HEREBY AGREE ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND MY REPRESENTATIONS 11:01:24 TO HOLD HARMLESS INDEMNY IF I AND FOREVER DISCHARGE THE BP 11:01:31 EXPLORATION PRODUCTION INC. FROM ALL CLAIMS AND DAMAGES THAT I OR 11:01:35 MY REPRESENTATIVES MAY HAVE WITH REGARD TO THE PARTICIPATION IN 11:01:38 THE SPILL RESPONSE ACTIVITIES. I KNOW THAT YOU SAID THIS WAS AN 11:01:42 EARLY MISSTEP AND THAT THIS WAS JUST A STANDARD DOCUMENT, BUT 11:01:45 THIS IS WAS THE FIRST RESPONSE THAT YOU HAD TO PEOPLE THAT WERE 11:01:51 HIRED. AND OUTRAGE DOES NOT BEGIN TO 11:01:53 EXPRESS MY FEELING. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE 11:01:55 UNEMPLOYED BECAUSE OF THE RECKLESSNESS OF BP, FORCED TO 11:02:00 TAKE JOBS CLEANING UP BP. 'S MESS IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, YET 11:02:03 TO QUALIFY FOR THOSE JOBS THEY HAD TO HOLD BP HARMLESS FOR 11:02:07 EVERYONE FURTHER DAMAGES THEY MAY SUFFER IN BP'S EMPLOY. 11:02:11 THIS FROM A COMPANY THAT MADE $93 MILLION A DAY. 11:02:17 FORTUNATELY A COURT TRUMPED YOUR FANCY LAWYERS WHO WROTE THIS 11:02:19 DOCUMENT BUT STILL IT BEGS THE QUESTION HOW COULD YOU DO THAT? 11:02:23 I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE, MR. HAYWARD. 11:02:26 I SKBEKTS YOU TO EXPLAIN WHY YOUR COMPANY HAS OPERATED IN 11:02:29 SUCH A WHOLLY UNACCEPTABLE MANNER. 11:02:33 IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS THE SIMPLE FACT REMAINS IF BP THOUGHT MORE 11:02:36 ABOUT THE RESIDENTS AS THESE WIDOWS ASSISTANT WORKERS, AS 11:02:40 THESE WIDOWS SAID, RATHER THAN THE ALREADY EXORBITANT PROFITS 11:02:47 OF ITS SHAREHOLDERS, WE WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY. 11:02:49 I YIELD BACK. MR. LOTTA S FOR AN OPENING 11:02:55 STATEMENT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:02:57 RANKING MEMBER BURGESS, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS 11:03:01 SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING ON THE ROLE OF BP IN THE OIL RIG EXPLOSION 11:03:05 AND THE ONGOING EXPLOSION IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. 11:03:10 I ALSO WANT TO EXTEND MY HEARTFELT CONDOLENCE TO THE 11:03:13 FAMILIES OF THOSE WHO LOVE ONE LUVED ONES AN HAVE BEEN INJURED. 11:03:16 THE SCALE OF THE SPILL AND IMPACT ON THE GULF ECONOMY 11:03:19 ENVIRONMENT DEMAND A THOROUGH EXAMINATION OF BP'S ACTIONS AND 11:03:24 INACTIONS AS WELL AS BP'S CURRENT AND FUTURE PLANS. 11:03:28 THE FLOW OF OIL MUST BE STOPPED. EVERY DAY ANYWHERE FROM 35,000 11:03:33 TO 60,000 BARRELS ARE SPILLING INTO THE GULF AND ONLY 15,000 11:03:37 BARRELS A DAY ARE BEING CAPTURED. 11:03:39 THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON THE OIL SPILL ARE HARMING SHORELINES 11:03:43 AND COASTAL WETLANDS, FISHERIES AN FISHERY HABITATS AS WELL AS 11:03:48 SEA MAMMALS AED TURTLES. WHAT'S WORSE, WE WILL NOT FULLY 11:03:53 KNOW THE ECOLOGICAL RAMIFICATIONS OF THE OIL SPILL 11:03:56 UNTIL YEARS DOWN THE ROAD. FURTHER MORE, BUSINESSES 11:03:59 SUFFERING GREAT LOSSES INCLUDING JOB AND REVENUES DEPENDENT ON 11:04:04 TOURISM ARE BEING THREATENED. THE NOAA ANNOUNCED A REVISED 11:04:09 FISHING CLOSURE IN THE OIL AFFECTED PORTION OF THE GULF OF 11:04:13 MEXICO ACCOUNTING FOR 33% OF THE GULF OF MEXICO'S EXCLUSIVE 11:04:17 ECONOMIC ZONE. AS OIL CONTINUES TO FLOW THIS 11:04:19 YEAH IS SURE TONE LARGE FURTHER EXASPERATING THE ECONOMIC 11:04:25 DAMAGE. A RECENT ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY 11:04:28 BY THE AMERICAN SPORT FISHING ASSOCIATION INDICATED THAT THE 11:04:33 ENFIRE GULF WERE CLOSED TO RECREATIONAL FISHING FROM MAY 11:04:36 THROUGH AUGUST. LEAVING $WIN.WIN BILLION OF 11:04:40 REVENUE WHICH SUPPORTS $2.5 BILLION IN TOTAL SALES, AND 11:04:55 18,785 JOBS. THIS IS DEVASTATING TO AN AREA 11:04:58 THAT HAS ALREADY SUFFERED GREATLY FROM THE AFTERMATH OF 11:05:01 NATURAL DISASTERS. AMERICANS CONTINUE BE TO BE 11:05:04 FRUSTRATED FROM THE LACK OF SOLUTION FROM ALL PARTIES 11:05:06 INVOLVED AND I'M INTERESTED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE COORDINATED 11:05:09 EFFORTS BETWEEN BP AND THE ADMINISTRATION. 11:05:11 THE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL MAGNITUDE OF THIS DISASTER 11:05:14 NECESSITATES A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WENT WRONG 11:05:16 AND BP NEEDS TON HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE DISASTER. 11:05:21 I ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING MMS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF 11:05:25 INTERIOR BEFORE THIS SUBCOMMITTEE TO ALSO FOR THEM TO 11:05:28 ANSWER SOME TOUGH QUESTIONING. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE HEARING, 11:05:31 MR. HAYWARD'S TESTIMONY AND I YIELD BACK THE REMAINDER OF MY 11:05:34 TIME. THANK YOU. 11:05:37 THANKS, MR. LATTA MR. ROSS, THREE MINUTES OPENING STATEMENT, 11:05:42 PLEASE, SIR. THANK YOU. 11:05:44 CHAIRMAN STUPAK FOR HOLDING TODAY'S HEARING TO EXAMINE BP'S 11:05:48 ACTIONS AND DECISIONS THAT DIRECTLY LED TO THE TLACH MAGIC 11:05:53 EXPLOSION AND OIL SPILL THAT CONTINUES TO GUSH AND WREAK 11:05:58 HAVOC ON THE GULF COAST. AT A RATE OF UP TO 1700 GALLONS 11:06:10 WE ARE MINUTE. SINCE THIS HEARING BEGAN A 11:06:12 LITTLE OVER AN HOUR AGO, UP TO 112,847 GALLONS HAVE BEEN DUMPED 11:06:21 INTO THE GULF. ON DAY 59 OF THIS ECONOMIC AND 11:06:26 ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER, WITH UP TO 60,000 BARRELS OF DAY 11:06:30 SPILLING INTO THE GULF, I CONTINUE TO BE FRUSTRATED AND 11:06:33 DOWNRIGHT ANGRY BY BP'S RESPONSE AND LACK OF A CLEAR AND 11:06:37 PRODUCTIVE PLAN TO STOP THE LEAK OR EFFICIENTLY CLEAN UP THE OIL 11:06:41 THAT IS DESTROYING THE ECOSYSTEMS THAT SURROUND THE 11:06:45 GULF. REPORTS HAVE SURFACED REVEALING 11:06:48 THAT IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS BEFORE THE EXPLOSION BP 11:06:51 KNOWINGLY MADE A NUMBER OF DECISIONS THAT INCREASED THE 11:06:55 DANGER OF AN EXPLOSION AND SPILL OCCURRING. 11:06:59 IT SEEMS APPARENT THAT BP PUT PROFIT BEFORE SAFETY, MANY 11:07:05 PEOPLE ARE DEAD. MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF OIL 11:07:08 CONTINUE TO SPEW INTO THE GULF. I'M HOPEFUL THAT MR. HAYWARD CAN 11:07:14 EXPLAIN TODAY WHY THESE DECISIONS WERE MADE, HOW THIS 11:07:17 COMPANY'S ACTIONS LED TO THIS DISASTER AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING 11:07:20 TO REMEDY IT. AS OIL FLOATS INTO THE MARSHES 11:07:25 AND ONTO THE BEACHES, AS SHRIMPING VESSELS SIT TIED TO 11:07:30 DOCKS, AS RESTAURANTS AND BUSINESSES DURING THEIR PEAK 11:07:33 SEASON REMAIN WITHOUT TOURISTS AND CUSTOMERS, AND AS HOMEOWNERS 11:07:39 SEE THEIR PROPERTY VALUES PLUMMET, THE PEOPLE AND WILD 11:07:43 LIFE OF THE GULF COAST WAIT AND WONDER ABOUT HOW EXTENSIVE THE 11:07:50 DAMAGE TO THE ECOSYSTEM OR THE ECONOMY WILL BE. 11:07:55 THIS BILL IS NOT ONLY AFFECTING THE GULF COAST, THE JOBS AND 11:08:00 ECONOMIES OF THIS SURROUNDING STATES ARE HURTING AS WELL. 11:08:04 MY STATE OF ARKANSAS BORDERS LOUISIANA. 11:08:08 AND MANY OF MY CONSTITUENTS, PEOPLE I KNOW IN MY HOMETOWN 11:08:13 WORK ON OFFSHORE RIGS. THESE JOBS ARE ALSO AT RISK AND 11:08:17 I HOPE BP WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL THOSE WHO 11:08:22 ARE AFFECTED BY THIS SPILL REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY LIVE. 11:08:26 AND WORK TO HELP PULL THEM THROUGH THIS DISASTER AS WELL. 11:08:30 THIS SPILL IS A WAKE-UP CALL THAT MUST RESULT IN BETTER 11:08:35 GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT. MORE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, 11:08:37 STRONGER RESPONSE PLANS AND IMPROVED SAFETY STANDARDS. 11:08:42 NOT ONLY BY BP AND EVERY OIL COMPANY IN AMERICA BUT ALSO BY 11:08:47 OUR GOVERNMENT. ABOVE ALL, THIS DISASTER IS A 11:08:50 LEARNING EXPERIENCE THAT WILL HELP US PREVENT A TRAGEDY LIKE 11:08:53 THIS FROM EVER HAPPENING AGAIN. AND I'M HOPEFUL THIS HEARING CAN 11:08:57 PROVIDE THE ANSWER AND SOLUTIONS NECESSARY TO BEGIN THAT PROCESS. 11:09:03 MR. HAYWARD, I TRULY HOPE THAT YOU'LL GIVE US OPEN AND HONEST 11:09:06 ANSWERS TODAY AND NOT THOSE PREPARED BY YOUR LEGAL TEAM. 11:09:10 WITH THAT MR. CHAIRMAN, I YIELD BACK. 11:09:13 THANK YOU, MR. ROSS. NEXT I WOULD LIKE TO CALL ON 11:09:16 MISS CHRISTENSEN FROM VIRGIN ISLANDS FOR AN OPENING 11:09:19 STATEMENT, PLEASE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:09:21 AND THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS IMPORTANT HEARING. 11:09:23 THE EXPLOSION ON THE DEEP WATER PLATFORM AND THE SUB SUBSEQUENT 11:09:27 OUTPOURING OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF OIL INTO 11:09:30 ONE OF THE MOST SENSITIVE AND IMPORTANT BODIES OF WATER IN 11:09:33 THIS COUNTRY IS INDEED A TRAGIC ACCIDENT WHICH CAUSED 11 DEATHS, 11:09:38 MANY INJURIES LEFT-HAND HAVE DEEP, LONG LASTING DEBILITATING 11:09:42 AND EXPENSIVE REPERCUSSION, THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY NEED IT 11:09:45 KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE. 11:09:48 ALL THAT HAS TRANSPIRED SINCE APRIL 20th SAYS TO ME THAT NOT 11:09:52 ONLY BP BUT NO COUNTRY DRILLING IN OUR OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 11:09:56 IS PREPARED TO DEAL WITH A SPILL AT THIS DEPTH. 11:09:59 THEY'RE ALL, THERE USING THE BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY AND 11:10:05 STILL 59 DAYS LATER AN END IS NOT IN SIGHTS. 11:10:08 THIS IS NOT SKAEMENTABLE. WHAT HAS ALSO BECOME CLEAR IS 11:10:11 THAT WHILE BP REPORTEDLY USED SHORTCUTS THEY WERE WARNED NOT 11:10:15 TO WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSED THE SPILL, THEY'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES 11:10:20 AT FAULT. THEY COULD NOT HAVE CUT THOSE 11:10:22 CORNERS WITHOUT THE COMPLICITY OF EMPLOYEES AT SOME OF THE 11:10:26 RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WHO DID NOT DO THEIR JOB. 11:10:29 WE'RE ALL APPALLED THAT LIVES ARE LOST BY DECISIONS MADE 11:10:32 APPARENTLY IN THE INTEREST OF CUTTING COSTS, BUT ALSO BY THE 11:10:35 LACK OF ADEQUATE PREPARATION FOR THIS WORST CASE SCENARIO WE ARE 11:10:40 FACING TODAY. THE FACT THAT THE INDUSTRY DOES 11:10:42 NOT ENSURE THAT RESPONSE TECHNOLOGY KEPT PACE WITH DEEPER 11:10:46 DRILL WELLS LAYS BLAME AT ALL OF THEIR FEET, BUT WE CAN STILL NOT 11:10:50 IGNORE THE DECISIONS BIMADE BY BP, IF THEY HAD BEEN DIFFERENT 11:10:54 11 PEOPLE MIGHT STILL BE ALIVE TODAY. 11:10:58 WE WITH OUR CONGRESS ALONG WITH THE FRED WHO HAS HAD MORE OF HIS 11:11:02 SHARE OF CRISIS NOT OF HIS MAKING HAVE MAKE CHALLENGES AND 11:11:08 CRITICAL AHEAD. I HOPE THE MANY WHO DIED, THE 11:11:11 AFFECTED FAMILIES AND NOW WHO NOW DEPEND ON OCS PLATFORMS FOR 11:11:17 THEIR LIVELIHOOD, THIS AND OF THE HEARINGS WILL HELP US GO 11:11:21 BEYOND A KNEE-JERK REACTION TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE 11:11:23 REGION AND OUR COUNTRY. THAT BP AND ANY OTHER 11:11:27 RESPONSIBLE PARTY WILL BE HELD FULLY ACCOUNTABLE AND 11:11:30 RESPONSIBLE AND THAT PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS COMPANIES WILL 11:11:33 LEARN IMPORTANT LESSONS TO ENSURE THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN 11:11:35 AGAIN. I WANT TO THANK YOU, MR. HAYWARD 11:11:38 FOR BEING HERE, I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR TESTIMONY AND FULL 11:11:41 ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS WE WILL ASK ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE IN 11:11:43 THE REGION AND ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 11:11:46 I YIELD BACK. THANK YOU. 11:11:48 MR. WELCH, OPENING STATEMENT, PLEASE. 11:11:50 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. MR. HAYWARD, IN THE 49 DAYS 11:11:55 SINCE THE DEEP WATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 'CAUSED THIS 11:12:00 EXTRAORDINARY ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE, WE'VE HEARD TIME 11:12:02 AND AGAIN FROM BP THIS WAS AN ABRATION, THE FACTS REGRETTABLY 11:12:08 TELL A DIFFERENT STORY. IN 2005, WHEN BP'S TEXAS CITY 11:12:13 OPERATION BLEW UP, 14 WORKERS LOST THEIR LIVES N 2006, A BP 11:12:17 OIL PIPELINE IN TEXAS RUPTURED AND SPILLED 200,000 GALLONS OF 11:12:23 CRUDE OIL N IN 2007, THE YEAR YOU BECAME CEO, THE BP 11:12:27 CORPORATION SETTLED A SERIES OF CRIMINAL CHARCHGS NOT CIVIL 11:12:30 CHARGE, KRILL UNANIMOUS CHARGE AND PAID $370 MILLION IN FINES. 11:12:36 ACCORDING TO RISK MET TRI, AN INDEPENDENT OKAY, BP HAS ONE OF 11:12:40 THE WORST HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY RECORDS OF ANY 11:12:43 COMPANY IN THE WORLD N ONLY ONE YEAR, THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 11:12:47 AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION FOUND MORE THAN 700 VIOLATIONS AT BP'S 11:12:52 TEXAS CITY REFINERY AND BP PAID A RECORD $87 MILLION IN A FINE. 11:13:00 BP WAS CHARGED WITH PUTTING PROFITS BEFORE SAFETY. 11:13:02 EARLIER THIS YEAR, A REFINERY IN TOLEDO WAS FINED $3 MILLION FOR 11:13:10 WILLFUL SAFETY VIOLATIONS INCLUDING THE USE OF VALVES THAT 11:13:12 CONTRIBUTED TO THE TEXAS CITY BLAST. 11:13:13 FINALLY, OF COURSE, THE DEEP WATER HORIZON CATASTROPHE AND 11:13:17 MORE EVIDENCE THAT COMES IN, THE MORE IT'S CLEAR THAT THAT EVENT 11:13:20 WAS FORESEEABLE AND IT WAS AVOIDABLE. 11:13:23 AFTER THE EXPLOSION, BP SAID THERE WAS NO OIL LEAKING, THEN 11:13:28 IT SAID THERE WAS 1,000 BARRELS A DYE. 11:13:32 THEN 5,000, WE'RE NOW UP TO 60,000 BARRELS. 11:13:39 FOR 59 DAYS, BP HAS TOLD THE AMERICAN THIS WAS ABRATION. 11:13:56 IT'S DEJA VU AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. 11:13:59 THE QUESTION MANY OF US HAVE IS WHETHER A CEO WHO HAS PRESIDED 11:14:04 OVER A COMPANY THAT HAS INCURRED $370 MILLION IN FINES, A COMPANY 11:14:12 WITH ONE OF THE WORST RECORDS IN THE WORLD FOR SAFETY AND 11:14:13 CONSISTENTLY PUTS MONEY AHEAD OF SAFETY, WHO'S PEERS INCLUDING 11:14:16 MR. TILLERSON FROM EXXONMOBIL WHO TESTIFIED WHERE YOU ARE TWO 11:14:20 DAYS AGO, SAID THEY NEVER, THAT THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE DRILLED A 11:14:25 WELL THE WAY BP DID AT DEEP WATER HORIZON AND WHO HAS CEOS 11:14:29 TO HASS PRESIDED OVER THE DESTRUCTION OF OVER $100 BILLION 11:14:36 IN SHAREHOLD EVER VALUE. DOES THAT LEADER CONTINUE TO 11:14:39 ENJOY AND HAVE A VALID CLAIM ON THE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE OF 11:14:44 EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, PUBLIC REGULAORS AND MOST IMPORTANT 11:14:48 LIT FAMILIES AND SMALL BUSINESS OF THE GULF COAST? 11:14:51 OR IS IT TIME FRANKLY TO THAT CEO TO CONSIDER TO SUBMIT HIS 11:14:55 SAYS RIG NATION? I THANK YOU AND YIELD BACK. 11:14:59 THANK YOU. MR. GREENE FOR AN OPENING 11:15:01 STATEMENT, PLEASE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:15:03 MR. HAYWARD, I APPRECIATE YOUR TESTIMONY OR BEING HERE THIS 11:15:06 MORNING. AND MOST PEOPLE ON THIS 11:15:08 COMMITTEE KNOW I'M A BIG SUPPORTER OF OUTER CONTINENTAL 11:15:11 SHELF DRILLING AND DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION. 11:15:15 AND I UNDERSTAND FROM YOUR TESTIMONY IN OUR OTHER HEARINGS 11:15:18 WE'VE HELD IN MEETINGS WITH THE ADMINISTRATION THAT EFFORTS TO 11:15:21 CAP THE WELL ARE GOING AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE 11:15:28 HOWEVER LIKE MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE, I'M FRUSTRATED 11:15:30 THAT DID IT'S BEEN ALMOST TWO MONTHS AND WE STILL HAVE 11:15:34 THOUSANDS OF BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL GUSHING IN THE GULF OF 11:15:39 MEXICO. I'M FRUSTRATED BY THE THREAT OF 11:15:40 DISASTER IMPACTS OUR WILDLIFE AND COAST LINE. 11:15:45 I'M FRUSTRATED THAT ONE WELL OUT OF THOUSANDS OF WELLS IS 11:15:49 THREATENING MY CONSTITUENTS' LIVELY HOOD AND MOST COMMUNITIES 11:15:53 ON GULF COAST. LITERALLY FROM ALABAMA BACK TO 11:15:55 BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS. THIS DISASTER HAS CAUSED THE OIL 11:15:59 AND GAS INDUSTRY TO SHUT DOWN EVEN IF THE MORATORIUM DOES NOT 11:16:03 LAST SIX MONTHS IT WILL BE TOO LATE FOR MANY OF THESE FOLKS, 11:16:07 BUT THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT THE ONES TO BLAME. 11:16:09 THEY'RE THE HARD WORKING PEOPLE WITH A WORK ETHIC LIKE NONE 11:16:13 OTHER THAN TAKE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY ON THESE RIGS 11:16:15 SERIOUSLY. HOWEVER, KOORDING TO THE 11:16:18 INVESTIGATION THIS SUBCOMMITTEE CONDUCTED IT'S OBVIOUS MANY BP 11:16:21 OFFICIALS ON AND OFF THE RIG DID NOT TAKE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY OF 11:16:26 THIS RIG SERIOUSLY. HALLIBURTON WARNED THE DECISIONS 11:16:34 COULD LEAD TO SERIOUS PROBLEM AND NOW PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR 11:16:39 JOBS. THEY COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED 11:16:41 IF BMPLT P HAD NOT CHOSEN EXPED YENSY OVER SAY. 11:16:46 WHICH BRINGS MY NEXT POINT. WHETHER IT'S THE FIRE WHERE 15 11:16:50 PEOPLE DIED, TIME AFTER TIME, IT'S SHOWN THAT BP CHOOSES EXPED 11:16:56 YENSY OVER SAMPLT YET, MR. HAYWARD, IN YOUR TESTIMONY 11:16:58 YOU WRITE, NONE OF US KNOWS WHY IT HAPPENED. 11:17:01 YET THIS SUBCOMMITTEE UNCOVERED FIVE AIR YEARS WHERE BP MADE 11:17:07 MISTAKES. I ADD UP THE HOURS THAT THESE 11:17:10 EXTRA PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS WOULD HAVE TAKEN AND IT COMES TO 11:17:13 BE TO ABOUT THREE TO FOUR DAY, THAT'S ASSUMING MANY OF THESE 11:17:16 ACTIONS WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED SIMULTANEOUSLY, WHICH THEY COULD 11:17:20 HAVE. FOR AN EXTRA THREE DAYS OF WORK, 11:17:23 MEN'S LIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN SARCHD AN INDUSTRY RECORD OF 11:17:27 SAFETY AND RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION WOULD STILL BE IN 11:17:30 PLACE WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY LAST POINT. 11:17:32 IN YOUR TESTIMONY, MR. HAYWARD, YOU SAY THIS INCIDENT KAUL $INTO 11:17:36 QUESTION WHETHER THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY DID EXPLORE FOR OIL AND 11:17:39 GAS IN SAFER MORE RELIABLE WAYS AND WHAT THE APPROPRIATE 11:17:43 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE INDUSTRY SHOULD BE. 11:17:45 MR. HAYWARD, THE DECISIONS MADE BY HANDFUL OF BP INDIVIDUALS 11:17:49 CALLED THIS INTO QUESTION, NOT THIS ACCIDENT, AND YOU SHOULD 11:17:52 TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WORKERS WHO DID NOTHING WRONG 11:17:55 AND ARE NOW LOSING THEIR JOBS. AND MR. CHAIRMAN, I YIELD BACK 11:17:59 MY TIME. THANK YOU, MR. GREEN. 11:18:02 MISS SUTTON FOR AROUND OPENING STATEMENT. 11:18:04 THREE MINUTE, PLEASE. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN STUPAK. 11:18:07 IT'S BEEN NEARLY TWO MONTHS SINCE THE EXPLOSION OF THE DEEP 11:18:11 WATER HORIZON DRILLING RIG RESULTING IN THE DEATH S OF 11 11:18:16 WORKERS AND INJURED ADDITIONAL WORKERS. 11:18:19 SINCE THEN, WE'VE WITNESSED THE WORST ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER IN 11:18:22 OUR NATION'S HISTORY, THAT CONTINUES TO POUR AN ESTIMATED 11:18:27 60,000 BARRELS OF OIL A DAY INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO. 11:18:28 THAT HAS LED TO OVER 66,000 VICTIMS FILING CLAIMS TO RECEIVE 11:18:35 COMPENSATION. THROUGH THIS SUBCOMMITTEE'S 11:18:36 WORK, SEVERAL ALARMING DECISIONS BY BP HAVE COME TO LIGHT TO SAVE 11:18:41 MONEY AND TIME. IT'S UNCONSCIONABLE WHEN 11:18:45 COMPANIES PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THEIR COMFORTS AND THEIR PROFITS 11:18:48 THAN TO THEIR OWN WORKERS' SAFETY AND TO OUR ENVIRONMENT. 11:18:53 AT OUR LAST HEARING ONE WITNESS FROM TRANSOCEAN TESTIFIED THAT A 11:18:57 DUPLICATE BLOWOUT PREVENTER SYSTEM COMFORTS ROUGH $15 11:19:04 MILLION NOT USED ON THE DEEP WATER HORIZON RIG. 11:19:07 BP ALSO UTILIZED A RISKY OPTION FOR STEEL TUBING SAVING $7 11:19:12 MILLION. BP DID NOT CIRCULATE DRILLING 11:19:15 MUD OR SECURE CASING HANGERS BETWEEN BIOPSIES OF DIFFERENT 11:19:20 DIME TERSE AND CRITICAL SIGNALS WERE BRUSHED ASIDE. 11:19:23 WHEN STANDARD METHODS WERE NOT FOLLOWED TO CENTER THE STEEL 11:19:26 PIPE IN THE DRILL HOLE, ONE OF BP'S OPERATIONS DRILLING 11:19:30 ENGINEERS REMARKED IN AN E-MAIL, QUOTE, WHO CARES? 11:19:36 IT'S DONE. END OF STORY. 11:19:39 BUT THESE CUT CORNERS HAVE BEEN ANYTHING BUT THE END OF THE 11:19:42 STORY. AS THE WORKERS AND VOLUNTEERS 11:19:44 FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY HELP CLEAN UP THE OIL FROM THE 11:19:47 DISASTER, MANY ARE BECOMING ILL. BETWEEN APRIL 22 AND JUNE 10, 8 11:19:59 485 OF BP'S OWN EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN ILL. 11:20:04 AND THE MONEY HAS LONG BEEN LOST AS THEY ALREADY PAID $81 MILLION 11:20:09 IN CLAIMS. MR. HAYWARD, LIKE MANY 11:20:11 AMERICANS, I FEEL PHYSICALLY SICK WHEN I SEE THE CLIPS OF THE 11:20:17 OIL GUSHING IN THE GULF. WITNESSING THE DEVASTATION OF 11:20:19 OUR WATERS AND OUR COAST. AND THE WILDLIFE. 11:20:24 THINKING ABOUT THE LIVES OF THE WORKERS KILLED. 11:20:27 AND HEARING AND SEEING THE PAIN IN THE FACE AND THE HEARTS OF 11:20:31 THE PEOPLE, THE FAMILIES, THE SMALL BUSINESSES, THE FISHERMEN 11:20:36 AND OTHERS IN THE GULF. ALL CONSEQUENCE OF THIS 11:20:41 CATASTROPHE. THIS CULTURE OF CARELESSNESS AND 11:20:44 TAKING SHORTCUTS TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS AT THE EXPENSE OF 11:20:50 SAFETY, THIS COME WHAT MAY, WE'LL CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN WE 11:20:54 COME TO IT ATTITUDE IS UNACCEPT ABILITY, IT'S OUTRAGEOUS. 11:20:58 BP MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT APPROACH 11:21:01 AND WE MUST TAKE ACTIONS NECESSARY ON BEHALF OF THE 11:21:05 AMERICAN PEOPLE TO MAKE SURE THAT SUCH A RECKLESS APPROACH 11:21:09 WILL BE FOREVER ABANDONED. THE RISKS AND COSTS TO OUR 11:21:13 ENVIRONMENT AND TO THE WORKERS IN THE GULF COAST, TO THE 11:21:16 WORKERS THROUGHOUT OUR ECONOMY ARE SIMPLY TOO GREAT TO ALLOW 11:21:19 OTHERWISE. I YIELD BACK. 11:21:23 THANK YOU, MISS SUTTON THAT CONCLUDES THE OPENING STATEMENTS 11:21:27 OF ALL MEMBERS OF OUR SUBCOMMITTEE. 11:21:29 AS I NOTED IN THE OPENING, AS I NOTED IN THE OPENING, WE HAVE 11:21:33 MEMBERS OF THE FULL COMMITTEE HERE, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE 11:21:36 THEM. THEY WILL BE ALLOWED TO ASK 11:21:38 QUESTIONS BY ORDER OF SENIORITY. M 11:21:44 MR. ENSLY IS HERE. MISS CAST, MR. GONZALEZ, MISS 11:21:50 CAPPS, MR. HARMON, MS. WIENER, AND MR. SCALISE. 11:21:59 THEY ALSO HOST THE FIELD HEARING IN NEW ORLEANS, WE HAD NINE 11:22:05 MEMBERS GO DOWN IN ONE OF THE LARGEST FIELD HEARINGS WE'VE HAD 11:22:08 SO YOU CAN SEE THE INTEREST HERE. 11:22:11 I ALSO NOTE, MISS JACKSON LEE IS WITH US, NOT A MEMBER OF 11:22:14 THE COMMITTEE, SHE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ASK QUESTION, BUT WE 11:22:19 WELCOME HER AND SHE'S SAT IN ON PREVIOUS HEARINGS WE'VE HAD. 11:22:22 SO OUR FIRST WITNESS IS MR. TONY HIGH HAYWARD WHO IS THE CHIEF 11:22:29 EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF BP PLC. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE ADVISED 11:22:40 BY COUNSEL DURING YOUR TESTIMONY. 11:22:42 DO YOU WISH TO BE REPRESENTED BY LEGAL COUNSEL? 11:22:45 I'M SORRY, YOU HAVE TO JUST PRESS THAT BUTTON RIGHT THERE, 11:22:49 SIR. POSITIVE DYE NOT. 11:22:51 WE ALSO ASKED IF YOU WOULD HAVE A TECHNICAL PERSON WITH YOU 11:22:54 SO YOU COULD CONSULT IF WE ASK SOME QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT TO 11:22:57 RUN IT BY YOUR TECHNICAL PERSON. DO YOU HAVE A TECHNICAL PERSON 11:23:01 WITH YOU? I DO. 11:23:02 COULD YOU STATE HIS NAME AND POSITION FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE. 11:23:05 MIKE ZANGEY, DRILLING ENGINEER. 11:23:08 DURING YOUR TESTIMONY, IF YOU WANT TO CONSULT WITH THAT 11:23:13 INDIVIDUAL, PLEASE LET US KNOW, WE'LL GIVE YOU A MOMENT TO DO SO 11:23:15 BEFORE YOU ANSWER BUT YOU'LL BE ONLY ONE WHO COULD ANSWER THE 11:23:19 QUESTION. IS THAT CLEAR? 11:23:21 THANK YOU. MR. HAYWARD, I'M GOING ASK YOU 11:23:23 TO PLEASE RISE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND TAKE THE OATH. 11:23:29 DO YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM THE TESTIMONY YOU'RE ABOUT TO GIVE 11:23:33 TO BE THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, THE 11:23:36 MATTER PENDING BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE. 11:23:38 I DO. LET THE RECORD REFLECT THE 11:23:40 WITNESS ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. 11:23:41 MR. HAYWARD, YOU ARE NOW UNDER OENCHT WE WOULD LIKE IT HEAR AN 11:23:45 OPENING STATEMENT FROM YOU. YOU MAY SUBMIT A LONGER 11:23:49 STATEMENT IF YOU WILL FOR THE RECORD BUT IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE 11:23:53 BEGIN YOUR OPENING STATEMENT AND LET ME AGAIN ON BEHALF OF ALL 11:23:55 MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE WE APPRECIATE WILLINGNESS TO APPEAR 11:24:01 HERE TODAY. CHAIRMAN STUPAK -- RANKING 11:24:07 MEMBERS. SUSPEND, PLEASE, SIR. 11:24:18 YOU NEED TO GO TO JAIL! [ INAUDIBLE ]. 11:24:27 MA'AM -- SHE'S A SHRIMPER. 11:24:55 HER WHOLE LIFE IS -- BE CAREFUL. 11:25:10 LET THEM GET THROUGH. BEFORE WE BEGIN AGAIN WITH 11:25:51 MR. HAYWARD, LET ME JUST AGAIN MENTION THOSE VIEWERS IN OUR 11:25:57 AUDIENCE, EMOTION RUN HIGH ON THIS ISSUE. 11:25:58 BUT WE HAVE A HEARING TO CONDUCT HERE. 11:26:00 WE'RE GOING TO CONDUCT OUR HEARING. 11:26:02 IT'S GOING TO BE DONE WITH PROPER DECORUM. 11:26:05 MR. HAYWARD, WHEN YOU'RE READY WE'RE GROWING TO START THE CLOCK 11:26:09 OVER, YOU MAY BEGIN. CHAIRMAN WAXMAN, CHAIRMAN 11:26:12 STUPAK, RANKING MEMBER BURGESS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. 11:26:16 I'M TONY HAYWARD, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF BP. 11:26:21 THE EXPLOSION AND FIRE ABOARD THE DEEP WATER HORIZON AND THE 11:26:24 RESULTING OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO -- 11:26:26 EXCUSE ME, MR. HAYWARD, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO PULL THAT 11:26:29 UP, SOME OF THE MEMBERS ARE HAVING TROUBLE HEARING IT'S 11:26:32 PROBABLY OVER THE CLICKING OF THE CAMERAS, BUT WE'RE VAG 11:26:34 TROUBLE HEARING YOU. IF YOU COULD JUST PULL IT 11:26:37 CLOSER. THE EXPLOSION AND FIRE ABOARD 11:26:39 THE DEEP WATER HORIZON AND THE RESULTING OIL SPILL IN THE GULF 11:26:42 OF MEXICO. NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPEN AND OAR 11:26:44 AND I'M DEEPLY SORRY THAT IT DID. 11:26:46 WHEN I LERNT THAT 11 MEN HAD LOST THEIR LIVES, I WAS 11:26:50 PERSONALLY DEVASTATED. THREE WEEK $AGO, I ATTENDED A 11:26:54 MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THOSE MEN AND IT WAS A SHATTERING MOMENT. 11:26:59 I WANT TO OFFER MY SINCERE CONDOLENCE TO THEIR FRIENDS AND 11:27:04 FAMILIES. I CAN ONLY BEGIN TO IMAGINE 11:27:06 THEIR SORROW. I UNDERSTAND HOW SERIOUS THIS 11:27:11 SITUATION IS. IT IS A TRAGEDY. 11:27:14 I WANT TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE SPEM WHO LIVE AND WORK IN THE 11:27:19 GULF REGION. I KNOW THIS INCIDENT HAS HAD A 11:27:23 PROFOUND IMPACT ON YOUR LIVES CAUSED GREAT TURMOIL AND I 11:27:29 DEEPLY REGRET THAT I ALSO DEEPLY REGRET THE IMPACT THE SPILL HAS 11:27:35 HAD ON THE ENVIRONMENT, THE WILD 11:27:41 LIFE AND THE ECOSYSTEM OF THE GULF. 11:27:44 I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU AND PUBLIC 11:27:47 ARE RIGHTLY ASKING. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? 11:27:50 HOW DAMAGING IS THE SPILL TO THE ENVIRONMENT? 11:27:54 WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG TO STOP THE FLOW OF OIL AND GAS INTO THE 11:27:58 GULF? WE DON'T YET HAVE ALL THE 11:27:59 ANSWERS TO THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS, BUT I HEAR AND 11:28:03 UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS, FRUSTRATIONS AND ANGER BEING 11:28:08 VOICED ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND I KNOW THAT THESE SENTIMENTS 11:28:12 WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE LEAK IS STOP AND UNTIL WE PROVE THROUGH 11:28:15 OUR ACTIONS THAT WE ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING. 11:28:20 YESTERDAY, WE MET WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 11:28:23 AND HIS SENIOR ADVISERS. WE DISCUSSED HOW BP COULD BE 11:28:27 MORE CONSTRUCTIVE IN THE GOVERNMENT'S DESIRE TO BRING 11:28:30 MORE COMFORT AND ASSURANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE GULF COAST 11:28:34 BEYOND THE ACTIVITY WE'VE ALREADY DONE. 11:28:39 WE AGREED IN THAT MEETING TO CREATE A $20 BILLION CLAIMS FUND 11:28:42 TO COMPENSATE THE AFFECTED PARTY AND PAY FOR THE CLEANUP AND 11:28:53 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION SAID ALL ALONG WE WOULD PAY THESE 11:28:54 COMFORTS AND NOW THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN BE CONFIDENT THAT OUR 11:28:58 WORD IS GOOD. I'VE BEEN TO THE GULF COAST. 11:29:04 I'VE MET WITH FISHERMEN. BUSINESS OWNERS AND FAMILIES. 11:29:09 I UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH AND I PROMISED THEM AS 11:29:15 I'M PROMISING YOU THAT WE WILL MAKE THIS RIGHT. 11:29:18 AFTER YESTERDAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT, I HOPE THAT THEY FEEL WE'RE ON 11:29:22 THE RIGHT TRACK. I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE I HAVE A 11:29:28 RESPONSIBILITY TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO DO MY BEST TO EXPLAIN 11:29:32 WHAT BMPLT P HAS DONE, IS DOING AND WILL DO IN THE FUTURE TO 11:29:37 RESPOND TO THIS TERRIBLE ACCIDENT. 11:29:41 FIRST, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SECURE THE WELL AND IN 11:29:46 THE MEANTIME CONTAIN THE FLOW OF OIL. 11:29:48 WE'RE CURRENTLY DRILLING TWO RELIEF WELLS, WE BELIEVE THEY 11:29:52 REPRESENT THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION. WE EXPECT THIS TO BE COMPLETE IN 11:29:58 AUGUST. SIMULTANEOUSLY, WE'VE BEEN 11:30:01 WORKING ON PARALLEL STRATEGIES TO MINIMIZE OR STOP THE FLOW OF 11:30:04 OIL. WHILE NOT ALL HAVE BEEN MET WITH 11:30:06 SUCCESS, IT APPEARS THAT OUR LATEST CONTAINMENT EFFORT IS NOW 11:30:11 CONTAINING ABOUT 20,000 BARRELS A DAY. 11:30:13 BY THE END OF JUNE, WE EXPECT TO HAVE EQUIPMENT IN PLACE TO 11:30:19 HANDLE BETWEEN 40,000 AND 50,000 BARRELS A DAY. 11:30:26 SECOND, I'VE BEEN CLEAR THAT WE WILL PAY ALL NECESSARY CLEANUP 11:30:30 COMFORTS. WE'VE MOUNTED WHAT THE COAST 11:30:32 GUARD HAS RECOGNIZED AS THE LARGEST SPILL RESPONSE IN 11:30:36 HISTORY. WE'VE BEEN WORKING HARD ON THE 11:30:39 LEADERSHIP UNDER UNIFIED COMMAND TO STOP THE OIL FROM COMING 11:30:45 ASHORE. WHILST WE'RE GRATEFUL THESE 11:30:47 EFFORTS ARE REDUCING THE IMPACTS OF THE SPILL, ANY OIL ON THE 11:30:50 SHORE IS DEEPLY DISTRESSING. WE WILL BE VIGILANT IN OUR 11:30:55 CLEANUP. THI,D AS I HAVE MADE CLEAR FROM 11:30:58 THE BEGINNING, WE WILL PAY ALL LEGITIMATE CLAIMS FOR LOSSES AND 11:31:00 DAMPS CAUSED BY THE SPILL. THOSE ARE NOT JUST WORDS. 11:31:05 WE'VE ALREADY PAID OUT MORE THAN $95 MILLION AND WE'VE ANNOUNCED 11:31:09 AN INDEPENDENT CLAIMS FACILITY HEADED BY KEN FEINBERG TO ENSURE 11:31:14 THE PROCESS IS AS FAIR, TRANSPARENT AND RAPID AS 11:31:20 POSSIBLE. FOURTH, WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT 11:31:22 WENT WRONG. SO THAT WE AS A COMPANY AND WE 11:31:26 AS AN INDUSTRY CAN DO BETTER. THAT IS WHY LESS THAN 24 HOURS 11:31:33 AFTER THE ACCIDENT I COMMISSIONED A NONPRIMPD 11:31:35 INVESTIGATION. DIE IT BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW 11:31:37 WHAT HAPPENED AND I WANT TO SHARE THE RESULTS. 11:31:41 RIGHT NOW, IT'S SIMPLY TOO EARLY TO SAY WHAT CAUSED THE INCIDENT. 11:31:46 THERE IS STILL EXTENSIVE WORK TO DO. 11:31:48 A FULL ANSWER MUST AWAIT THE OUTCOME OF MULTIPLE 11:31:53 INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDING THE MARINE BOARD. 11:31:56 TO SUM UP, I UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION AND 11:32:01 THE CONCERNS, FRUSTRATIONS AND FEARS THAT HAVE BEEN AND WILL 11:32:05 CONTINUE TO BE VOICED. I KNOW THAT ONLY ACTIONS AND 11:32:09 RESULTS, NOT MERE WORDS, ULTIMATELY CAN GIVE YOU THE 11:32:13 CONFIDENCE YOU SEEK. I GIVE MY PLEDGE AS THE LEADER 11:32:19 OF BP THAT WE WILL NOT REST UNTIL WE MAKE THIS RIGHT. 11:32:24 WE'RE A STRONG COMPANY AND NO RESOURCES WILL BE SPARED. 11:32:28 WE AND THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WILL LEARN FROM THIS TERRIBLE EVENT 11:32:34 AND EMERGE STRONGER, SMARTER AND SAFER. 11:32:36 THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. HAYWARD. 11:32:46 ONE OF THE BAD PARTS OF CONDUCTING A HEARING WE GET 11:32:48 INTERRUPTED NOW AND THEN BY VOTES. 11:32:50 WE HAVE THREE VOTES PENDING RIGHT NOW. 11:32:52 THERE'S I THINK ABOUT TEN MINUTES REMAINING ON THIS VOTE. 11:32:56 I WOULD SUGGEST INSTEAD OF TRYING TO GET IN THE QUESTIONS, 11:32:58 WE TAKE A BREAK RIGHT NOW, LET'S STAND IN RECESS FOR 30 MINUTE, 11:33:06 WE'LL COME BACK AT NOON AND CONTINUE THIS HEARING. 11:33:08 WELL START WITH QUESTIONS ALL THE MEMBERS. 11:33:10 OKAY? THIS COMMITTEE WILL BE IN RECESS

Volunteer group banned from maintaining white horse carving on hillside after 161 years; ENGLAND: Yorkshire: EXT Reporter to camera SOT John Roberts (Volunteer, Kilburn White Horse Association) LUVE interview EX York SOT

The Oversight Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce committee meets to hear from Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP 11:00:00 MOST UPSETTING ABOUT THIS TRAVESTY IS THAT IT COULD HAVE 11:00:01 BEEN AVOIDED. AS THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION BY 11:00:04 THIS COMMITTEE HAS ALREADY DISCOVERED, BP EXECUTIVES CREATE 11:00:07 AND ATMOSPHERE WHERE SAFETY CONCERNS WERE IGNORED IN ORDER 11:00:12 TO ENSURE THAT THE COMPANY'S ALREADY STAGGERING PROFITS THIS 11:00:15 YEAR, APPROXIMATELY $93 MILLION A DAY IN THE FIRST QUARTER 11:00:20 CONTINUED UNABATED. THIS APPALLING DISREGARD FOR THE 11:00:23 GULF COAST AND ITS INHABITANTS IS ONE OF THE MOST SHAMEFUL 11:00:28 ACTEDS BY A CORPORATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 11:00:31 IT'S THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EXAMPLE OF BP'S DISREGARD FOR 11:00:34 THE ENVIRONMENT AND WELL BEING OF ITS WORKERS. 11:00:38 A REPORT PUBLISHED BY THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY FOUND THAT 11:00:42 BETWEEN JUNE 2007 AND FEBRUARY 2010, BP RECEIVED TOTAL OF 862 11:00:49 CITATION FROM THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH 11:00:51 ADMINISTRATION, OF THOSE A STAGGERING 76 WERE' GRECIAN AND 11:00:57 WILL WILFUL. COMPARED WITH EIGHT AT THE TWO 11:01:01 OIL COMPANIES TIED FOR SECOND PLACE. 11:01:03 THIS PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR CONTINUED IN THE SPILL'S 11:01:06 AFTERMATH. I HOLD IN MY HAND A DOCUMENT 11:01:10 CALLED VOLUNTARY WAIVER OF RELEASE THAT BP MADE UNEMPLOYED 11:01:15 FISHERMAN SIGN BEFORE THEY COULD BE HIRED FOR SPILL CLEANUP T 11:01:19 STATES I HEREBY AGREE ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND MY REPRESENTATIONS 11:01:24 TO HOLD HARMLESS INDEMNY IF I AND FOREVER DISCHARGE THE BP 11:01:31 EXPLORATION PRODUCTION INC. FROM ALL CLAIMS AND DAMAGES THAT I OR 11:01:35 MY REPRESENTATIVES MAY HAVE WITH REGARD TO THE PARTICIPATION IN 11:01:38 THE SPILL RESPONSE ACTIVITIES. I KNOW THAT YOU SAID THIS WAS AN 11:01:42 EARLY MISSTEP AND THAT THIS WAS JUST A STANDARD DOCUMENT, BUT 11:01:45 THIS IS WAS THE FIRST RESPONSE THAT YOU HAD TO PEOPLE THAT WERE 11:01:51 HIRED. AND OUTRAGE DOES NOT BEGIN TO 11:01:53 EXPRESS MY FEELING. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE 11:01:55 UNEMPLOYED BECAUSE OF THE RECKLESSNESS OF BP, FORCED TO 11:02:00 TAKE JOBS CLEANING UP BP. 'S MESS IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, YET 11:02:03 TO QUALIFY FOR THOSE JOBS THEY HAD TO HOLD BP HARMLESS FOR 11:02:07 EVERYONE FURTHER DAMAGES THEY MAY SUFFER IN BP'S EMPLOY. 11:02:11 THIS FROM A COMPANY THAT MADE $93 MILLION A DAY. 11:02:17 FORTUNATELY A COURT TRUMPED YOUR FANCY LAWYERS WHO WROTE THIS 11:02:19 DOCUMENT BUT STILL IT BEGS THE QUESTION HOW COULD YOU DO THAT? 11:02:23 I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE, MR. HAYWARD. 11:02:26 I SKBEKTS YOU TO EXPLAIN WHY YOUR COMPANY HAS OPERATED IN 11:02:29 SUCH A WHOLLY UNACCEPTABLE MANNER. 11:02:33 IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS THE SIMPLE FACT REMAINS IF BP THOUGHT MORE 11:02:36 ABOUT THE RESIDENTS AS THESE WIDOWS ASSISTANT WORKERS, AS 11:02:40 THESE WIDOWS SAID, RATHER THAN THE ALREADY EXORBITANT PROFITS 11:02:47 OF ITS SHAREHOLDERS, WE WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY. 11:02:49 I YIELD BACK. MR. LOTTA S FOR AN OPENING 11:02:55 STATEMENT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:02:57 RANKING MEMBER BURGESS, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS 11:03:01 SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING ON THE ROLE OF BP IN THE OIL RIG EXPLOSION 11:03:05 AND THE ONGOING EXPLOSION IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. 11:03:10 I ALSO WANT TO EXTEND MY HEARTFELT CONDOLENCE TO THE 11:03:13 FAMILIES OF THOSE WHO LOVE ONE LUVED ONES AN HAVE BEEN INJURED. 11:03:16 THE SCALE OF THE SPILL AND IMPACT ON THE GULF ECONOMY 11:03:19 ENVIRONMENT DEMAND A THOROUGH EXAMINATION OF BP'S ACTIONS AND 11:03:24 INACTIONS AS WELL AS BP'S CURRENT AND FUTURE PLANS. 11:03:28 THE FLOW OF OIL MUST BE STOPPED. EVERY DAY ANYWHERE FROM 35,000 11:03:33 TO 60,000 BARRELS ARE SPILLING INTO THE GULF AND ONLY 15,000 11:03:37 BARRELS A DAY ARE BEING CAPTURED. 11:03:39 THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON THE OIL SPILL ARE HARMING SHORELINES 11:03:43 AND COASTAL WETLANDS, FISHERIES AN FISHERY HABITATS AS WELL AS 11:03:48 SEA MAMMALS AED TURTLES. WHAT'S WORSE, WE WILL NOT FULLY 11:03:53 KNOW THE ECOLOGICAL RAMIFICATIONS OF THE OIL SPILL 11:03:56 UNTIL YEARS DOWN THE ROAD. FURTHER MORE, BUSINESSES 11:03:59 SUFFERING GREAT LOSSES INCLUDING JOB AND REVENUES DEPENDENT ON 11:04:04 TOURISM ARE BEING THREATENED. THE NOAA ANNOUNCED A REVISED 11:04:09 FISHING CLOSURE IN THE OIL AFFECTED PORTION OF THE GULF OF 11:04:13 MEXICO ACCOUNTING FOR 33% OF THE GULF OF MEXICO'S EXCLUSIVE 11:04:17 ECONOMIC ZONE. AS OIL CONTINUES TO FLOW THIS 11:04:19 YEAH IS SURE TONE LARGE FURTHER EXASPERATING THE ECONOMIC 11:04:25 DAMAGE. A RECENT ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY 11:04:28 BY THE AMERICAN SPORT FISHING ASSOCIATION INDICATED THAT THE 11:04:33 ENFIRE GULF WERE CLOSED TO RECREATIONAL FISHING FROM MAY 11:04:36 THROUGH AUGUST. LEAVING $WIN.WIN BILLION OF 11:04:40 REVENUE WHICH SUPPORTS $2.5 BILLION IN TOTAL SALES, AND 11:04:55 18,785 JOBS. THIS IS DEVASTATING TO AN AREA 11:04:58 THAT HAS ALREADY SUFFERED GREATLY FROM THE AFTERMATH OF 11:05:01 NATURAL DISASTERS. AMERICANS CONTINUE BE TO BE 11:05:04 FRUSTRATED FROM THE LACK OF SOLUTION FROM ALL PARTIES 11:05:06 INVOLVED AND I'M INTERESTED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE COORDINATED 11:05:09 EFFORTS BETWEEN BP AND THE ADMINISTRATION. 11:05:11 THE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL MAGNITUDE OF THIS DISASTER 11:05:14 NECESSITATES A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WENT WRONG 11:05:16 AND BP NEEDS TON HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE DISASTER. 11:05:21 I ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING MMS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF 11:05:25 INTERIOR BEFORE THIS SUBCOMMITTEE TO ALSO FOR THEM TO 11:05:28 ANSWER SOME TOUGH QUESTIONING. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE HEARING, 11:05:31 MR. HAYWARD'S TESTIMONY AND I YIELD BACK THE REMAINDER OF MY 11:05:34 TIME. THANK YOU. 11:05:37 THANKS, MR. LATTA MR. ROSS, THREE MINUTES OPENING STATEMENT, 11:05:42 PLEASE, SIR. THANK YOU. 11:05:44 CHAIRMAN STUPAK FOR HOLDING TODAY'S HEARING TO EXAMINE BP'S 11:05:48 ACTIONS AND DECISIONS THAT DIRECTLY LED TO THE TLACH MAGIC 11:05:53 EXPLOSION AND OIL SPILL THAT CONTINUES TO GUSH AND WREAK 11:05:58 HAVOC ON THE GULF COAST. AT A RATE OF UP TO 1700 GALLONS 11:06:10 WE ARE MINUTE. SINCE THIS HEARING BEGAN A 11:06:12 LITTLE OVER AN HOUR AGO, UP TO 112,847 GALLONS HAVE BEEN DUMPED 11:06:21 INTO THE GULF. ON DAY 59 OF THIS ECONOMIC AND 11:06:26 ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER, WITH UP TO 60,000 BARRELS OF DAY 11:06:30 SPILLING INTO THE GULF, I CONTINUE TO BE FRUSTRATED AND 11:06:33 DOWNRIGHT ANGRY BY BP'S RESPONSE AND LACK OF A CLEAR AND 11:06:37 PRODUCTIVE PLAN TO STOP THE LEAK OR EFFICIENTLY CLEAN UP THE OIL 11:06:41 THAT IS DESTROYING THE ECOSYSTEMS THAT SURROUND THE 11:06:45 GULF. REPORTS HAVE SURFACED REVEALING 11:06:48 THAT IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS BEFORE THE EXPLOSION BP 11:06:51 KNOWINGLY MADE A NUMBER OF DECISIONS THAT INCREASED THE 11:06:55 DANGER OF AN EXPLOSION AND SPILL OCCURRING. 11:06:59 IT SEEMS APPARENT THAT BP PUT PROFIT BEFORE SAFETY, MANY 11:07:05 PEOPLE ARE DEAD. MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF OIL 11:07:08 CONTINUE TO SPEW INTO THE GULF. I'M HOPEFUL THAT MR. HAYWARD CAN 11:07:14 EXPLAIN TODAY WHY THESE DECISIONS WERE MADE, HOW THIS 11:07:17 COMPANY'S ACTIONS LED TO THIS DISASTER AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING 11:07:20 TO REMEDY IT. AS OIL FLOATS INTO THE MARSHES 11:07:25 AND ONTO THE BEACHES, AS SHRIMPING VESSELS SIT TIED TO 11:07:30 DOCKS, AS RESTAURANTS AND BUSINESSES DURING THEIR PEAK 11:07:33 SEASON REMAIN WITHOUT TOURISTS AND CUSTOMERS, AND AS HOMEOWNERS 11:07:39 SEE THEIR PROPERTY VALUES PLUMMET, THE PEOPLE AND WILD 11:07:43 LIFE OF THE GULF COAST WAIT AND WONDER ABOUT HOW EXTENSIVE THE 11:07:50 DAMAGE TO THE ECOSYSTEM OR THE ECONOMY WILL BE. 11:07:55 THIS BILL IS NOT ONLY AFFECTING THE GULF COAST, THE JOBS AND 11:08:00 ECONOMIES OF THIS SURROUNDING STATES ARE HURTING AS WELL. 11:08:04 MY STATE OF ARKANSAS BORDERS LOUISIANA. 11:08:08 AND MANY OF MY CONSTITUENTS, PEOPLE I KNOW IN MY HOMETOWN 11:08:13 WORK ON OFFSHORE RIGS. THESE JOBS ARE ALSO AT RISK AND 11:08:17 I HOPE BP WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL THOSE WHO 11:08:22 ARE AFFECTED BY THIS SPILL REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY LIVE. 11:08:26 AND WORK TO HELP PULL THEM THROUGH THIS DISASTER AS WELL. 11:08:30 THIS SPILL IS A WAKE-UP CALL THAT MUST RESULT IN BETTER 11:08:35 GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT. MORE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, 11:08:37 STRONGER RESPONSE PLANS AND IMPROVED SAFETY STANDARDS. 11:08:42 NOT ONLY BY BP AND EVERY OIL COMPANY IN AMERICA BUT ALSO BY 11:08:47 OUR GOVERNMENT. ABOVE ALL, THIS DISASTER IS A 11:08:50 LEARNING EXPERIENCE THAT WILL HELP US PREVENT A TRAGEDY LIKE 11:08:53 THIS FROM EVER HAPPENING AGAIN. AND I'M HOPEFUL THIS HEARING CAN 11:08:57 PROVIDE THE ANSWER AND SOLUTIONS NECESSARY TO BEGIN THAT PROCESS. 11:09:03 MR. HAYWARD, I TRULY HOPE THAT YOU'LL GIVE US OPEN AND HONEST 11:09:06 ANSWERS TODAY AND NOT THOSE PREPARED BY YOUR LEGAL TEAM. 11:09:10 WITH THAT MR. CHAIRMAN, I YIELD BACK. 11:09:13 THANK YOU, MR. ROSS. NEXT I WOULD LIKE TO CALL ON 11:09:16 MISS CHRISTENSEN FROM VIRGIN ISLANDS FOR AN OPENING 11:09:19 STATEMENT, PLEASE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:09:21 AND THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS IMPORTANT HEARING. 11:09:23 THE EXPLOSION ON THE DEEP WATER PLATFORM AND THE SUB SUBSEQUENT 11:09:27 OUTPOURING OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF OIL INTO 11:09:30 ONE OF THE MOST SENSITIVE AND IMPORTANT BODIES OF WATER IN 11:09:33 THIS COUNTRY IS INDEED A TRAGIC ACCIDENT WHICH CAUSED 11 DEATHS, 11:09:38 MANY INJURIES LEFT-HAND HAVE DEEP, LONG LASTING DEBILITATING 11:09:42 AND EXPENSIVE REPERCUSSION, THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY NEED IT 11:09:45 KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE. 11:09:48 ALL THAT HAS TRANSPIRED SINCE APRIL 20th SAYS TO ME THAT NOT 11:09:52 ONLY BP BUT NO COUNTRY DRILLING IN OUR OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 11:09:56 IS PREPARED TO DEAL WITH A SPILL AT THIS DEPTH. 11:09:59 THEY'RE ALL, THERE USING THE BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY AND 11:10:05 STILL 59 DAYS LATER AN END IS NOT IN SIGHTS. 11:10:08 THIS IS NOT SKAEMENTABLE. WHAT HAS ALSO BECOME CLEAR IS 11:10:11 THAT WHILE BP REPORTEDLY USED SHORTCUTS THEY WERE WARNED NOT 11:10:15 TO WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSED THE SPILL, THEY'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES 11:10:20 AT FAULT. THEY COULD NOT HAVE CUT THOSE 11:10:22 CORNERS WITHOUT THE COMPLICITY OF EMPLOYEES AT SOME OF THE 11:10:26 RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WHO DID NOT DO THEIR JOB. 11:10:29 WE'RE ALL APPALLED THAT LIVES ARE LOST BY DECISIONS MADE 11:10:32 APPARENTLY IN THE INTEREST OF CUTTING COSTS, BUT ALSO BY THE 11:10:35 LACK OF ADEQUATE PREPARATION FOR THIS WORST CASE SCENARIO WE ARE 11:10:40 FACING TODAY. THE FACT THAT THE INDUSTRY DOES 11:10:42 NOT ENSURE THAT RESPONSE TECHNOLOGY KEPT PACE WITH DEEPER 11:10:46 DRILL WELLS LAYS BLAME AT ALL OF THEIR FEET, BUT WE CAN STILL NOT 11:10:50 IGNORE THE DECISIONS BIMADE BY BP, IF THEY HAD BEEN DIFFERENT 11:10:54 11 PEOPLE MIGHT STILL BE ALIVE TODAY. 11:10:58 WE WITH OUR CONGRESS ALONG WITH THE FRED WHO HAS HAD MORE OF HIS 11:11:02 SHARE OF CRISIS NOT OF HIS MAKING HAVE MAKE CHALLENGES AND 11:11:08 CRITICAL AHEAD. I HOPE THE MANY WHO DIED, THE 11:11:11 AFFECTED FAMILIES AND NOW WHO NOW DEPEND ON OCS PLATFORMS FOR 11:11:17 THEIR LIVELIHOOD, THIS AND OF THE HEARINGS WILL HELP US GO 11:11:21 BEYOND A KNEE-JERK REACTION TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE 11:11:23 REGION AND OUR COUNTRY. THAT BP AND ANY OTHER 11:11:27 RESPONSIBLE PARTY WILL BE HELD FULLY ACCOUNTABLE AND 11:11:30 RESPONSIBLE AND THAT PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS COMPANIES WILL 11:11:33 LEARN IMPORTANT LESSONS TO ENSURE THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN 11:11:35 AGAIN. I WANT TO THANK YOU, MR. HAYWARD 11:11:38 FOR BEING HERE, I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR TESTIMONY AND FULL 11:11:41 ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS WE WILL ASK ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE IN 11:11:43 THE REGION AND ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 11:11:46 I YIELD BACK. THANK YOU. 11:11:48 MR. WELCH, OPENING STATEMENT, PLEASE. 11:11:50 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. MR. HAYWARD, IN THE 49 DAYS 11:11:55 SINCE THE DEEP WATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 'CAUSED THIS 11:12:00 EXTRAORDINARY ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE, WE'VE HEARD TIME 11:12:02 AND AGAIN FROM BP THIS WAS AN ABRATION, THE FACTS REGRETTABLY 11:12:08 TELL A DIFFERENT STORY. IN 2005, WHEN BP'S TEXAS CITY 11:12:13 OPERATION BLEW UP, 14 WORKERS LOST THEIR LIVES N 2006, A BP 11:12:17 OIL PIPELINE IN TEXAS RUPTURED AND SPILLED 200,000 GALLONS OF 11:12:23 CRUDE OIL N IN 2007, THE YEAR YOU BECAME CEO, THE BP 11:12:27 CORPORATION SETTLED A SERIES OF CRIMINAL CHARCHGS NOT CIVIL 11:12:30 CHARGE, KRILL UNANIMOUS CHARGE AND PAID $370 MILLION IN FINES. 11:12:36 ACCORDING TO RISK MET TRI, AN INDEPENDENT OKAY, BP HAS ONE OF 11:12:40 THE WORST HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY RECORDS OF ANY 11:12:43 COMPANY IN THE WORLD N ONLY ONE YEAR, THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 11:12:47 AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION FOUND MORE THAN 700 VIOLATIONS AT BP'S 11:12:52 TEXAS CITY REFINERY AND BP PAID A RECORD $87 MILLION IN A FINE. 11:13:00 BP WAS CHARGED WITH PUTTING PROFITS BEFORE SAFETY. 11:13:02 EARLIER THIS YEAR, A REFINERY IN TOLEDO WAS FINED $3 MILLION FOR 11:13:10 WILLFUL SAFETY VIOLATIONS INCLUDING THE USE OF VALVES THAT 11:13:12 CONTRIBUTED TO THE TEXAS CITY BLAST. 11:13:13 FINALLY, OF COURSE, THE DEEP WATER HORIZON CATASTROPHE AND 11:13:17 MORE EVIDENCE THAT COMES IN, THE MORE IT'S CLEAR THAT THAT EVENT 11:13:20 WAS FORESEEABLE AND IT WAS AVOIDABLE. 11:13:23 AFTER THE EXPLOSION, BP SAID THERE WAS NO OIL LEAKING, THEN 11:13:28 IT SAID THERE WAS 1,000 BARRELS A DYE. 11:13:32 THEN 5,000, WE'RE NOW UP TO 60,000 BARRELS. 11:13:39 FOR 59 DAYS, BP HAS TOLD THE AMERICAN THIS WAS ABRATION. 11:13:56 IT'S DEJA VU AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. 11:13:59 THE QUESTION MANY OF US HAVE IS WHETHER A CEO WHO HAS PRESIDED 11:14:04 OVER A COMPANY THAT HAS INCURRED $370 MILLION IN FINES, A COMPANY 11:14:12 WITH ONE OF THE WORST RECORDS IN THE WORLD FOR SAFETY AND 11:14:13 CONSISTENTLY PUTS MONEY AHEAD OF SAFETY, WHO'S PEERS INCLUDING 11:14:16 MR. TILLERSON FROM EXXONMOBIL WHO TESTIFIED WHERE YOU ARE TWO 11:14:20 DAYS AGO, SAID THEY NEVER, THAT THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE DRILLED A 11:14:25 WELL THE WAY BP DID AT DEEP WATER HORIZON AND WHO HAS CEOS 11:14:29 TO HASS PRESIDED OVER THE DESTRUCTION OF OVER $100 BILLION 11:14:36 IN SHAREHOLD EVER VALUE. DOES THAT LEADER CONTINUE TO 11:14:39 ENJOY AND HAVE A VALID CLAIM ON THE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE OF 11:14:44 EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, PUBLIC REGULAORS AND MOST IMPORTANT 11:14:48 LIT FAMILIES AND SMALL BUSINESS OF THE GULF COAST? 11:14:51 OR IS IT TIME FRANKLY TO THAT CEO TO CONSIDER TO SUBMIT HIS 11:14:55 SAYS RIG NATION? I THANK YOU AND YIELD BACK. 11:14:59 THANK YOU. MR. GREENE FOR AN OPENING 11:15:01 STATEMENT, PLEASE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:15:03 MR. HAYWARD, I APPRECIATE YOUR TESTIMONY OR BEING HERE THIS 11:15:06 MORNING. AND MOST PEOPLE ON THIS 11:15:08 COMMITTEE KNOW I'M A BIG SUPPORTER OF OUTER CONTINENTAL 11:15:11 SHELF DRILLING AND DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION. 11:15:15 AND I UNDERSTAND FROM YOUR TESTIMONY IN OUR OTHER HEARINGS 11:15:18 WE'VE HELD IN MEETINGS WITH THE ADMINISTRATION THAT EFFORTS TO 11:15:21 CAP THE WELL ARE GOING AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE 11:15:28 HOWEVER LIKE MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE, I'M FRUSTRATED 11:15:30 THAT DID IT'S BEEN ALMOST TWO MONTHS AND WE STILL HAVE 11:15:34 THOUSANDS OF BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL GUSHING IN THE GULF OF 11:15:39 MEXICO. I'M FRUSTRATED BY THE THREAT OF 11:15:40 DISASTER IMPACTS OUR WILDLIFE AND COAST LINE. 11:15:45 I'M FRUSTRATED THAT ONE WELL OUT OF THOUSANDS OF WELLS IS 11:15:49 THREATENING MY CONSTITUENTS' LIVELY HOOD AND MOST COMMUNITIES 11:15:53 ON GULF COAST. LITERALLY FROM ALABAMA BACK TO 11:15:55 BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS. THIS DISASTER HAS CAUSED THE OIL 11:15:59 AND GAS INDUSTRY TO SHUT DOWN EVEN IF THE MORATORIUM DOES NOT 11:16:03 LAST SIX MONTHS IT WILL BE TOO LATE FOR MANY OF THESE FOLKS, 11:16:07 BUT THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT THE ONES TO BLAME. 11:16:09 THEY'RE THE HARD WORKING PEOPLE WITH A WORK ETHIC LIKE NONE 11:16:13 OTHER THAN TAKE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY ON THESE RIGS 11:16:15 SERIOUSLY. HOWEVER, KOORDING TO THE 11:16:18 INVESTIGATION THIS SUBCOMMITTEE CONDUCTED IT'S OBVIOUS MANY BP 11:16:21 OFFICIALS ON AND OFF THE RIG DID NOT TAKE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY OF 11:16:26 THIS RIG SERIOUSLY. HALLIBURTON WARNED THE DECISIONS 11:16:34 COULD LEAD TO SERIOUS PROBLEM AND NOW PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR 11:16:39 JOBS. THEY COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED 11:16:41 IF BMPLT P HAD NOT CHOSEN EXPED YENSY OVER SAY. 11:16:46 WHICH BRINGS MY NEXT POINT. WHETHER IT'S THE FIRE WHERE 15 11:16:50 PEOPLE DIED, TIME AFTER TIME, IT'S SHOWN THAT BP CHOOSES EXPED 11:16:56 YENSY OVER SAMPLT YET, MR. HAYWARD, IN YOUR TESTIMONY 11:16:58 YOU WRITE, NONE OF US KNOWS WHY IT HAPPENED. 11:17:01 YET THIS SUBCOMMITTEE UNCOVERED FIVE AIR YEARS WHERE BP MADE 11:17:07 MISTAKES. I ADD UP THE HOURS THAT THESE 11:17:10 EXTRA PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS WOULD HAVE TAKEN AND IT COMES TO 11:17:13 BE TO ABOUT THREE TO FOUR DAY, THAT'S ASSUMING MANY OF THESE 11:17:16 ACTIONS WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED SIMULTANEOUSLY, WHICH THEY COULD 11:17:20 HAVE. FOR AN EXTRA THREE DAYS OF WORK, 11:17:23 MEN'S LIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN SARCHD AN INDUSTRY RECORD OF 11:17:27 SAFETY AND RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION WOULD STILL BE IN 11:17:30 PLACE WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY LAST POINT. 11:17:32 IN YOUR TESTIMONY, MR. HAYWARD, YOU SAY THIS INCIDENT KAUL $INTO 11:17:36 QUESTION WHETHER THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY DID EXPLORE FOR OIL AND 11:17:39 GAS IN SAFER MORE RELIABLE WAYS AND WHAT THE APPROPRIATE 11:17:43 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE INDUSTRY SHOULD BE. 11:17:45 MR. HAYWARD, THE DECISIONS MADE BY HANDFUL OF BP INDIVIDUALS 11:17:49 CALLED THIS INTO QUESTION, NOT THIS ACCIDENT, AND YOU SHOULD 11:17:52 TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WORKERS WHO DID NOTHING WRONG 11:17:55 AND ARE NOW LOSING THEIR JOBS. AND MR. CHAIRMAN, I YIELD BACK 11:17:59 MY TIME. THANK YOU, MR. GREEN. 11:18:02 MISS SUTTON FOR AROUND OPENING STATEMENT. 11:18:04 THREE MINUTE, PLEASE. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN STUPAK. 11:18:07 IT'S BEEN NEARLY TWO MONTHS SINCE THE EXPLOSION OF THE DEEP 11:18:11 WATER HORIZON DRILLING RIG RESULTING IN THE DEATH S OF 11 11:18:16 WORKERS AND INJURED ADDITIONAL WORKERS. 11:18:19 SINCE THEN, WE'VE WITNESSED THE WORST ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER IN 11:18:22 OUR NATION'S HISTORY, THAT CONTINUES TO POUR AN ESTIMATED 11:18:27 60,000 BARRELS OF OIL A DAY INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO. 11:18:28 THAT HAS LED TO OVER 66,000 VICTIMS FILING CLAIMS TO RECEIVE 11:18:35 COMPENSATION. THROUGH THIS SUBCOMMITTEE'S 11:18:36 WORK, SEVERAL ALARMING DECISIONS BY BP HAVE COME TO LIGHT TO SAVE 11:18:41 MONEY AND TIME. IT'S UNCONSCIONABLE WHEN 11:18:45 COMPANIES PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THEIR COMFORTS AND THEIR PROFITS 11:18:48 THAN TO THEIR OWN WORKERS' SAFETY AND TO OUR ENVIRONMENT. 11:18:53 AT OUR LAST HEARING ONE WITNESS FROM TRANSOCEAN TESTIFIED THAT A 11:18:57 DUPLICATE BLOWOUT PREVENTER SYSTEM COMFORTS ROUGH $15 11:19:04 MILLION NOT USED ON THE DEEP WATER HORIZON RIG. 11:19:07 BP ALSO UTILIZED A RISKY OPTION FOR STEEL TUBING SAVING $7 11:19:12 MILLION. BP DID NOT CIRCULATE DRILLING 11:19:15 MUD OR SECURE CASING HANGERS BETWEEN BIOPSIES OF DIFFERENT 11:19:20 DIME TERSE AND CRITICAL SIGNALS WERE BRUSHED ASIDE. 11:19:23 WHEN STANDARD METHODS WERE NOT FOLLOWED TO CENTER THE STEEL 11:19:26 PIPE IN THE DRILL HOLE, ONE OF BP'S OPERATIONS DRILLING 11:19:30 ENGINEERS REMARKED IN AN E-MAIL, QUOTE, WHO CARES? 11:19:36 IT'S DONE. END OF STORY. 11:19:39 BUT THESE CUT CORNERS HAVE BEEN ANYTHING BUT THE END OF THE 11:19:42 STORY. AS THE WORKERS AND VOLUNTEERS 11:19:44 FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY HELP CLEAN UP THE OIL FROM THE 11:19:47 DISASTER, MANY ARE BECOMING ILL. BETWEEN APRIL 22 AND JUNE 10, 8 11:19:59 485 OF BP'S OWN EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN ILL. 11:20:04 AND THE MONEY HAS LONG BEEN LOST AS THEY ALREADY PAID $81 MILLION 11:20:09 IN CLAIMS. MR. HAYWARD, LIKE MANY 11:20:11 AMERICANS, I FEEL PHYSICALLY SICK WHEN I SEE THE CLIPS OF THE 11:20:17 OIL GUSHING IN THE GULF. WITNESSING THE DEVASTATION OF 11:20:19 OUR WATERS AND OUR COAST. AND THE WILDLIFE. 11:20:24 THINKING ABOUT THE LIVES OF THE WORKERS KILLED. 11:20:27 AND HEARING AND SEEING THE PAIN IN THE FACE AND THE HEARTS OF 11:20:31 THE PEOPLE, THE FAMILIES, THE SMALL BUSINESSES, THE FISHERMEN 11:20:36 AND OTHERS IN THE GULF. ALL CONSEQUENCE OF THIS 11:20:41 CATASTROPHE. THIS CULTURE OF CARELESSNESS AND 11:20:44 TAKING SHORTCUTS TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS AT THE EXPENSE OF 11:20:50 SAFETY, THIS COME WHAT MAY, WE'LL CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN WE 11:20:54 COME TO IT ATTITUDE IS UNACCEPT ABILITY, IT'S OUTRAGEOUS. 11:20:58 BP MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT APPROACH 11:21:01 AND WE MUST TAKE ACTIONS NECESSARY ON BEHALF OF THE 11:21:05 AMERICAN PEOPLE TO MAKE SURE THAT SUCH A RECKLESS APPROACH 11:21:09 WILL BE FOREVER ABANDONED. THE RISKS AND COSTS TO OUR 11:21:13 ENVIRONMENT AND TO THE WORKERS IN THE GULF COAST, TO THE 11:21:16 WORKERS THROUGHOUT OUR ECONOMY ARE SIMPLY TOO GREAT TO ALLOW 11:21:19 OTHERWISE. I YIELD BACK. 11:21:23 THANK YOU, MISS SUTTON THAT CONCLUDES THE OPENING STATEMENTS 11:21:27 OF ALL MEMBERS OF OUR SUBCOMMITTEE. 11:21:29 AS I NOTED IN THE OPENING, AS I NOTED IN THE OPENING, WE HAVE 11:21:33 MEMBERS OF THE FULL COMMITTEE HERE, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE 11:21:36 THEM. THEY WILL BE ALLOWED TO ASK 11:21:38 QUESTIONS BY ORDER OF SENIORITY. M 11:21:44 MR. ENSLY IS HERE. MISS CAST, MR. GONZALEZ, MISS 11:21:50 CAPPS, MR. HARMON, MS. WIENER, AND MR. SCALISE. 11:21:59 THEY ALSO HOST THE FIELD HEARING IN NEW ORLEANS, WE HAD NINE 11:22:05 MEMBERS GO DOWN IN ONE OF THE LARGEST FIELD HEARINGS WE'VE HAD 11:22:08 SO YOU CAN SEE THE INTEREST HERE. 11:22:11 I ALSO NOTE, MISS JACKSON LEE IS WITH US, NOT A MEMBER OF 11:22:14 THE COMMITTEE, SHE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ASK QUESTION, BUT WE 11:22:19 WELCOME HER AND SHE'S SAT IN ON PREVIOUS HEARINGS WE'VE HAD. 11:22:22 SO OUR FIRST WITNESS IS MR. TONY HIGH HAYWARD WHO IS THE CHIEF 11:22:29 EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF BP PLC. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE ADVISED 11:22:40 BY COUNSEL DURING YOUR TESTIMONY. 11:22:42 DO YOU WISH TO BE REPRESENTED BY LEGAL COUNSEL? 11:22:45 I'M SORRY, YOU HAVE TO JUST PRESS THAT BUTTON RIGHT THERE, 11:22:49 SIR. POSITIVE DYE NOT. 11:22:51 WE ALSO ASKED IF YOU WOULD HAVE A TECHNICAL PERSON WITH YOU 11:22:54 SO YOU COULD CONSULT IF WE ASK SOME QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT TO 11:22:57 RUN IT BY YOUR TECHNICAL PERSON. DO YOU HAVE A TECHNICAL PERSON 11:23:01 WITH YOU? I DO. 11:23:02 COULD YOU STATE HIS NAME AND POSITION FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE. 11:23:05 MIKE ZANGEY, DRILLING ENGINEER. 11:23:08 DURING YOUR TESTIMONY, IF YOU WANT TO CONSULT WITH THAT 11:23:13 INDIVIDUAL, PLEASE LET US KNOW, WE'LL GIVE YOU A MOMENT TO DO SO 11:23:15 BEFORE YOU ANSWER BUT YOU'LL BE ONLY ONE WHO COULD ANSWER THE 11:23:19 QUESTION. IS THAT CLEAR? 11:23:21 THANK YOU. MR. HAYWARD, I'M GOING ASK YOU 11:23:23 TO PLEASE RISE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND TAKE THE OATH. 11:23:29 DO YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM THE TESTIMONY YOU'RE ABOUT TO GIVE 11:23:33 TO BE THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, THE 11:23:36 MATTER PENDING BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE. 11:23:38 I DO. LET THE RECORD REFLECT THE 11:23:40 WITNESS ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. 11:23:41 MR. HAYWARD, YOU ARE NOW UNDER OENCHT WE WOULD LIKE IT HEAR AN 11:23:45 OPENING STATEMENT FROM YOU. YOU MAY SUBMIT A LONGER 11:23:49 STATEMENT IF YOU WILL FOR THE RECORD BUT IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE 11:23:53 BEGIN YOUR OPENING STATEMENT AND LET ME AGAIN ON BEHALF OF ALL 11:23:55 MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE WE APPRECIATE WILLINGNESS TO APPEAR 11:24:01 HERE TODAY. CHAIRMAN STUPAK -- RANKING 11:24:07 MEMBERS. SUSPEND, PLEASE, SIR. 11:24:18 YOU NEED TO GO TO JAIL! [ INAUDIBLE ]. 11:24:27 MA'AM -- SHE'S A SHRIMPER. 11:24:55 HER WHOLE LIFE IS -- BE CAREFUL. 11:25:10 LET THEM GET THROUGH. BEFORE WE BEGIN AGAIN WITH 11:25:51 MR. HAYWARD, LET ME JUST AGAIN MENTION THOSE VIEWERS IN OUR 11:25:57 AUDIENCE, EMOTION RUN HIGH ON THIS ISSUE. 11:25:58 BUT WE HAVE A HEARING TO CONDUCT HERE. 11:26:00 WE'RE GOING TO CONDUCT OUR HEARING. 11:26:02 IT'S GOING TO BE DONE WITH PROPER DECORUM. 11:26:05 MR. HAYWARD, WHEN YOU'RE READY WE'RE GROWING TO START THE CLOCK 11:26:09 OVER, YOU MAY BEGIN. CHAIRMAN WAXMAN, CHAIRMAN 11:26:12 STUPAK, RANKING MEMBER BURGESS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. 11:26:16 I'M TONY HAYWARD, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF BP. 11:26:21 THE EXPLOSION AND FIRE ABOARD THE DEEP WATER HORIZON AND THE 11:26:24 RESULTING OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO -- 11:26:26 EXCUSE ME, MR. HAYWARD, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO PULL THAT 11:26:29 UP, SOME OF THE MEMBERS ARE HAVING TROUBLE HEARING IT'S 11:26:32 PROBABLY OVER THE CLICKING OF THE CAMERAS, BUT WE'RE VAG 11:26:34 TROUBLE HEARING YOU. IF YOU COULD JUST PULL IT 11:26:37 CLOSER. THE EXPLOSION AND FIRE ABOARD 11:26:39 THE DEEP WATER HORIZON AND THE RESULTING OIL SPILL IN THE GULF 11:26:42 OF MEXICO. NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPEN AND OAR 11:26:44 AND I'M DEEPLY SORRY THAT IT DID. 11:26:46 WHEN I LERNT THAT 11 MEN HAD LOST THEIR LIVES, I WAS 11:26:50 PERSONALLY DEVASTATED. THREE WEEK $AGO, I ATTENDED A 11:26:54 MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THOSE MEN AND IT WAS A SHATTERING MOMENT. 11:26:59 I WANT TO OFFER MY SINCERE CONDOLENCE TO THEIR FRIENDS AND 11:27:04 FAMILIES. I CAN ONLY BEGIN TO IMAGINE 11:27:06 THEIR SORROW. I UNDERSTAND HOW SERIOUS THIS 11:27:11 SITUATION IS. IT IS A TRAGEDY. 11:27:14 I WANT TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE SPEM WHO LIVE AND WORK IN THE 11:27:19 GULF REGION. I KNOW THIS INCIDENT HAS HAD A 11:27:23 PROFOUND IMPACT ON YOUR LIVES CAUSED GREAT TURMOIL AND I 11:27:29 DEEPLY REGRET THAT I ALSO DEEPLY REGRET THE IMPACT THE SPILL HAS 11:27:35 HAD ON THE ENVIRONMENT, THE WILD 11:27:41 LIFE AND THE ECOSYSTEM OF THE GULF. 11:27:44 I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU AND PUBLIC 11:27:47 ARE RIGHTLY ASKING. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? 11:27:50 HOW DAMAGING IS THE SPILL TO THE ENVIRONMENT? 11:27:54 WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG TO STOP THE FLOW OF OIL AND GAS INTO THE 11:27:58 GULF? WE DON'T YET HAVE ALL THE 11:27:59 ANSWERS TO THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS, BUT I HEAR AND 11:28:03 UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS, FRUSTRATIONS AND ANGER BEING 11:28:08 VOICED ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND I KNOW THAT THESE SENTIMENTS 11:28:12 WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE LEAK IS STOP AND UNTIL WE PROVE THROUGH 11:28:15 OUR ACTIONS THAT WE ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING. 11:28:20 YESTERDAY, WE MET WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 11:28:23 AND HIS SENIOR ADVISERS. WE DISCUSSED HOW BP COULD BE 11:28:27 MORE CONSTRUCTIVE IN THE GOVERNMENT'S DESIRE TO BRING 11:28:30 MORE COMFORT AND ASSURANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE GULF COAST 11:28:34 BEYOND THE ACTIVITY WE'VE ALREADY DONE. 11:28:39 WE AGREED IN THAT MEETING TO CREATE A $20 BILLION CLAIMS FUND 11:28:42 TO COMPENSATE THE AFFECTED PARTY AND PAY FOR THE CLEANUP AND 11:28:53 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION SAID ALL ALONG WE WOULD PAY THESE 11:28:54 COMFORTS AND NOW THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN BE CONFIDENT THAT OUR 11:28:58 WORD IS GOOD. I'VE BEEN TO THE GULF COAST. 11:29:04 I'VE MET WITH FISHERMEN. BUSINESS OWNERS AND FAMILIES. 11:29:09 I UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH AND I PROMISED THEM AS 11:29:15 I'M PROMISING YOU THAT WE WILL MAKE THIS RIGHT. 11:29:18 AFTER YESTERDAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT, I HOPE THAT THEY FEEL WE'RE ON 11:29:22 THE RIGHT TRACK. I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE I HAVE A 11:29:28 RESPONSIBILITY TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO DO MY BEST TO EXPLAIN 11:29:32 WHAT BMPLT P HAS DONE, IS DOING AND WILL DO IN THE FUTURE TO 11:29:37 RESPOND TO THIS TERRIBLE ACCIDENT. 11:29:41 FIRST, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SECURE THE WELL AND IN 11:29:46 THE MEANTIME CONTAIN THE FLOW OF OIL. 11:29:48 WE'RE CURRENTLY DRILLING TWO RELIEF WELLS, WE BELIEVE THEY 11:29:52 REPRESENT THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION. WE EXPECT THIS TO BE COMPLETE IN 11:29:58 AUGUST. SIMULTANEOUSLY, WE'VE BEEN 11:30:01 WORKING ON PARALLEL STRATEGIES TO MINIMIZE OR STOP THE FLOW OF 11:30:04 OIL. WHILE NOT ALL HAVE BEEN MET WITH 11:30:06 SUCCESS, IT APPEARS THAT OUR LATEST CONTAINMENT EFFORT IS NOW 11:30:11 CONTAINING ABOUT 20,000 BARRELS A DAY. 11:30:13 BY THE END OF JUNE, WE EXPECT TO HAVE EQUIPMENT IN PLACE TO 11:30:19 HANDLE BETWEEN 40,000 AND 50,000 BARRELS A DAY. 11:30:26 SECOND, I'VE BEEN CLEAR THAT WE WILL PAY ALL NECESSARY CLEANUP 11:30:30 COMFORTS. WE'VE MOUNTED WHAT THE COAST 11:30:32 GUARD HAS RECOGNIZED AS THE LARGEST SPILL RESPONSE IN 11:30:36 HISTORY. WE'VE BEEN WORKING HARD ON THE 11:30:39 LEADERSHIP UNDER UNIFIED COMMAND TO STOP THE OIL FROM COMING 11:30:45 ASHORE. WHILST WE'RE GRATEFUL THESE 11:30:47 EFFORTS ARE REDUCING THE IMPACTS OF THE SPILL, ANY OIL ON THE 11:30:50 SHORE IS DEEPLY DISTRESSING. WE WILL BE VIGILANT IN OUR 11:30:55 CLEANUP. THI,D AS I HAVE MADE CLEAR FROM 11:30:58 THE BEGINNING, WE WILL PAY ALL LEGITIMATE CLAIMS FOR LOSSES AND 11:31:00 DAMPS CAUSED BY THE SPILL. THOSE ARE NOT JUST WORDS. 11:31:05 WE'VE ALREADY PAID OUT MORE THAN $95 MILLION AND WE'VE ANNOUNCED 11:31:09 AN INDEPENDENT CLAIMS FACILITY HEADED BY KEN FEINBERG TO ENSURE 11:31:14 THE PROCESS IS AS FAIR, TRANSPARENT AND RAPID AS 11:31:20 POSSIBLE. FOURTH, WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT 11:31:22 WENT WRONG. SO THAT WE AS A COMPANY AND WE 11:31:26 AS AN INDUSTRY CAN DO BETTER. THAT IS WHY LESS THAN 24 HOURS 11:31:33 AFTER THE ACCIDENT I COMMISSIONED A NONPRIMPD 11:31:35 INVESTIGATION. DIE IT BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW 11:31:37 WHAT HAPPENED AND I WANT TO SHARE THE RESULTS. 11:31:41 RIGHT NOW, IT'S SIMPLY TOO EARLY TO SAY WHAT CAUSED THE INCIDENT. 11:31:46 THERE IS STILL EXTENSIVE WORK TO DO. 11:31:48 A FULL ANSWER MUST AWAIT THE OUTCOME OF MULTIPLE 11:31:53 INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDING THE MARINE BOARD. 11:31:56 TO SUM UP, I UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION AND 11:32:01 THE CONCERNS, FRUSTRATIONS AND FEARS THAT HAVE BEEN AND WILL 11:32:05 CONTINUE TO BE VOICED. I KNOW THAT ONLY ACTIONS AND 11:32:09 RESULTS, NOT MERE WORDS, ULTIMATELY CAN GIVE YOU THE 11:32:13 CONFIDENCE YOU SEEK. I GIVE MY PLEDGE AS THE LEADER 11:32:19 OF BP THAT WE WILL NOT REST UNTIL WE MAKE THIS RIGHT. 11:32:24 WE'RE A STRONG COMPANY AND NO RESOURCES WILL BE SPARED. 11:32:28 WE AND THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WILL LEARN FROM THIS TERRIBLE EVENT 11:32:34 AND EMERGE STRONGER, SMARTER AND SAFER. 11:32:36 THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. HAYWARD. 11:32:46 ONE OF THE BAD PARTS OF CONDUCTING A HEARING WE GET 11:32:48 INTERRUPTED NOW AND THEN BY VOTES. 11:32:50 WE HAVE THREE VOTES PENDING RIGHT NOW. 11:32:52 THERE'S I THINK ABOUT TEN MINUTES REMAINING ON THIS VOTE. 11:32:56 I WOULD SUGGEST INSTEAD OF TRYING TO GET IN THE QUESTIONS, 11:32:58 WE TAKE A BREAK RIGHT NOW, LET'S STAND IN RECESS FOR 30 MINUTE, 11:33:06 WE'LL COME BACK AT NOON AND CONTINUE THIS HEARING. 11:33:08 WELL START WITH QUESTIONS ALL THE MEMBERS. 11:33:10 OKAY? THIS COMMITTEE WILL BE IN RECESS 11:33:13 UNTIL 12 NOON.

Volunteer group banned from maintaining white horse carving on hillside after 161 years; ENGLAND: Yorkshire: EXT John Roberts (Volunteer, Kilburn White Horse Association) LUVE interview EX York SOT

The Oversight Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce committee meets to hear from Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP 11:00:00 MOST UPSETTING ABOUT THIS TRAVESTY IS THAT IT COULD HAVE 11:00:01 BEEN AVOIDED. AS THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION BY 11:00:04 THIS COMMITTEE HAS ALREADY DISCOVERED, BP EXECUTIVES CREATE 11:00:07 AND ATMOSPHERE WHERE SAFETY CONCERNS WERE IGNORED IN ORDER 11:00:12 TO ENSURE THAT THE COMPANY'S ALREADY STAGGERING PROFITS THIS 11:00:15 YEAR, APPROXIMATELY $93 MILLION A DAY IN THE FIRST QUARTER 11:00:20 CONTINUED UNABATED. THIS APPALLING DISREGARD FOR THE 11:00:23 GULF COAST AND ITS INHABITANTS IS ONE OF THE MOST SHAMEFUL 11:00:28 ACTEDS BY A CORPORATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 11:00:31 IT'S THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EXAMPLE OF BP'S DISREGARD FOR 11:00:34 THE ENVIRONMENT AND WELL BEING OF ITS WORKERS. 11:00:38 A REPORT PUBLISHED BY THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY FOUND THAT 11:00:42 BETWEEN JUNE 2007 AND FEBRUARY 2010, BP RECEIVED TOTAL OF 862 11:00:49 CITATION FROM THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH 11:00:51 ADMINISTRATION, OF THOSE A STAGGERING 76 WERE' GRECIAN AND 11:00:57 WILL WILFUL. COMPARED WITH EIGHT AT THE TWO 11:01:01 OIL COMPANIES TIED FOR SECOND PLACE. 11:01:03 THIS PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR CONTINUED IN THE SPILL'S 11:01:06 AFTERMATH. I HOLD IN MY HAND A DOCUMENT 11:01:10 CALLED VOLUNTARY WAIVER OF RELEASE THAT BP MADE UNEMPLOYED 11:01:15 FISHERMAN SIGN BEFORE THEY COULD BE HIRED FOR SPILL CLEANUP T 11:01:19 STATES I HEREBY AGREE ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND MY REPRESENTATIONS 11:01:24 TO HOLD HARMLESS INDEMNY IF I AND FOREVER DISCHARGE THE BP 11:01:31 EXPLORATION PRODUCTION INC. FROM ALL CLAIMS AND DAMAGES THAT I OR 11:01:35 MY REPRESENTATIVES MAY HAVE WITH REGARD TO THE PARTICIPATION IN 11:01:38 THE SPILL RESPONSE ACTIVITIES. I KNOW THAT YOU SAID THIS WAS AN 11:01:42 EARLY MISSTEP AND THAT THIS WAS JUST A STANDARD DOCUMENT, BUT 11:01:45 THIS IS WAS THE FIRST RESPONSE THAT YOU HAD TO PEOPLE THAT WERE 11:01:51 HIRED. AND OUTRAGE DOES NOT BEGIN TO 11:01:53 EXPRESS MY FEELING. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE 11:01:55 UNEMPLOYED BECAUSE OF THE RECKLESSNESS OF BP, FORCED TO 11:02:00 TAKE JOBS CLEANING UP BP. 'S MESS IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, YET 11:02:03 TO QUALIFY FOR THOSE JOBS THEY HAD TO HOLD BP HARMLESS FOR 11:02:07 EVERYONE FURTHER DAMAGES THEY MAY SUFFER IN BP'S EMPLOY. 11:02:11 THIS FROM A COMPANY THAT MADE $93 MILLION A DAY. 11:02:17 FORTUNATELY A COURT TRUMPED YOUR FANCY LAWYERS WHO WROTE THIS 11:02:19 DOCUMENT BUT STILL IT BEGS THE QUESTION HOW COULD YOU DO THAT? 11:02:23 I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE, MR. HAYWARD. 11:02:26 I SKBEKTS YOU TO EXPLAIN WHY YOUR COMPANY HAS OPERATED IN 11:02:29 SUCH A WHOLLY UNACCEPTABLE MANNER. 11:02:33 IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS THE SIMPLE FACT REMAINS IF BP THOUGHT MORE 11:02:36 ABOUT THE RESIDENTS AS THESE WIDOWS ASSISTANT WORKERS, AS 11:02:40 THESE WIDOWS SAID, RATHER THAN THE ALREADY EXORBITANT PROFITS 11:02:47 OF ITS SHAREHOLDERS, WE WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY. 11:02:49 I YIELD BACK. MR. LOTTA S FOR AN OPENING 11:02:55 STATEMENT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:02:57 RANKING MEMBER BURGESS, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS 11:03:01 SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING ON THE ROLE OF BP IN THE OIL RIG EXPLOSION 11:03:05 AND THE ONGOING EXPLOSION IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. 11:03:10 I ALSO WANT TO EXTEND MY HEARTFELT CONDOLENCE TO THE 11:03:13 FAMILIES OF THOSE WHO LOVE ONE LUVED ONES AN HAVE BEEN INJURED. 11:03:16 THE SCALE OF THE SPILL AND IMPACT ON THE GULF ECONOMY 11:03:19 ENVIRONMENT DEMAND A THOROUGH EXAMINATION OF BP'S ACTIONS AND 11:03:24 INACTIONS AS WELL AS BP'S CURRENT AND FUTURE PLANS. 11:03:28 THE FLOW OF OIL MUST BE STOPPED. EVERY DAY ANYWHERE FROM 35,000 11:03:33 TO 60,000 BARRELS ARE SPILLING INTO THE GULF AND ONLY 15,000 11:03:37 BARRELS A DAY ARE BEING CAPTURED. 11:03:39 THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON THE OIL SPILL ARE HARMING SHORELINES 11:03:43 AND COASTAL WETLANDS, FISHERIES AN FISHERY HABITATS AS WELL AS 11:03:48 SEA MAMMALS AED TURTLES. WHAT'S WORSE, WE WILL NOT FULLY 11:03:53 KNOW THE ECOLOGICAL RAMIFICATIONS OF THE OIL SPILL 11:03:56 UNTIL YEARS DOWN THE ROAD. FURTHER MORE, BUSINESSES 11:03:59 SUFFERING GREAT LOSSES INCLUDING JOB AND REVENUES DEPENDENT ON 11:04:04 TOURISM ARE BEING THREATENED. THE NOAA ANNOUNCED A REVISED 11:04:09 FISHING CLOSURE IN THE OIL AFFECTED PORTION OF THE GULF OF 11:04:13 MEXICO ACCOUNTING FOR 33% OF THE GULF OF MEXICO'S EXCLUSIVE 11:04:17 ECONOMIC ZONE. AS OIL CONTINUES TO FLOW THIS 11:04:19 YEAH IS SURE TONE LARGE FURTHER EXASPERATING THE ECONOMIC 11:04:25 DAMAGE. A RECENT ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY 11:04:28 BY THE AMERICAN SPORT FISHING ASSOCIATION INDICATED THAT THE 11:04:33 ENFIRE GULF WERE CLOSED TO RECREATIONAL FISHING FROM MAY 11:04:36 THROUGH AUGUST. LEAVING $WIN.WIN BILLION OF 11:04:40 REVENUE WHICH SUPPORTS $2.5 BILLION IN TOTAL SALES, AND 11:04:55 18,785 JOBS. THIS IS DEVASTATING TO AN AREA 11:04:58 THAT HAS ALREADY SUFFERED GREATLY FROM THE AFTERMATH OF 11:05:01 NATURAL DISASTERS. AMERICANS CONTINUE BE TO BE 11:05:04 FRUSTRATED FROM THE LACK OF SOLUTION FROM ALL PARTIES 11:05:06 INVOLVED AND I'M INTERESTED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE COORDINATED 11:05:09 EFFORTS BETWEEN BP AND THE ADMINISTRATION. 11:05:11 THE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL MAGNITUDE OF THIS DISASTER 11:05:14 NECESSITATES A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WENT WRONG 11:05:16 AND BP NEEDS TON HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE DISASTER. 11:05:21 I ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING MMS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF 11:05:25 INTERIOR BEFORE THIS SUBCOMMITTEE TO ALSO FOR THEM TO 11:05:28 ANSWER SOME TOUGH QUESTIONING. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE HEARING, 11:05:31 MR. HAYWARD'S TESTIMONY AND I YIELD BACK THE REMAINDER OF MY 11:05:34 TIME. THANK YOU. 11:05:37 THANKS, MR. LATTA MR. ROSS, THREE MINUTES OPENING STATEMENT, 11:05:42 PLEASE, SIR. THANK YOU. 11:05:44 CHAIRMAN STUPAK FOR HOLDING TODAY'S HEARING TO EXAMINE BP'S 11:05:48 ACTIONS AND DECISIONS THAT DIRECTLY LED TO THE TLACH MAGIC 11:05:53 EXPLOSION AND OIL SPILL THAT CONTINUES TO GUSH AND WREAK 11:05:58 HAVOC ON THE GULF COAST. AT A RATE OF UP TO 1700 GALLONS 11:06:10 WE ARE MINUTE. SINCE THIS HEARING BEGAN A 11:06:12 LITTLE OVER AN HOUR AGO, UP TO 112,847 GALLONS HAVE BEEN DUMPED 11:06:21 INTO THE GULF. ON DAY 59 OF THIS ECONOMIC AND 11:06:26 ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER, WITH UP TO 60,000 BARRELS OF DAY 11:06:30 SPILLING INTO THE GULF, I CONTINUE TO BE FRUSTRATED AND 11:06:33 DOWNRIGHT ANGRY BY BP'S RESPONSE AND LACK OF A CLEAR AND 11:06:37 PRODUCTIVE PLAN TO STOP THE LEAK OR EFFICIENTLY CLEAN UP THE OIL 11:06:41 THAT IS DESTROYING THE ECOSYSTEMS THAT SURROUND THE 11:06:45 GULF. REPORTS HAVE SURFACED REVEALING 11:06:48 THAT IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS BEFORE THE EXPLOSION BP 11:06:51 KNOWINGLY MADE A NUMBER OF DECISIONS THAT INCREASED THE 11:06:55 DANGER OF AN EXPLOSION AND SPILL OCCURRING. 11:06:59 IT SEEMS APPARENT THAT BP PUT PROFIT BEFORE SAFETY, MANY 11:07:05 PEOPLE ARE DEAD. MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF OIL 11:07:08 CONTINUE TO SPEW INTO THE GULF. I'M HOPEFUL THAT MR. HAYWARD CAN 11:07:14 EXPLAIN TODAY WHY THESE DECISIONS WERE MADE, HOW THIS 11:07:17 COMPANY'S ACTIONS LED TO THIS DISASTER AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING 11:07:20 TO REMEDY IT. AS OIL FLOATS INTO THE MARSHES 11:07:25 AND ONTO THE BEACHES, AS SHRIMPING VESSELS SIT TIED TO 11:07:30 DOCKS, AS RESTAURANTS AND BUSINESSES DURING THEIR PEAK 11:07:33 SEASON REMAIN WITHOUT TOURISTS AND CUSTOMERS, AND AS HOMEOWNERS 11:07:39 SEE THEIR PROPERTY VALUES PLUMMET, THE PEOPLE AND WILD 11:07:43 LIFE OF THE GULF COAST WAIT AND WONDER ABOUT HOW EXTENSIVE THE 11:07:50 DAMAGE TO THE ECOSYSTEM OR THE ECONOMY WILL BE. 11:07:55 THIS BILL IS NOT ONLY AFFECTING THE GULF COAST, THE JOBS AND 11:08:00 ECONOMIES OF THIS SURROUNDING STATES ARE HURTING AS WELL. 11:08:04 MY STATE OF ARKANSAS BORDERS LOUISIANA. 11:08:08 AND MANY OF MY CONSTITUENTS, PEOPLE I KNOW IN MY HOMETOWN 11:08:13 WORK ON OFFSHORE RIGS. THESE JOBS ARE ALSO AT RISK AND 11:08:17 I HOPE BP WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL THOSE WHO 11:08:22 ARE AFFECTED BY THIS SPILL REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY LIVE. 11:08:26 AND WORK TO HELP PULL THEM THROUGH THIS DISASTER AS WELL. 11:08:30 THIS SPILL IS A WAKE-UP CALL THAT MUST RESULT IN BETTER 11:08:35 GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT. MORE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, 11:08:37 STRONGER RESPONSE PLANS AND IMPROVED SAFETY STANDARDS. 11:08:42 NOT ONLY BY BP AND EVERY OIL COMPANY IN AMERICA BUT ALSO BY 11:08:47 OUR GOVERNMENT. ABOVE ALL, THIS DISASTER IS A 11:08:50 LEARNING EXPERIENCE THAT WILL HELP US PREVENT A TRAGEDY LIKE 11:08:53 THIS FROM EVER HAPPENING AGAIN. AND I'M HOPEFUL THIS HEARING CAN 11:08:57 PROVIDE THE ANSWER AND SOLUTIONS NECESSARY TO BEGIN THAT PROCESS. 11:09:03 MR. HAYWARD, I TRULY HOPE THAT YOU'LL GIVE US OPEN AND HONEST 11:09:06 ANSWERS TODAY AND NOT THOSE PREPARED BY YOUR LEGAL TEAM. 11:09:10 WITH THAT MR. CHAIRMAN, I YIELD BACK. 11:09:13 THANK YOU, MR. ROSS. NEXT I WOULD LIKE TO CALL ON 11:09:16 MISS CHRISTENSEN FROM VIRGIN ISLANDS FOR AN OPENING 11:09:19 STATEMENT, PLEASE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:09:21 AND THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS IMPORTANT HEARING. 11:09:23 THE EXPLOSION ON THE DEEP WATER PLATFORM AND THE SUB SUBSEQUENT 11:09:27 OUTPOURING OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF OIL INTO 11:09:30 ONE OF THE MOST SENSITIVE AND IMPORTANT BODIES OF WATER IN 11:09:33 THIS COUNTRY IS INDEED A TRAGIC ACCIDENT WHICH CAUSED 11 DEATHS, 11:09:38 MANY INJURIES LEFT-HAND HAVE DEEP, LONG LASTING DEBILITATING 11:09:42 AND EXPENSIVE REPERCUSSION, THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY NEED IT 11:09:45 KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE. 11:09:48 ALL THAT HAS TRANSPIRED SINCE APRIL 20th SAYS TO ME THAT NOT 11:09:52 ONLY BP BUT NO COUNTRY DRILLING IN OUR OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 11:09:56 IS PREPARED TO DEAL WITH A SPILL AT THIS DEPTH. 11:09:59 THEY'RE ALL, THERE USING THE BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY AND 11:10:05 STILL 59 DAYS LATER AN END IS NOT IN SIGHTS. 11:10:08 THIS IS NOT SKAEMENTABLE. WHAT HAS ALSO BECOME CLEAR IS 11:10:11 THAT WHILE BP REPORTEDLY USED SHORTCUTS THEY WERE WARNED NOT 11:10:15 TO WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSED THE SPILL, THEY'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES 11:10:20 AT FAULT. THEY COULD NOT HAVE CUT THOSE 11:10:22 CORNERS WITHOUT THE COMPLICITY OF EMPLOYEES AT SOME OF THE 11:10:26 RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WHO DID NOT DO THEIR JOB. 11:10:29 WE'RE ALL APPALLED THAT LIVES ARE LOST BY DECISIONS MADE 11:10:32 APPARENTLY IN THE INTEREST OF CUTTING COSTS, BUT ALSO BY THE 11:10:35 LACK OF ADEQUATE PREPARATION FOR THIS WORST CASE SCENARIO WE ARE 11:10:40 FACING TODAY. THE FACT THAT THE INDUSTRY DOES 11:10:42 NOT ENSURE THAT RESPONSE TECHNOLOGY KEPT PACE WITH DEEPER 11:10:46 DRILL WELLS LAYS BLAME AT ALL OF THEIR FEET, BUT WE CAN STILL NOT 11:10:50 IGNORE THE DECISIONS BIMADE BY BP, IF THEY HAD BEEN DIFFERENT 11:10:54 11 PEOPLE MIGHT STILL BE ALIVE TODAY. 11:10:58 WE WITH OUR CONGRESS ALONG WITH THE FRED WHO HAS HAD MORE OF HIS 11:11:02 SHARE OF CRISIS NOT OF HIS MAKING HAVE MAKE CHALLENGES AND 11:11:08 CRITICAL AHEAD. I HOPE THE MANY WHO DIED, THE 11:11:11 AFFECTED FAMILIES AND NOW WHO NOW DEPEND ON OCS PLATFORMS FOR 11:11:17 THEIR LIVELIHOOD, THIS AND OF THE HEARINGS WILL HELP US GO 11:11:21 BEYOND A KNEE-JERK REACTION TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE 11:11:23 REGION AND OUR COUNTRY. THAT BP AND ANY OTHER 11:11:27 RESPONSIBLE PARTY WILL BE HELD FULLY ACCOUNTABLE AND 11:11:30 RESPONSIBLE AND THAT PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS COMPANIES WILL 11:11:33 LEARN IMPORTANT LESSONS TO ENSURE THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN 11:11:35 AGAIN. I WANT TO THANK YOU, MR. HAYWARD 11:11:38 FOR BEING HERE, I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR TESTIMONY AND FULL 11:11:41 ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS WE WILL ASK ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE IN 11:11:43 THE REGION AND ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 11:11:46 I YIELD BACK. THANK YOU. 11:11:48 MR. WELCH, OPENING STATEMENT, PLEASE. 11:11:50 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. MR. HAYWARD, IN THE 49 DAYS 11:11:55 SINCE THE DEEP WATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 'CAUSED THIS 11:12:00 EXTRAORDINARY ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE, WE'VE HEARD TIME 11:12:02 AND AGAIN FROM BP THIS WAS AN ABRATION, THE FACTS REGRETTABLY 11:12:08 TELL A DIFFERENT STORY. IN 2005, WHEN BP'S TEXAS CITY 11:12:13 OPERATION BLEW UP, 14 WORKERS LOST THEIR LIVES N 2006, A BP 11:12:17 OIL PIPELINE IN TEXAS RUPTURED AND SPILLED 200,000 GALLONS OF 11:12:23 CRUDE OIL N IN 2007, THE YEAR YOU BECAME CEO, THE BP 11:12:27 CORPORATION SETTLED A SERIES OF CRIMINAL CHARCHGS NOT CIVIL 11:12:30 CHARGE, KRILL UNANIMOUS CHARGE AND PAID $370 MILLION IN FINES. 11:12:36 ACCORDING TO RISK MET TRI, AN INDEPENDENT OKAY, BP HAS ONE OF 11:12:40 THE WORST HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY RECORDS OF ANY 11:12:43 COMPANY IN THE WORLD N ONLY ONE YEAR, THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 11:12:47 AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION FOUND MORE THAN 700 VIOLATIONS AT BP'S 11:12:52 TEXAS CITY REFINERY AND BP PAID A RECORD $87 MILLION IN A FINE. 11:13:00 BP WAS CHARGED WITH PUTTING PROFITS BEFORE SAFETY. 11:13:02 EARLIER THIS YEAR, A REFINERY IN TOLEDO WAS FINED $3 MILLION FOR 11:13:10 WILLFUL SAFETY VIOLATIONS INCLUDING THE USE OF VALVES THAT 11:13:12 CONTRIBUTED TO THE TEXAS CITY BLAST. 11:13:13 FINALLY, OF COURSE, THE DEEP WATER HORIZON CATASTROPHE AND 11:13:17 MORE EVIDENCE THAT COMES IN, THE MORE IT'S CLEAR THAT THAT EVENT 11:13:20 WAS FORESEEABLE AND IT WAS AVOIDABLE. 11:13:23 AFTER THE EXPLOSION, BP SAID THERE WAS NO OIL LEAKING, THEN 11:13:28 IT SAID THERE WAS 1,000 BARRELS A DYE. 11:13:32 THEN 5,000, WE'RE NOW UP TO 60,000 BARRELS. 11:13:39 FOR 59 DAYS, BP HAS TOLD THE AMERICAN THIS WAS ABRATION. 11:13:56 IT'S DEJA VU AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. 11:13:59 THE QUESTION MANY OF US HAVE IS WHETHER A CEO WHO HAS PRESIDED 11:14:04 OVER A COMPANY THAT HAS INCURRED $370 MILLION IN FINES, A COMPANY 11:14:12 WITH ONE OF THE WORST RECORDS IN THE WORLD FOR SAFETY AND 11:14:13 CONSISTENTLY PUTS MONEY AHEAD OF SAFETY, WHO'S PEERS INCLUDING 11:14:16 MR. TILLERSON FROM EXXONMOBIL WHO TESTIFIED WHERE YOU ARE TWO 11:14:20 DAYS AGO, SAID THEY NEVER, THAT THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE DRILLED A 11:14:25 WELL THE WAY BP DID AT DEEP WATER HORIZON AND WHO HAS CEOS 11:14:29 TO HASS PRESIDED OVER THE DESTRUCTION OF OVER $100 BILLION 11:14:36 IN SHAREHOLD EVER VALUE. DOES THAT LEADER CONTINUE TO 11:14:39 ENJOY AND HAVE A VALID CLAIM ON THE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE OF 11:14:44 EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, PUBLIC REGULAORS AND MOST IMPORTANT 11:14:48 LIT FAMILIES AND SMALL BUSINESS OF THE GULF COAST? 11:14:51 OR IS IT TIME FRANKLY TO THAT CEO TO CONSIDER TO SUBMIT HIS 11:14:55 SAYS RIG NATION? I THANK YOU AND YIELD BACK. 11:14:59 THANK YOU. MR. GREENE FOR AN OPENING 11:15:01 STATEMENT, PLEASE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:15:03 MR. HAYWARD, I APPRECIATE YOUR TESTIMONY OR BEING HERE THIS 11:15:06 MORNING. AND MOST PEOPLE ON THIS 11:15:08 COMMITTEE KNOW I'M A BIG SUPPORTER OF OUTER CONTINENTAL 11:15:11 SHELF DRILLING AND DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION. 11:15:15 AND I UNDERSTAND FROM YOUR TESTIMONY IN OUR OTHER HEARINGS 11:15:18 WE'VE HELD IN MEETINGS WITH THE ADMINISTRATION THAT EFFORTS TO 11:15:21 CAP THE WELL ARE GOING AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE 11:15:28 HOWEVER LIKE MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE, I'M FRUSTRATED 11:15:30 THAT DID IT'S BEEN ALMOST TWO MONTHS AND WE STILL HAVE 11:15:34 THOUSANDS OF BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL GUSHING IN THE GULF OF 11:15:39 MEXICO. I'M FRUSTRATED BY THE THREAT OF 11:15:40 DISASTER IMPACTS OUR WILDLIFE AND COAST LINE. 11:15:45 I'M FRUSTRATED THAT ONE WELL OUT OF THOUSANDS OF WELLS IS 11:15:49 THREATENING MY CONSTITUENTS' LIVELY HOOD AND MOST COMMUNITIES 11:15:53 ON GULF COAST. LITERALLY FROM ALABAMA BACK TO 11:15:55 BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS. THIS DISASTER HAS CAUSED THE OIL 11:15:59 AND GAS INDUSTRY TO SHUT DOWN EVEN IF THE MORATORIUM DOES NOT 11:16:03 LAST SIX MONTHS IT WILL BE TOO LATE FOR MANY OF THESE FOLKS, 11:16:07 BUT THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT THE ONES TO BLAME. 11:16:09 THEY'RE THE HARD WORKING PEOPLE WITH A WORK ETHIC LIKE NONE 11:16:13 OTHER THAN TAKE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY ON THESE RIGS 11:16:15 SERIOUSLY. HOWEVER, KOORDING TO THE 11:16:18 INVESTIGATION THIS SUBCOMMITTEE CONDUCTED IT'S OBVIOUS MANY BP 11:16:21 OFFICIALS ON AND OFF THE RIG DID NOT TAKE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY OF 11:16:26 THIS RIG SERIOUSLY. HALLIBURTON WARNED THE DECISIONS 11:16:34 COULD LEAD TO SERIOUS PROBLEM AND NOW PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR 11:16:39 JOBS. THEY COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED 11:16:41 IF BMPLT P HAD NOT CHOSEN EXPED YENSY OVER SAY. 11:16:46 WHICH BRINGS MY NEXT POINT. WHETHER IT'S THE FIRE WHERE 15 11:16:50 PEOPLE DIED, TIME AFTER TIME, IT'S SHOWN THAT BP CHOOSES EXPED 11:16:56 YENSY OVER SAMPLT YET, MR. HAYWARD, IN YOUR TESTIMONY 11:16:58 YOU WRITE, NONE OF US KNOWS WHY IT HAPPENED. 11:17:01 YET THIS SUBCOMMITTEE UNCOVERED FIVE AIR YEARS WHERE BP MADE 11:17:07 MISTAKES. I ADD UP THE HOURS THAT THESE 11:17:10 EXTRA PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS WOULD HAVE TAKEN AND IT COMES TO 11:17:13 BE TO ABOUT THREE TO FOUR DAY, THAT'S ASSUMING MANY OF THESE 11:17:16 ACTIONS WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED SIMULTANEOUSLY, WHICH THEY COULD 11:17:20 HAVE. FOR AN EXTRA THREE DAYS OF WORK, 11:17:23 MEN'S LIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN SARCHD AN INDUSTRY RECORD OF 11:17:27 SAFETY AND RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION WOULD STILL BE IN 11:17:30 PLACE WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY LAST POINT. 11:17:32 IN YOUR TESTIMONY, MR. HAYWARD, YOU SAY THIS INCIDENT KAUL $INTO 11:17:36 QUESTION WHETHER THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY DID EXPLORE FOR OIL AND 11:17:39 GAS IN SAFER MORE RELIABLE WAYS AND WHAT THE APPROPRIATE 11:17:43 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE INDUSTRY SHOULD BE. 11:17:45 MR. HAYWARD, THE DECISIONS MADE BY HANDFUL OF BP INDIVIDUALS 11:17:49 CALLED THIS INTO QUESTION, NOT THIS ACCIDENT, AND YOU SHOULD 11:17:52 TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WORKERS WHO DID NOTHING WRONG 11:17:55 AND ARE NOW LOSING THEIR JOBS. AND MR. CHAIRMAN, I YIELD BACK 11:17:59 MY TIME. THANK YOU, MR. GREEN. 11:18:02 MISS SUTTON FOR AROUND OPENING STATEMENT. 11:18:04 THREE MINUTE, PLEASE. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN STUPAK. 11:18:07 IT'S BEEN NEARLY TWO MONTHS SINCE THE EXPLOSION OF THE DEEP 11:18:11 WATER HORIZON DRILLING RIG RESULTING IN THE DEATH S OF 11 11:18:16 WORKERS AND INJURED ADDITIONAL WORKERS. 11:18:19 SINCE THEN, WE'VE WITNESSED THE WORST ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER IN 11:18:22 OUR NATION'S HISTORY, THAT CONTINUES TO POUR AN ESTIMATED 11:18:27 60,000 BARRELS OF OIL A DAY INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO. 11:18:28 THAT HAS LED TO OVER 66,000 VICTIMS FILING CLAIMS TO RECEIVE 11:18:35 COMPENSATION. THROUGH THIS SUBCOMMITTEE'S 11:18:36 WORK, SEVERAL ALARMING DECISIONS BY BP HAVE COME TO LIGHT TO SAVE 11:18:41 MONEY AND TIME. IT'S UNCONSCIONABLE WHEN 11:18:45 COMPANIES PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THEIR COMFORTS AND THEIR PROFITS 11:18:48 THAN TO THEIR OWN WORKERS' SAFETY AND TO OUR ENVIRONMENT. 11:18:53 AT OUR LAST HEARING ONE WITNESS FROM TRANSOCEAN TESTIFIED THAT A 11:18:57 DUPLICATE BLOWOUT PREVENTER SYSTEM COMFORTS ROUGH $15 11:19:04 MILLION NOT USED ON THE DEEP WATER HORIZON RIG. 11:19:07 BP ALSO UTILIZED A RISKY OPTION FOR STEEL TUBING SAVING $7 11:19:12 MILLION. BP DID NOT CIRCULATE DRILLING 11:19:15 MUD OR SECURE CASING HANGERS BETWEEN BIOPSIES OF DIFFERENT 11:19:20 DIME TERSE AND CRITICAL SIGNALS WERE BRUSHED ASIDE. 11:19:23 WHEN STANDARD METHODS WERE NOT FOLLOWED TO CENTER THE STEEL 11:19:26 PIPE IN THE DRILL HOLE, ONE OF BP'S OPERATIONS DRILLING 11:19:30 ENGINEERS REMARKED IN AN E-MAIL, QUOTE, WHO CARES? 11:19:36 IT'S DONE. END OF STORY. 11:19:39 BUT THESE CUT CORNERS HAVE BEEN ANYTHING BUT THE END OF THE 11:19:42 STORY. AS THE WORKERS AND VOLUNTEERS 11:19:44 FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY HELP CLEAN UP THE OIL FROM THE 11:19:47 DISASTER, MANY ARE BECOMING ILL. BETWEEN APRIL 22 AND JUNE 10, 8 11:19:59 485 OF BP'S OWN EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN ILL. 11:20:04 AND THE MONEY HAS LONG BEEN LOST AS THEY ALREADY PAID $81 MILLION 11:20:09 IN CLAIMS. MR. HAYWARD, LIKE MANY 11:20:11 AMERICANS, I FEEL PHYSICALLY SICK WHEN I SEE THE CLIPS OF THE 11:20:17 OIL GUSHING IN THE GULF. WITNESSING THE DEVASTATION OF 11:20:19 OUR WATERS AND OUR COAST. AND THE WILDLIFE. 11:20:24 THINKING ABOUT THE LIVES OF THE WORKERS KILLED. 11:20:27 AND HEARING AND SEEING THE PAIN IN THE FACE AND THE HEARTS OF 11:20:31 THE PEOPLE, THE FAMILIES, THE SMALL BUSINESSES, THE FISHERMEN 11:20:36 AND OTHERS IN THE GULF. ALL CONSEQUENCE OF THIS 11:20:41 CATASTROPHE. THIS CULTURE OF CARELESSNESS AND 11:20:44 TAKING SHORTCUTS TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS AT THE EXPENSE OF 11:20:50 SAFETY, THIS COME WHAT MAY, WE'LL CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN WE 11:20:54 COME TO IT ATTITUDE IS UNACCEPT ABILITY, IT'S OUTRAGEOUS. 11:20:58 BP MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT APPROACH 11:21:01 AND WE MUST TAKE ACTIONS NECESSARY ON BEHALF OF THE 11:21:05 AMERICAN PEOPLE TO MAKE SURE THAT SUCH A RECKLESS APPROACH 11:21:09 WILL BE FOREVER ABANDONED. THE RISKS AND COSTS TO OUR 11:21:13 ENVIRONMENT AND TO THE WORKERS IN THE GULF COAST, TO THE 11:21:16 WORKERS THROUGHOUT OUR ECONOMY ARE SIMPLY TOO GREAT TO ALLOW 11:21:19 OTHERWISE. I YIELD BACK. 11:21:23 THANK YOU, MISS SUTTON THAT CONCLUDES THE OPENING STATEMENTS 11:21:27 OF ALL MEMBERS OF OUR SUBCOMMITTEE. 11:21:29 AS I NOTED IN THE OPENING, AS I NOTED IN THE OPENING, WE HAVE 11:21:33 MEMBERS OF THE FULL COMMITTEE HERE, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE 11:21:36 THEM. THEY WILL BE ALLOWED TO ASK 11:21:38 QUESTIONS BY ORDER OF SENIORITY. M 11:21:44 MR. ENSLY IS HERE. MISS CAST, MR. GONZALEZ, MISS 11:21:50 CAPPS, MR. HARMON, MS. WIENER, AND MR. SCALISE. 11:21:59 THEY ALSO HOST THE FIELD HEARING IN NEW ORLEANS, WE HAD NINE 11:22:05 MEMBERS GO DOWN IN ONE OF THE LARGEST FIELD HEARINGS WE'VE HAD 11:22:08 SO YOU CAN SEE THE INTEREST HERE. 11:22:11 I ALSO NOTE, MISS JACKSON LEE IS WITH US, NOT A MEMBER OF 11:22:14 THE COMMITTEE, SHE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ASK QUESTION, BUT WE 11:22:19 WELCOME HER AND SHE'S SAT IN ON PREVIOUS HEARINGS WE'VE HAD. 11:22:22 SO OUR FIRST WITNESS IS MR. TONY HIGH HAYWARD WHO IS THE CHIEF 11:22:29 EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF BP PLC. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE ADVISED 11:22:40 BY COUNSEL DURING YOUR TESTIMONY. 11:22:42 DO YOU WISH TO BE REPRESENTED BY LEGAL COUNSEL? 11:22:45 I'M SORRY, YOU HAVE TO JUST PRESS THAT BUTTON RIGHT THERE, 11:22:49 SIR. POSITIVE DYE NOT. 11:22:51 WE ALSO ASKED IF YOU WOULD HAVE A TECHNICAL PERSON WITH YOU 11:22:54 SO YOU COULD CONSULT IF WE ASK SOME QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT TO 11:22:57 RUN IT BY YOUR TECHNICAL PERSON. DO YOU HAVE A TECHNICAL PERSON 11:23:01 WITH YOU? I DO. 11:23:02 COULD YOU STATE HIS NAME AND POSITION FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE. 11:23:05 MIKE ZANGEY, DRILLING ENGINEER. 11:23:08 DURING YOUR TESTIMONY, IF YOU WANT TO CONSULT WITH THAT 11:23:13 INDIVIDUAL, PLEASE LET US KNOW, WE'LL GIVE YOU A MOMENT TO DO SO 11:23:15 BEFORE YOU ANSWER BUT YOU'LL BE ONLY ONE WHO COULD ANSWER THE 11:23:19 QUESTION. IS THAT CLEAR? 11:23:21 THANK YOU. MR. HAYWARD, I'M GOING ASK YOU 11:23:23 TO PLEASE RISE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND TAKE THE OATH. 11:23:29 DO YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM THE TESTIMONY YOU'RE ABOUT TO GIVE 11:23:33 TO BE THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, THE 11:23:36 MATTER PENDING BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE. 11:23:38 I DO. LET THE RECORD REFLECT THE 11:23:40 WITNESS ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. 11:23:41 MR. HAYWARD, YOU ARE NOW UNDER OENCHT WE WOULD LIKE IT HEAR AN 11:23:45 OPENING STATEMENT FROM YOU. YOU MAY SUBMIT A LONGER 11:23:49 STATEMENT IF YOU WILL FOR THE RECORD BUT IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE 11:23:53 BEGIN YOUR OPENING STATEMENT AND LET ME AGAIN ON BEHALF OF ALL 11:23:55 MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE WE APPRECIATE WILLINGNESS TO APPEAR 11:24:01 HERE TODAY. CHAIRMAN STUPAK -- RANKING 11:24:07 MEMBERS. SUSPEND, PLEASE, SIR. 11:24:18 YOU NEED TO GO TO JAIL! [ INAUDIBLE ]. 11:24:27 MA'AM -- SHE'S A SHRIMPER. 11:24:55 HER WHOLE LIFE IS -- BE CAREFUL. 11:25:10 LET THEM GET THROUGH. BEFORE WE BEGIN AGAIN WITH 11:25:51 MR. HAYWARD, LET ME JUST AGAIN MENTION THOSE VIEWERS IN OUR 11:25:57 AUDIENCE, EMOTION RUN HIGH ON THIS ISSUE. 11:25:58 BUT WE HAVE A HEARING TO CONDUCT HERE. 11:26:00 WE'RE GOING TO CONDUCT OUR HEARING. 11:26:02 IT'S GOING TO BE DONE WITH PROPER DECORUM. 11:26:05 MR. HAYWARD, WHEN YOU'RE READY WE'RE GROWING TO START THE CLOCK 11:26:09 OVER, YOU MAY BEGIN. CHAIRMAN WAXMAN, CHAIRMAN 11:26:12 STUPAK, RANKING MEMBER BURGESS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. 11:26:16 I'M TONY HAYWARD, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF BP. 11:26:21 THE EXPLOSION AND FIRE ABOARD THE DEEP WATER HORIZON AND THE 11:26:24 RESULTING OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO -- 11:26:26 EXCUSE ME, MR. HAYWARD, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO PULL THAT 11:26:29 UP, SOME OF THE MEMBERS ARE HAVING TROUBLE HEARING IT'S 11:26:32 PROBABLY OVER THE CLICKING OF THE CAMERAS, BUT WE'RE VAG 11:26:34 TROUBLE HEARING YOU. IF YOU COULD JUST PULL IT 11:26:37 CLOSER. THE EXPLOSION AND FIRE ABOARD 11:26:39 THE DEEP WATER HORIZON AND THE RESULTING OIL SPILL IN THE GULF 11:26:42 OF MEXICO. NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPEN AND OAR 11:26:44 AND I'M DEEPLY SORRY THAT IT DID. 11:26:46 WHEN I LERNT THAT 11 MEN HAD LOST THEIR LIVES, I WAS 11:26:50 PERSONALLY DEVASTATED. THREE WEEK $AGO, I ATTENDED A 11:26:54 MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THOSE MEN AND IT WAS A SHATTERING MOMENT. 11:26:59 I WANT TO OFFER MY SINCERE CONDOLENCE TO THEIR FRIENDS AND 11:27:04 FAMILIES. I CAN ONLY BEGIN TO IMAGINE 11:27:06 THEIR SORROW. I UNDERSTAND HOW SERIOUS THIS 11:27:11 SITUATION IS. IT IS A TRAGEDY. 11:27:14 I WANT TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE SPEM WHO LIVE AND WORK IN THE 11:27:19 GULF REGION. I KNOW THIS INCIDENT HAS HAD A 11:27:23 PROFOUND IMPACT ON YOUR LIVES CAUSED GREAT TURMOIL AND I 11:27:29 DEEPLY REGRET THAT I ALSO DEEPLY REGRET THE IMPACT THE SPILL HAS 11:27:35 HAD ON THE ENVIRONMENT, THE WILD 11:27:41 LIFE AND THE ECOSYSTEM OF THE GULF. 11:27:44 I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU AND PUBLIC 11:27:47 ARE RIGHTLY ASKING. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? 11:27:50 HOW DAMAGING IS THE SPILL TO THE ENVIRONMENT? 11:27:54 WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG TO STOP THE FLOW OF OIL AND GAS INTO THE 11:27:58 GULF? WE DON'T YET HAVE ALL THE 11:27:59 ANSWERS TO THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS, BUT I HEAR AND 11:28:03 UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS, FRUSTRATIONS AND ANGER BEING 11:28:08 VOICED ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND I KNOW THAT THESE SENTIMENTS 11:28:12 WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE LEAK IS STOP AND UNTIL WE PROVE THROUGH 11:28:15 OUR ACTIONS THAT WE ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING. 11:28:20 YESTERDAY, WE MET WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 11:28:23 AND HIS SENIOR ADVISERS. WE DISCUSSED HOW BP COULD BE 11:28:27 MORE CONSTRUCTIVE IN THE GOVERNMENT'S DESIRE TO BRING 11:28:30 MORE COMFORT AND ASSURANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE GULF COAST 11:28:34 BEYOND THE ACTIVITY WE'VE ALREADY DONE. 11:28:39 WE AGREED IN THAT MEETING TO CREATE A $20 BILLION CLAIMS FUND 11:28:42 TO COMPENSATE THE AFFECTED PARTY AND PAY FOR THE CLEANUP AND 11:28:53 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION SAID ALL ALONG WE WOULD PAY THESE 11:28:54 COMFORTS AND NOW THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN BE CONFIDENT THAT OUR 11:28:58 WORD IS GOOD. I'VE BEEN TO THE GULF COAST. 11:29:04 I'VE MET WITH FISHERMEN. BUSINESS OWNERS AND FAMILIES. 11:29:09 I UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH AND I PROMISED THEM AS 11:29:15 I'M PROMISING YOU THAT WE WILL MAKE THIS RIGHT. 11:29:18 AFTER YESTERDAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT, I HOPE THAT THEY FEEL WE'RE ON 11:29:22 THE RIGHT TRACK. I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE I HAVE A 11:29:28 RESPONSIBILITY TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO DO MY BEST TO EXPLAIN 11:29:32 WHAT BMPLT P HAS DONE, IS DOING AND WILL DO IN THE FUTURE TO 11:29:37 RESPOND TO THIS TERRIBLE ACCIDENT. 11:29:41 FIRST, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SECURE THE WELL AND IN 11:29:46 THE MEANTIME CONTAIN THE FLOW OF OIL. 11:29:48 WE'RE CURRENTLY DRILLING TWO RELIEF WELLS, WE BELIEVE THEY 11:29:52 REPRESENT THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION. WE EXPECT THIS TO BE COMPLETE IN 11:29:58 AUGUST. SIMULTANEOUSLY, WE'VE BEEN 11:30:01 WORKING ON PARALLEL STRATEGIES TO MINIMIZE OR STOP THE FLOW OF 11:30:04 OIL. WHILE NOT ALL HAVE BEEN MET WITH 11:30:06 SUCCESS, IT APPEARS THAT OUR LATEST CONTAINMENT EFFORT IS NOW 11:30:11 CONTAINING ABOUT 20,000 BARRELS A DAY. 11:30:13 BY THE END OF JUNE, WE EXPECT TO HAVE EQUIPMENT IN PLACE TO 11:30:19 HANDLE BETWEEN 40,000 AND 50,000 BARRELS A DAY. 11:30:26 SECOND, I'VE BEEN CLEAR THAT WE WILL PAY ALL NECESSARY CLEANUP 11:30:30 COMFORTS. WE'VE MOUNTED WHAT THE COAST 11:30:32 GUARD HAS RECOGNIZED AS THE LARGEST SPILL RESPONSE IN 11:30:36 HISTORY. WE'VE BEEN WORKING HARD ON THE 11:30:39 LEADERSHIP UNDER UNIFIED COMMAND TO STOP THE OIL FROM COMING 11:30:45 ASHORE. WHILST WE'RE GRATEFUL THESE 11:30:47 EFFORTS ARE REDUCING THE IMPACTS OF THE SPILL, ANY OIL ON THE 11:30:50 SHORE IS DEEPLY DISTRESSING. WE WILL BE VIGILANT IN OUR 11:30:55 CLEANUP. THI,D AS I HAVE MADE CLEAR FROM 11:30:58 THE BEGINNING, WE WILL PAY ALL LEGITIMATE CLAIMS FOR LOSSES AND 11:31:00 DAMPS CAUSED BY THE SPILL. THOSE ARE NOT JUST WORDS. 11:31:05 WE'VE ALREADY PAID OUT MORE THAN $95 MILLION AND WE'VE ANNOUNCED 11:31:09 AN INDEPENDENT CLAIMS FACILITY HEADED BY KEN FEINBERG TO ENSURE 11:31:14 THE PROCESS IS AS FAIR, TRANSPARENT AND RAPID AS 11:31:20 POSSIBLE. FOURTH, WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT 11:31:22 WENT WRONG. SO THAT WE AS A COMPANY AND WE 11:31:26 AS AN INDUSTRY CAN DO BETTER. THAT IS WHY LESS THAN 24 HOURS 11:31:33 AFTER THE ACCIDENT I COMMISSIONED A NONPRIMPD 11:31:35 INVESTIGATION. DIE IT BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW 11:31:37 WHAT HAPPENED AND I WANT TO SHARE THE RESULTS. 11:31:41 RIGHT NOW, IT'S SIMPLY TOO EARLY TO SAY WHAT CAUSED THE INCIDENT. 11:31:46 THERE IS STILL EXTENSIVE WORK TO DO. 11:31:48 A FULL ANSWER MUST AWAIT THE OUTCOME OF MULTIPLE 11:31:53 INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDING THE MARINE BOARD. 11:31:56 TO SUM UP, I UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION AND 11:32:01 THE CONCERNS, FRUSTRATIONS AND FEARS THAT HAVE BEEN AND WILL 11:32:05 CONTINUE TO BE VOICED. I KNOW THAT ONLY ACTIONS AND 11:32:09 RESULTS, NOT MERE WORDS, ULTIMATELY CAN GIVE YOU THE 11:32:13 CONFIDENCE YOU SEEK. I GIVE MY PLEDGE AS THE LEADER 11:32:19 OF BP THAT WE WILL NOT REST UNTIL WE MAKE THIS RIGHT. 11:32:24 WE'RE A STRONG COMPANY AND NO RESOURCES WILL BE SPARED. 11:32:28 WE AND THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WILL LEARN FROM THIS TERRIBLE EVENT 11:32:34 AND EMERGE STRONGER, SMARTER AND SAFER. 11:32:36 THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. HAYWARD. 11:32:46 ONE OF THE BAD PARTS OF CONDUCTING A HEARING WE GET 11:32:48 INTERRUPTED NOW AND THEN BY VOTES. 11:32:50 WE HAVE THREE VOTES PENDING RIGHT NOW. 11:32:52 THERE'S I THINK ABOUT TEN MINUTES REMAINING ON THIS VOTE. 11:32:56 I WOULD SUGGEST INSTEAD OF TRYING TO GET IN THE QUESTIONS, 11:32:58 WE TAKE A BREAK RIGHT NOW, LET'S STAND IN RECESS FOR 30 MINUTE, 11:33:06 WE'LL COME BACK AT NOON AND CONTINUE THIS HEARING. 11:33:08 WELL START WITH QUESTIONS ALL THE MEMBERS. 11:33:10 OKAY? THIS COMMITTEE WILL BE IN RECESS RECESS

Handwriting old film effect with sound

STATE DEPARTMENT REGULAR DAILY PRESS BRIEFING KIRBY: Good afternoon, everybody. A couple things to kick us off here. As you know, this morning we kicked off the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the U.S.-China Consultation on People-to- People Exchange. This follows yesterday's strategic security dialogue with China, hosted by Deputy Secretary Blinken. KIRBY: This morning, as you may have seen, our focus was on cooperation on climate change, which is a high priority in this bilateral relationship. This afternoon, we're engaging on a range of other bilateral, regional and global issues, including areas that have contributed to some tensions in the relationship. To enhance cooperation in some areas and narrow our differences in others. In addition, Deputy Secretary Blinken today hosted a special session on development assistance cooperation to expand collaboration in our efforts to combat disease and other threats to global health, promote sustainable development, and safeguard peace and stability. I'd like to move on to an update on our visa system. The Bureau of Consular Affairs reports that the database responsible for handling biometric clearances has been rebuilt and is being retested -- I'm sorry, is being tested. Thirty-three embassies and consulates, representing 66 percent of our normal capacity are now online and issuing visas, and we're working to restore full biometric data processing worldwide. We issued more than 45,000 visas yesterday. Beijing along issued nearly 15,000 visas. Significant additional numbers will be issued as the backlog clears. And it's gonna take some time here for the backlog to clear, as we continue to work the fix. Many posts are now rescheduling interviews. In some cases, interviews will be available as soon as the 24th. And then, again, we encourage people to check our Web site, travel.state.gov, for more information. And we'll keep updating you here, as we continue to work the problem. Today we also want to congratulate the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the opening of its new field office in Seoul. And we thank the Republic of Korea for hosting this office. We are pleased that the new office will continue the excellent documentation work initiated by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in the DPRK. These efforts will lay the groundwork for bringing to account those responsible for atrocities in the DPRK, and we believe this is an important step forward in implementing the U.N. Commission of Inquiry recommendations. With that, Brad? QUESTION: Starting where you started off, on the strategic and economic dialogue. KIRBY: Yes? QUESTION: Can you confirm that the OPM hack was raised at -- yet in the discussions? KIRBY: Well, I -- I can't confirm specifically that the breach at OPM was discussed, but I would point to what I said yesterday, which is that cyber security issues routinely come up. And, as I sort of alluded to in my opening statement, we certainly expect that cyber issues will be discussed -- have been discussed today and will continue to be discussed throughout the afternoon. QUESTION: OK, but you don't know if this particular... KIRBY: I do not. QUESTION: ... grievous breach was... KIRBY: I do not. QUESTION: ... was brought up? OK. QUESTION: (inaudible) QUESTION: Can I go back to that --just an issue on the technical, on the visas? KIRBY: Yes? QUESTION: What exactly does one -- what do you mean by technical issues? I mean, what kinds of technical issues were these that caused such a -- such an outage? KIRBY: Well, I think we talked about this a little bit before, Leslie (ph). It's a... QUESTION: Which we did, but it's unclear. KIRBY: It's a -- it's a hardware problem with the actual -- the physical database itself. So we're not talking about a software glitch, and that's why we're sure that this isn't the result of some kind of cyber security breach, it's a hardware problem. And there's a backup database that we wanted to create a second copy of, so that, you know, you always don't want to have one working backup. And so, it took a while to re-create the backup system and then to test it. And they were testing it methodically, you know, using a single post to see if it -- if they could insert the new hardware and that it would work properly, and in the early testing -- and we talked about this a little bit ago -- it didn't always work so well. KIRBY: So, they had to go back and work technical fixes to the -- to the hardware itself. They've done that now, we think to some degree of success, as I've pointed out, and visas are now starting to be issued. One of the things that we wanted to do was as we got the system back on line and the hardware fixed, was to put it in place at some of the most -- of the busiest posts. So that's why I specifically mentioned Beijing, because so many visas are processed there at Beijing. And, so far, again, it's going well. But it's a -- it's a hardware issue. And related specifically to the file itself, which just needed to be re-created and then tested. QUESTION: Any idea when you think that all the embassies or more embassies will come online? KIRBY: We'll do -- every day I think we're gonna be -- we expect to add more and more. And I will continue to update you here from the podium as we learn more, and feel free to check in as well on our own. But, I mean, we're -- they're constantly adding new posts to the effort, as the system, you know, gets back online. And, again, I think tomorrow we'll hopefully be able to point to some more progress, as well. There's -- look, I don't want to -- I don't want to be overly rosy here. We've got the fix in place. Things seem to be working. There's a big backlog. I mean, on average we process about 50,000, you know, a day, across the world. So there's a lot of -- there's a big backlog. It's gonna take awhile to clear that. QUESTION: How big is that backlog? Can you... (CROSSTALK) KIRBY: I don't -- I don't have a good estimate, because it's -- again, we only estimate how many thousands per day. It varies from, as you would imagine, Brad, day to day. But it's significant. So, things are looking good. Progress is being made. Technicians are still hard at work. And I will stress that it is a 24/7 process here that they're applying to the fixes. And it's just gonna take awhile. QUESTION: How old is this equipment? And does the age of the equipment and the need to have so many repairs to the hardware mean that this equipment should have been replaced? Is this a funding issue at the base of it? KIRBY: I don't know that nature of the exact -- the hardware problem. I don't believe it has to do with age, but I don't have a -- I am not a technical expert. I don't know exactly what the glitch was, but again they worked the fix and things are looking good and we will continue to keep you updated. QUESTION: One more. Do you know whether this is equipment that was acquired directly by the state department or was this acquired through a third party contractor who -- you know, a lot of them do these sort of services for the federal government? KIRBY: I don't know. In terms of the original equipment I don't know. But as I said a couple of days ago we are employing the skills of public and private sector -- technicians and experts to help us fix it. Are we going to have the -- done with the visa issue? QUESTION: Yes we are done. KIRBY: Go ahead Nicholas(ph). QUESTION: Oh no, I am done. QUESTION: I -- I -- I Just would like to go back to China, to China for a minute. KIRBY: Sure. QUESTION: Could you tell us whether the human rights issues have been discussed this morning? And if yes, with what level of specificity or was this dialogue not the appropriate format for human rights? KIRBY: This mornings focus was on climate. I think you saw some of the comments made in the sessions that we had this morning. This afternoon is really more about other global strategic issues. I don't know specifically as we stand here after two o'clock whether human rights has been specifically addressed. But as I said yesterday we certainly expect over the course of these two days that issues of human rights, which is an issue we don't always agree with China on, will certainly be discussed. But I don't have a read out for you this afternoon of the talks. QUESTION: (Inaudible) KIRBY: What? QUESTION: (inaudible) KIRBY: Sure, go ahead. QUESTION: One of our colleagues , a -- Taylor (ph), wrote in the New -- Washington Times that the administration is under a lot of pressure from it's allies to extend that date. Could you comment on this? I know this may be a White House -- better addressed to the White House but do you have any information there is pressure from, lets say from France or England. KIRBY: I -- I -- the way i would answer it is that we are still focused on June 30th. And I am not aware of any external pressure being applied to us or anybody else to extend. We are still focused on June 30th. QUESTION: Has -- has the topic come up, lets say by your allies, to say, perhaps we should consider extending? KIRBY: I am not going to talk about -- diplomatic discussion in the context of the negotiations. Look I think, and I talked about this a little bit yesterday, that getting the right deal is better than the deadline itself. Deadlines are good forcing functions, we still are driving towards June 30th and that's -- that's what everybody is , I think, focused on. But i am not going to talk about who inside the room is espousing different views. QUESTION: And my last one was the prime ministers (inaudible) said yesterday that, "A good deal is better than a deadline." But today said that we might even be able to reach one even before the deadline. Could you comment on that? KIRBY: Again, I am not going to speculate about -- what is going on inside the negotiating room. But I -- I think that is not position that is incongruent with what we have been saying which is that we are still focused on getting the right deal and that the right deal is more important than the deadline right now. The focus that we are all applying, in terms of timing, is towards the end of this month. QUESTION: So the -- the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , Bob Corker, said yesterday that the president should walk away -- step ways from the talks unless it secures anytime, anywhere access. And about two weeks ago Jack Luves (ph) at a conference (inaudible) post and he said, "Any deal must ensure a comprehensive and robust monitoring and inspection anywhere and everywhere the IOEA (ph) has reason to go." So, can you respond to Bob Corker and say, in fact, that is our standard. We reflect the same standard? KIRBY: I think I would say the same -- the same thing that we've been saying to the American people throughout this process, and that is that any deal must provide the access that IAEA inspectors need to verify Iran's compliance with the ultimate deal that's reached. We are still -- we are still in the negotiating phase on what that final deal is gonna look like. I'm not going to speculate about the details therein. But everybody, including the Iranian delegation, back in Lausanne, agreed that the IAEA will and must have the access it needs to verify compliance. QUESTION: And they also agreed in Lausanne, and I'm also quoting, that all past U.N. Security Council resolutions on the nuclear issue will be lifted simultaneously with the completion by Iran of all these issues, including PMD and transparency. So, between these two things, the bill that just passed through the Iranian parliament explicitly rejects those two provisions. Do you not have a comment on that at all? KIRBY: Well, we -- I did. And we commented on this yesterday. And these are -- we're aware that the Iranian parliament approved a bill concerning the nuclear talks and any final deal. Our understanding is that this bill now would still need the final approval from the Guardian Council. We're going to let the Iranians manage and speak to their own legislative process. For us, nothing's changed about what's necessary for a final deal, which includes access and transparency that will meet our bottom lines. (CROSSTALK) KIRBY: Nothing's changed about that. QUESTION: Do you discourage the Guardian Council from passing it? And I will also note that in the past when Congress has been reviewing legislation, the Iranians did not hold back from commenting on our legislation. KIRBY: Well, as I said, we're going to let the Iranians manage their own process. It's been very clear what our expectations are, and that is a great ringtone. Is that yours Justin? Terrific. QUESTION: Yeah, sorry. KIRBY: Actually, well -- well-timed for the completion of my answer. With that, I'll give the next one to you. QUESTION: Thank you. QUESTION: Yeah no, still on Iran, your colleague at the White House today said that there will be ongoing differences of opinion after potential -- if you get a final deal. Doesn't that call into question the whole notion of a final agreement? Shouldn't that be a -- you know, a shared text, and there should be no dispute of what is in the deal when you have one? KIRBY: Look, we've always said that there is going to -- there have been many voices in this process up to now, and there will continue to be many voices in the process, even when a deal is reached. And again, we're focused right now Brad on -- on that final deal, and -- and getting that inked. And it's got to be the right deal. It's got to be a good deal for our national security interests. And that's -- that's where our focus is right now. QUESTION: Doesn't a good and a right deal imply that it is... KIRBY: It certainly would imply that all parties... QUESTION: ... indisputed -- indisputed deal? KIRBY: It certainly would imply, obviously, not just imply, it would mean that all parties actually are in agreement on the essential elements of the deal. But that doesn't mean that voices of dissent are going to stop. And we understand that. But we're focused on getting the -- the right deal here. QUESTION: Just one more on this. Do you expect from the U.S. side or really from any of the parties at the table that implementation would begin theoretically if a deal was reached by June 30th, before Congress weighs in as is mandated by the... KIRBY: I'm just not going to get ahead on timelines and specifics right now. Again, we've got a team negotiating on this. And I don't want to -- I don't think it's helpful or productive for us to get in the middle of that right now. OK, that's it for Iran. We're moving on. QUESTION: Very quickly. It is conceivable to sign a multi-state deal or does it have to be all the... KIRBY: I'm not going to hypothesize. Next. QUESTION: Thank you, Admiral. We can still call you that. So, I want to go to the hostage review. Have we talked -- did we talk about that already? I was a little late. KIRBY: That's right, you were late, so you wouldn't know? I did, yes. We covered it in a fulsome manner, and I think we're just going to move on to the next issue now. QUESTION: Did you really cover it? KIRBY: No, go ahead. (LAUGHTER) QUESTION: All right. Sorry, OK. So my question is if families from now on are going to be negotiating with hostage takers, with terrorists, with some form of U.S. assistance, would that not represent a significant shift in policy for the United States? KIRBY: Justin, I'm simply not going to get ahead of an announcement that the president hasn't made yet. I mean, look, you've heard my colleague at the White House speak to this today. And this is -- this was an important review process that -- that we all believe will help the inter-agency coordinate and communicate better as well as communicate with the families in taking their concerns into consideration. But I'm simply not going to get ahead of policy decisions that haven't been announced yet. QUESTION: Can you say what -- what, as you understand it, the problems were that needed fixing within this review? KIRBY: Well, I think we've talked broadly about this when the -- when the review was announced, that -- that everybody realizes that first of all, the taking of hostages is a problem that continues, and in some cases has increased, particularly when you're dealing now with a group like ISIL, which in and of itself would naturally call for the U.S. government to take a look at our own procedures. And the degree to which we're always trying to improve, the degree to which perhaps we can improve inter-agency coordination, as well as taking into account some of the concerns expressed by families over the -- over the last several years. QUESTION: Unless someone else has something on this, I wanted to ask just one last one about the emails that were released by the committee earlier this week, and wondering. Yesterday you said that some of them were repeated, some of the Blumenthal emails were emails that you had already provided to the committee, were there any emails in there that you hadn't provided to the committee that in retrospect, you feel you ought to have provided given the parameters that were outlined from Trey Gowdy originally? KIRBY: Sure, we're still going through those emails. Specifically, the ones that Mr. Blumenthal provided to the committee. As I said yesterday, we do believe that some of them were already provided by the State Department, having been provided by former Secretary Clinton to us. So we know that there is some overlap, but we're still going through them, and I don't have an update on -- on how many that it would take. QUESTION: It wasn't that many emails. It was maybe 60 or so. I mean, how long does it take this bill to -- I went through them pretty fast. Maybe I'm faster than the entire State Department? Is that what you're suggesting? That every reporter in this town can go through them faster... KIRBY: I'm not suggesting, actually. I'm saying we're still... QUESTION: ... than the entire weight of this department? KIRBY: ... we're still going through them. QUESTION: To do what? KIRBY: We're still going through the emails to see if there were some that we didn't have originally before sending over to the select committee. And I also remind you Brad, I mean, what we provided was specifically to meet the request of Benghazi-related material. We're still going through that. QUESTION: You feel still that you met that request, right? You see no indication from these emails that you did not in every way meet that request? KIRBY: That's correct. Next. Yeah, in the back there. QUESTION: I've got two questions. One, as far as this U.S.-China Strategic Dialogue is concerned, if I may go back, last -- recently you also had a dialogue with the U.S. and Pakistan, and the foreign secretary was here. My question is that have you discussed as far as the nuclear issues and the $46 billion deal between China and Pakistan, if this not in the interests of U.S. interests or U.S. jobs creation? KIRBY: I'm not aware of that particular issue arising today, Goyle (ph), to be honest with you. Again, the talks are just beginning. It just started today. And I think at the end, you know, there'll be a press conference and I think we'll be able to have a more fulsome readout of all the items that were discussed. QUESTION: Second, as far as India-Pakistan is concerned, tensions are on the rise, not going down. My question is here that yesterday at the Atlantic Council Brigadier Aaron Sadler (ph) was speaking, and he said that there is a proxy war going on between the two countries, but especially by Pakistan into India, as far as Kashmir issue is concerned. But, of course, Pakistan is blaming India the war is against Pakistan and Baluchistan (ph) and all that. My question, a number of terrorists are still there, wanted by India in the Mumbai attack, and they're openly giving statements, including last week in Musharaff (ph), General Musharaff (ph) also said that with the other terrorist groups that they will use nuclear weapons against India. My question is, do you feel that Pakistan's nuclear program is safe and out of the terrorist hands? KIRBY: Let me tackle this a couple of ways. First, you heard Secretary Kerry talk to this -- to this very issue when he -- when we piped him into the briefing room about the -- his concerns about tensions between India and Pakistan right now and our continued belief that both sides need to work these issues out peaceably and on their own. And I'm not -- certainly not going to talk about intelligence issues here at the -- at the podium, but our expectation continues to be that -- you know, that Pakistan will be a responsible stakeholder on security issues, in particular, you know, the nuclear issue. QUESTION: If I could do one more quickly, sir, as far as trafficking is concerned and human trafficking and child labor and child trafficking in India and also many countries around the globe, including South Asia and China, Mr. Karasaparti (ph) was speaking last week at the Lincoln Memorial, and he spoke at a number of occasions and events in Washington and met a number of law makers on the Hill. Question is that as far as child labor, child trafficking, is concerned, if the secretary or the U.S. Department of State has any question, are talking to those governments that using little children to make the big things selling around the globe? KIRBY: Well, we -- I think we talked about this last week, and I don't think my answer today is going to be any different. Obviously, this is a -- this is a concern that we have around the world, the issue of child labor and certainly human trafficking. And it's something that we are constantly talking to our friends and partners about. It's a -- it's a significant concern. Look, we're seeing, you know -- you know, migration issues in the Mediterranean, coming from North Africa up to Southern Europe. I mean, it's out in the Asia Pacific. I mean, these are -- these are not insignificant problems. Our positions or our stance on them have not changed. And we're gonna continue to work this just as hard as we can. But I don't have anything specifically on that. Let's go to something else. QUESTION: North Korea. KIRBY: Go ahead. QUESTION: Is there a U.S. reaction the North Korean governments decision to sentence two South Korean men, who were allegedly Christian missionaries, to a life time sentence of hard labor? KIRBY: Well I haven't seen that report. So before I make a -- make a statement about it let me go and take a look -- take a look at that before we -- we issue a statement about that. QUESTION: (inaudible) In South Korea yesterday. And further improvement of North Korean (inaudible). And the government of North Korea politically provocated against the South Korean (inaudible). KIRBY: We have seen the threatening comments made by North Korean officials regarding this -- this field office that is being set up. And obviously we -- certainly -- deep concerns about those comments. And -- just reiterate that they do nothing to help the security and stability on the Korean peninsula. So, I mean, seen them. Obviously we take -- take deep issue with that reaction to this. This office is all about trying to help -- potentially down the road help hold those accountable -- those responsible for human rights violations in the north. That is a good thing. Again we welcome the stand-up of this office and -- and it is in nobodies interest to -- to do anything to interfere with that work. Certainly not the interest of the North Korean people. QUESTION: The war against ISIS? KIRBY: Sure. QUESTION: OK. Today the desert (ph) -- or the supreme leader in Tehran (ph) (inaudible) after meeting with the Syrian interior minister said that there is going to be a meeting in Baghdad between Iraq, Iran and Syria to consolidate efforts against ISIS. Would you object to including the Syrian government in this process? KIRBY: I think I would put this in the same area that we talked about when we talked about Prime Minister Abadi traveling to Tehran. It is understandable. And it's not the first time, by the way, that -- that Iraqi leaders have met, excuse me, with Assad regime leaders. But it -- we understand this is a sovereign country. We have to keep reminding ourselves, I find, to remind everybody that Iraq is sovereign. Prime Minister Abadi is the prime minister of a sovereign nation, and we should expect that he's going to have discussions and meetings and outreach with neighbors in the Middle East, particularly immediate neighbors. And so that's the rubric under which we understand this meeting is occurring. QUESTION: So you don't object let's say to cooperation between Syria, Iraq, and Tehran in fighting the same enemy that you are fighting? KIRBY: We have -- our position hasn't changed. Assad regime has lost legitimacy, has to go. And I think it's important to remember in the context of this or any other meeting that it's largely because of Assad that ISIL has been able to flourish and grow and operate and sustain itself inside Syria. And so I think it's important to remember that nothing's changed about -- nothing's changed about our view on that. But we also understand that Prime Minister Abadi has obligations, security obligations, that he himself and the Iraqi people hold to be important, and if he's having meetings with neighboring nations, the leaders of neighboring nations in concert with that, well that's -- that's certainly his prerogative. QUESTION: If you're saying that Assad is the source of all this terrorism, then I mean, or the main cause or you know, continues to be a source of -- of this terrorism, I mean, how are you really going to go after ISIS without a strategy to get rid of Assad? KIRBY: Well, I didn't say that Assad is the main reason why ISIL exists. QUESTION: Basically put it at his feet that you know, ISIS was able to flourish. And you just said... KIRBY: I did, yes. QUESTION: ... that ISIS was able to flourish... KIRBY: Absolutely, it's been able to. One of the reasons it has been able to flourish inside Syria is that the Assad regime has lost all legitimacy. They are -- they are not -- they've large -- large swathes of ungoverned space inside Syria that ISIL has been able to take advantage of and to exploit. The -- the mission against ISIL, the coalition mission, is against ISIL. Separate and distinct from that, nothing has changed about our long-standing belief that the Assad regime's lost legitimacy and needs to go. We've also said repeatedly and consistently that there's not going to be a military solution to that issue. That what needs to happen is a negotiated political settlement. QUESTION: Is there any movement on that? KIRBY: It's -- it's you know, we've talked about this the other day, Elyce. We continue to work at this. This is a tough problem in a very complicated area. Everybody understands that. But that's what really needs to happen here. It's not going to be sold militarily. QUESTION: Yeah, I just -- follow up on a research point. I mean, you are -- the argument of this administration all along has been that Assad is a magnet for terrorists. And so I don't understand the logic behind this. If he's the magnet for terrorists, should we allow the terrorists to (inaudible) is that the logic behind saying that? Because you know sir, if he must go, so it's whatever, you know, this magnet analogy? KIRBY: Are you saying that what we're saying by the fact that... QUESTION: I'm saying that by virtue of being there, he attracts terrorists. So they go on because he's there. If he was no longer there, they will not go in. Is that the logic? KIRBY: I don't -- no, I wouldn't subscribe to that. What I'm saying is that nobody's turning a blind eye to ISIL's use of Syrian territory to further its own ambitions. Not at all. And nobody's turning a blind eye to the atrocities that the Assad regime continues to -- to propagate against its own people. But the answer to ISIL is we believe continues to be a coalition effort supported by the U.S. military, but also the militaries of other nations, and four other lines of effort, which include trying to help get a moderate opposition trained and equipped to go in the field against ISIL on the ground in Syria. The solution against -- the solution against -- please let me finish, the solution against Assad, we continue to believe, is not going to be done militarily or through that same kind of effort, but rather one over -- through a political settlement. It's tough. Nobody said that this is going to be solved overnight. It's going to -- it's going to take some time. But that's -- that's the policy that we continue to espouse and the policy we continue to try to implement. Yep? QUESTION: But when you have the political dialog with the Assad regime without a change the military balance on the ground? KIRBY: Again, the change in regime, we want to see done through other than military means. We don't believe there's a military solution to the Assad regime. And we -- I -- we said this repeatedly, the issue militarily in Syria, at least for the United States, and I'm not going to speak for the Defense Department, but it is through -- is about going after ISIL. QUESTION: Secretary Kerry, I think one of the first things he said when he came into office was that you needed to change Assad's calculus in order for him to want to come to the table. Is that still that position? Because the military efforts really on the ground right now have nothing to do with changing this calculus. Or do you see, you know, losses that he's having on the ground which incidentally have nothing to do with you as possibly his calculus changing? KIRBY: I think we still -- obviously, yes, we believe that his calculas has to change. There is no question about that. And his regime is coming under more and more attack. And we have seen signs of the weakening of his grip. But again the answer here is a political one not a military one. QUESTION: You said that there is no military solutions and at the same time there is no political solution on the horizon. In the end what is the solution to this situation? KIRBY: Look, you want me to solve the whole Syria crisis right up here and I am not going to do that. (CROSSTALK) KIRBY: What I am trying to tell you is -- what I am trying to tell you is there is a lot of energy applied to this. Senator Kerry talks to particularly Foreign Minister Ryan Roth (ph) about this all the time. I think everybody understands there needs to be a political settlement to this. That is not going to be achieved -- rarely every is in human history, easily or quickly. But it is not something that -- to convey that we have taken our eye off of it, or that we are not focused on it would be-- would be false. it is just going to take soem time and I am not going to be able to solve it for you here in the 45 minutes -- 25 minutes that I have left. Yes? QUESTION: Could I just -- this issue. Last week speech by (inaudible) siad that Turkeys intelligence suggest that ISIS and Syrian regime represented a (inaudible) and coordinating operations against FSA. Do you think there is any cooperation between ISIS and the Asad regime? KIRBY: I have seen no evidence of cooperation between ISIL and the Asad Regime. I have seen no indication of that. Yes? QUESTION: To Israel? Yesterday you said that you were interested in receipt of the UN Gaza report, have you gotten a change to take a look at it? KIRBY: I think we talked about this yesterday as well. Were you here yesterday? QUESTION: I was not. KIRBY: Yes, see. QUESTION: But I read the -- I read the transcript, and you said that... KIRBY: So, what... QUESTION: ... you hadn't. KIRBY: Well, right. We just got it yesterday. Certainly we're reading it. But as I also said yesterday, we challenge the very mechanism which created it. And so, we're not going to have a readout of this; we're not going to have rebuttal to it. We're certainly gonna read it, as we read all U.N. reports, but we challenge the very foundation upon which this report was written, and we don't believe that there's a call or a need for any further Security Council work on this. (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: In that case, I take it that you reject using this report in an referral to the International Criminal Court. KIRBY: We do not support any further U.N., you know, work on this report. QUESTION: You just welcomed a similar effort for Korea. You just welcomed it, a U.N. human rights inquiry effort for Korea. Why would you (inaudible) reject... (CROSSTALK) KIRBY: Because we -- because we -- because we've long said, and you know that we reject the basis under which this particular commission of inquiry was established because of the very clear bias against Israel in it. (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: You approve of Israel investigating itself? Do you approve that Israel should conduct it's own inquiry... (CROSSTALK) KIRBY: It's not our place to -- it's not our place to approve or disapprove. (CROSSTALK) KIRBY: We -- the United States investigates itself all the time, on all kinds of things. QUESTION: Do you trust Israel's mechanism to investigate itself? KIRBY: I'm not gonna make a comment about a specific investigation. QUESTION: You said that this report has an obvious bias and the committee that set it up has an obvious bias against Israel. But the findings cited both -- potential war crimes by both Israel and Hamas. So are you saying that you just reject the ones against Israel and not -- and kind of approve of the ones against Hamas? KIRBY: I'm saying that we object to the report... QUESTION: The entire report? KIRBY: ... to the -- to the foundation upon which the commission was established and therefore the product that resulted from that work. QUESTION: OK. KIRBY: Because we object to the foundation itself, we're not going to take it apart and do a point-by-point rebuttal or support for the report. QUESTION: So you reject the report out of hand, including the criticisms against the -- against Hamas... (CROSSTALK) KIRBY: We're not gonna do... QUESTION: ... which you have basically said that... KIRBY: We're not gonna do an analysis of the report and we don't believe that any further action in the U.N. is required on it. QUESTION: The conclusion was rather squirmy of this report in that it didn't say with certitude that war crimes were committed by either side. Do you disagree with the notion that Israel may have committed war crimes? KIRBY: We've -- and I said this yesterday -- we certainly made known at the time our concerns about the use of force in that particular conflict and urged restraint on both sides. And that's where I'd leave it. QUESTION: You also welcomed Israeli investigations into their own conduct after the conflict. If you didn't think that there was anything that at least warranted looking into, why would you have supported that investigation? KIRBY: We said that we had concerns about the use of force on both sides. And for one party to say, we're gonna go take a look at that I think I don't know why we wouldn't welcome that. QUESTION: I'm sorry, have all of your concerns then now been alleviated or dismissed? KIRBY: I'm not -- I don't have a particular comment on that right now, Brad. Again, I would just say, we made -- we made known our position at the time. QUESTION: Here's my problem, is that you had these concerns at the time. The Israelis have looked into it and they have found nothing that they did wrong. You haven't said whether you agree with that or disagree with that. Now, you have a U.N. report that you don't like the foundation, but it essentially says what you were thinking several months ago, that Israel may have done something wrong, it may not have done something wrong, yet you are opposed to that. I don't know what's happened in between that leads you now to say -- well you -- I don't even -- your not even saying your concerns have been alleviated, so where are you? You just forgot about them or what? KIRBY: Well, your sarcastic tone not withstanding -- QUESTION: That was not sarcastic. KIRBY: Yes, it was. We have made very clear what our issues were at the time about the use of force. And we made very clear to the Israeli government, our concerns about what was happening in that conflict. We -- we have an ongoing dialogue with the government of Israel on all these sorts of matters. That dialogue continued and continues. I am not going to declare here from the podium final resolution one way or the other. What I will tell you is again we -- we -- we find and believe that bias against Israel that established the mechanism for the commission of inquiry into this particular conflict. And because of that we don't believe that the resulting report requires any further action, should not go any further in the security counsel. QUESTION: Sir, is it justified to say at the time, yes you did make your views known. But you also called for Israel to investigate the incidents and -- KIRBY: I -- I -- I think I have dealt with this as best I can. I don't have a comment on the Israeli investigation. Yes? QUESTION: Just a quick follow-up. There are -- challenges by the Israeli that at least 15 targets resulting in the death on 416 persons, mainly civilians, had no military value whatsoever. Would that constitute a war crime in your opinion? KIRBY: I have no comment on that. QUESTION: (inaudible) will be the first prime minister to reject Israel in 60 years of history, And yesterday on Capital Hill under the leadership of Congressman Ami Bera and Congressman Crowley, they passed a resolution, U.S., India, Israel cooperation. Any comments on that and what this will do? KIRBY: I don't -- I haven't seen those reports. I'm afraid I don't have anything for you. QUESTION: Can we change regions, Venezuela? The opposition leader has ended a hunger strike. KIRBY: Yes. QUESTION: Does the U.S. have any comment on this? Do you still call for his release? KIRBY: I would say that we do note that Mr. Lopez ended his hunger strike today, on its 30th day. We welcome this decision, which Mr. Lopez made following the announcement by Venezuelan electoral authorities setting a December 6th date for the date of legislative elections. Mr. Lopez is a man of physical and moral courage who has chosen a path of civil nonviolent resistance to pursue his political objectives. He's an important political leader who can play a significant role in the Democratic dialogue necessary to overcome the political disputes that beset Venezuela. We're glad that he has ended his strike, his hunger strike, and urge Venezuelan authorities to permit him access to doctors of his choosing as he recovers from this ordeal. QUESTION: A question on Yemen. Today a Web site in Yemen claimed that Iran smuggled $9 billion of counterfeit dollars into the Houthi to give them (inaudible). Do you have any comment on that? KIRBY: I haven't seen that exact report, Said, but obviously we've long made known our concerns about Iranian support to the Houthis. And, once again, we'd continue to stress our strong support for the U.N.-led process that is trying to get to a sense of political resolution there. That is the right answer for the Yemeni people. QUESTION: That would be a breach of international laws and norms, to smuggle in counterfeit money, wouldn't it? A major thing? KIRBY: It would. There are Security Council resolutions that prevent support of that kind. But, again, I haven't seen the report, so I can't comment to the veracity of it. You guys have the advantage of your iPhones up here, and I don't. Yes? QUESTION: I want to ask a question about the human rights issues again. Secretary Kerry will release annual human rights report on Thursday, next Thursday. Do you know how many countries involved, the annual report on H.R. practices? KIRBY: You're right, we are going to release the human rights report on Thursday. Secretary Kerry will participate in that. I'm not gonna get ahead of the announcement. I've got time for just a couple more. QUESTION: Anything on Ebola (inaudible)? There are eight new cases, seven of them in the past week. KIRBY: No. QUESTION: Any... KIRBY: I've not seen those reports. QUESTION: Do you know whether the U.S. government is making any plans to renew its efforts to help countries in West Africa, seeing as how this may be becoming a problem again? KIRBY: I'm not aware of any new plans. We've stayed engaged with governments down there. Although there's not the significant military presence that was there before, we certainly have stayed engaged on this issue. I'm not aware of anything new to announce or new plans in that regard. Last one? QUESTION: Will you take the question? KIRBY: I can take the question, sure, but I'm just not aware of anything. Yes? QUESTION: A very quick one on Cuba. Any update on the reopening of the embassies? KIRBY: Nope. Teams continue to talk about this. And, again, I think things are moving in a very positive direction, but I don't have any update on the schedule. Thanks, everybody. END

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