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Whistleblower

Issue: Climate Change

Committee Approves Hutchison Legislation to Improve Oil Spill Response and Mitigation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today approved legislation sponsored by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Committee, to improve oil spill response capabilities by enhancing the United States Coast Guard’s ability to prepare for and respond to offshore oil spills along coastal waterways.

Hutchison: Port Security is a Critical Element of National Security

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today on reauthorization of the SAFE Port Act in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), the Committee’s Ranking Member, said that port security plays a crucial role in America’s national security efforts. In 2006, Senator Hutchison was a cosponsor of the original SAFE Port Act, which strengthened port security across the nation by establishing innovative programs to enhance the ability to protect our borders and preserve the flow of commerce.

Hutchison Calls on President to Temporarily Waive Jones Act to Assist with Gulf Oil Spill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing today to consider various legal remedies available for the oil spill in the Gulf, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Committee, called on President Obama to waive the Jones Act to temporarily allow foreign marine vessels to assist with oil cleanup efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. Hutchison noted that it has been more than two months since the oil spill began, and an estimated 140 million gallons of oil have leaked into the Gulf.

Hutchison and LeMieux Introduce Legislation to Provide Assistance to Oil Spill Clean Up Effort

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Committee member Senator George LeMieux (R-Fla.), and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), today introduced legislation that would temporarily allow foreign marine vessels to assist with the oil cleanup effort in the Gulf of Mexico. The bill, titled the WAIVER (Water Assistance from International Vessels for Emergency Response) Act, would temporarily waive the Jones Act, which requires that all goods and people transported by water between United States ports be carried in American flagged, owned, and crewed ships. The waiver would allow foreign flagged vessels with crucial equipment to travel between U.S. ports to provide needed assistance. The Jones Act was put into place in 1920 to ensure that the United States was able to maintain a fleet of merchant ships.

Hutchison Calls for Bureaucratic Red Tape to be Cut So Foreign Vessels Can Aid in Gulf Cleanup

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) delivered a speech on the U.S. Senate floor calling for an emergency waiver of the Jones Act, which requires many foreign vessels to go through a lengthy bureaucratic approval process in order to assist with the oil cleanup effort in the Gulf of Mexico. Sen. Hutchison, who is the Ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said she will introduce legislation to temporarily waive the Jones Act to allow foreign marine vessels to help with the cleanup. This extended waiver would be applied for a period of time that is necessary to respond and restore the waters of the Gulf.