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Rep. Joe Barton Apologizes to BP [1]


Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) turned a hearing with BP CEO Tony Hayward on its head Thursday by apologizing to BP for what he called a "$20 billion shakedown." Democrats made political hay. Republicans scrambled to distance themselves. Under threat from GOP leaders of losing his job as top House Energy Republican, Barton returned to the hearing to apologize for apologizing. It later emerged that Barton's "shakedown" talking point had been crafted by the Republican Study Committee, a conservative faction that includes 115 of the 178 GOP House members. Barton got more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from the oil industry during this election cycle -- and his top single corporate contributor is Anadarko, which is a 25% stakeholder in the gushing Macondo well. Hayward, while apologetic himself, dodged the panel's questions.

Source: CBS News [2], 06/18/2010

National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid [6]

Stakeholders from utilities, technology companies, ISOs, Congress, federal and state agencies, environmental groups, and research and consulting firms will meet in Washington, DC for this national forum.


"Administering Fund, a Master Mediator" [11]

"Kenneth R. Feinberg ... . named Wednesday by President Obama as the independent administrator of a $20 billion fund set up by BP to compensate victims of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, may not have the powers of a king. But he does seem to specialize in Solomon-like decisions."

Source: NYTimes [12], 06/17/2010

"USGS Director Quietly Wages 'Fearless' War on Oil Spill" [13]

"Though she has stayed behind the scenes for most of the federal response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt has emerged in the past week as a bold, forthright translator of the web of numbers and scientific estimates surrounding the spill."

Source: Greenwire [14], 06/17/2010

"Chemical Security Advocates See New Opening to Rework Bush-Era Rules" [15]

Petrochemical companies like BP won a key battle in achieving unpoliced self-regulation early in the Bush administration -- when they got friends in Congress and the White House to shut EPA out of chemical safety and security oversight. As public health advocates point to possible disasters more lethal than the Gulf spill, there may be an opportunity to reverse the federal government's decisions not to protect the public from petrochemical disasters.

Source: Greenwire [16], 06/17/2010

BP's Hayward Faces Interrogation in Congress Today [19]

Despite a huge and detailed hearing and investigative record of BP corner-cutting on well-control and safety operations leading up to the Gulf blowout, explosion, and spill, BP's Tony Hayward is poised to tell a Congressional committee today that he has no idea why it happened. The interrogation may be harsh.

Source: NBC News [20], 06/17/2010

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[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/rep-joe-barton-apologizes-bp [2] http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20008020-503544.html [3] https://www.sej.org/initiatives/sej-annual-conferences/AC2010-coverage [4] http://conf.sej.org/ [5] http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9XWTCN5 [6] https://www.sej.org/calendar/national-town-meeting-demand-response-and-smart-grid [7] https://www.sej.org/headlines/interior-inspector-general-expected-fault-oil-spill-probe [8] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/16/AR2010061605964.html [9] https://www.sej.org/headlines/doubts-over-safety-tests-gulf-oil-dispersants [10] http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19053-doubts-over-safety-tests-on-gulf-oil-dispersants.html [11] https://www.sej.org/headlines/administering-fund-master-mediator [12] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/us/17feinberg.html [13] https://www.sej.org/headlines/usgs-director-quietly-wages-fearless-war-oil-spill [14] http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/06/16/16greenwire-usgs-director-quietly-wages-fearless-war-on-oi-83792.html [15] https://www.sej.org/headlines/chemical-security-advocates-see-new-opening-rework-bush-era-rules [16] http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/06/16/16greenwire-chemical-security-advocates-see-new-opening-to-2345.html [17] https://www.sej.org/headlines/c8-exposure-linked-adhd-children [18] http://wvgazette.com/News/201006160770 [19] https://www.sej.org/headlines/bps-hayward-faces-interrogation-congress-today [20] http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/06/16/4517958-hayward-testimony-we-still-dont-know-what-happened [21] https://www.sej.org/search_results [22] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4524 [23] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4521 [24] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4522 [25] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4523 [26] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4526 [27] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4527 [28] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4528 [29] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4529 [30] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4967