Washington, DC – Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado, today cosponsored a bill to give subpoena power to a Presidential bipartisan commission to enhance its ability to conduct a thorough investigation into the oil spill that is devastating the Gulf Coast.
Legislation, introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and cosponsored by Bennet, would ensure the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling created by President Obama on May 22nd has access to all the evidence it needs to undertake a complete investigation on the causes of the spill and make meaningful recommendations to help prevent similar disasters.
“BP and other companies involved have a lot to answer for and must be held accountable for the mess they have created in the Gulf,” Bennet said. “That includes a thorough investigation into what went wrong. The commission must have every tool available so that they can diagnose the cause of the spill, address the problem and help prevent a disaster like this from ever happening again.”
Congress has previously granted subpoena power to presidential commissions investigating national crises, including the Warren Commission and the Three Mile Island Commission. Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) plan to introduce similar legislation in the House.