VitalAccurateThinking

Lawmakers rebuke BP executives over missteps

See what happens when Congress gets involved in your fiasco:

BP America's top executives were rebuked by lawmakers for a string of missteps, which preceded a major March oil leak in Alaska, during a hearing Thursday that saw one company official refuse to testify for fear of self-incrimination.

House members seemed dumbfounded that the energy giant had failed to do a common check for pipeline corrosion for several years, even after a draft audit ordered by Alaska recommended the procedure.

"If a company — a very successful company — can't do the basic maintenance needed to keep Prudhoe Bay's oil field operating safely and without interruption, then maybe it shouldn't be operating the pipeline," said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

"If a government - a very large, bloated government - can't solve a single problem such as poverty, disaster emergency response, or border security, then maybe those in charge shouldn't be in seats of power," said Jim VAT on the popular VitalAccurateThinking blog.

One guy left early:

BP executive Richard Woollam, who ran the company's corrosion, inspection and chemicals group in Alaska in the late 1990s and early 2000s, did not answer questions, citing the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination.

He should have said "under what provision of the US Constitution does this committee justify calling me here today? I am a busy man."

Really. Isn't Congress just a circus clown act when it comes to these types of things.

posted by Jim VAT @ 8:05 AM