News Releases
Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) today sought information from the U.S. Coast Guard regarding BP and Transocean’s plan to re-inspect the underwater wreckage and the well head from the Deepwater Horizon disaster using subsea remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). The need to re-inspect the area stems from the detection of an oil sheen on November 2, 2012, the second such incident inside of two months.
House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders sent a letter today to the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists seeking information on the role of this industry association in assisting compounding pharmacies in their interactions with Federal and state authorities. A bipartisan group of Committee leaders wrote, “Allegations that your association may have encouraged compounding pharmacists to attempt to impede FDA from evaluating the efficacy and safety of their products, if true, raise serious concerns about your actions.”
House Ways and Means Ranking Member Sander Levin, Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Pete Stark, House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman, Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr., and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Health Subcommittee Chairman Jay Rockefeller yesterday unveiled a GAO report titled Medicare and Medicaid: Consumer Protection Requirements Affecting Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries Vary Across Programs, Payment Systems, and States, examining the consumer protections for individuals enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid, often referred to as dual eligible beneficiaries.
Today Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman released the following statement on the D.C. Circuit ruling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) data roaming rules:
Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, sent letters to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, urging them to reject a proposed legislative rider for a pilot program that would allow averaging of emissions over a ship’s voyage. The proposal has previously passed the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives and would have a detrimental impact on the ECA (Emission Control Area) designated by the International Maritime Organization to reduce air pollution from ships along the North American coastline. Emissions reductions required in the ECA will improve public health and air quality along the coastlines, particularly in the state of California.
Today Reps. Henry A. Waxman, Ed Markey, Bobby L. Rush, Diana DeGette, and Rush D. Holt, the leading Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee, sent a letter to Grand Isle Shipyard Owner Mark Tregeant to request a briefing regarding Grand Isle Shipyard’s involvement in the recent deadly explosion on a Black Elk Energy oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Reports indicate that the explosion may have involved maintenance welding work by Grand Isle Shipyard, which has a history of accidents.
Today leading Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee sent a letter to Black Elk Energy CEO John Hoffman regarding the explosion on November 16, 2012, on one of the company’s oil production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The letter was sent by Energy and Commerce Committee members Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Rep. Bobby L. Rush, and Rep. Diana DeGette, and by Natural Resources Committee members Rep. Ed Markey and Rep. Rush D. Holt.
The full text of the letter is below and is also available online here.
Energy and Commerce Committee leaders and members will hold a briefing on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. in HVC 215. The title of the briefing is "Should Telecom Companies Edit the Internet?"
Today leading Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden requesting a hearing on the impact of “superstorm” Sandy and the performance and reliability of communications services.
Today Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman and Energy and Power Subcommittee Ranking Member Bobby L. Rush sent a letter to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Energy and Power Subcommittee Ranking Member Ed Whitfield requesting a hearing on an important, new World Bank report that details the “devastating” impacts of climate change. The report, ”Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided,” details what the world would be like with warming of 4 degrees Celsius before the end of the century.