August 10, 2006
A Sign Of The Times
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) hasn't been the poster-boy of anti-Washington or anti-Republican power, but one might get that impression with this release. Weldon is a Republican, mind you, attacking big oil and attacking the government. Weldon's the incumbent, right? Take a look at the release after the jump. Look for other GOP incumbents to continue this tactic.
EP. WELDON BLASTS BP FOR FAILING TO MAINTAIN PIPELINE & GOVT FOR FAILED OVERSIGHT
WASHINGTON (8 Aug.) - U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) today urged the Department's of Energy and Transportation to fully investigate as well as hold those responsible for the neglect of British Petroleum's (BP) pipeline running from the Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska that caused it to be shutdown following the detection of leaks and corrosion - sending oil prices to near historic levels and leaving a major deficit in domestic oil supply.
Citing serious concerns for America's security and the average consumer, Weldon wrote, "The very mention of such a problem (at Prudhoe Bay) contributed to the rise of oil prices, already at their highest in many decades, putting pressure on prices at the pump, and robbing American consumers of 400,000 barrels of oil a day." He predicted, "This news will continue to hurt the average consumer even more, as August is the peak summer driving season."
Weldon questioned Energy Secretary Bodman and Acting Transportation Secretary Cino on the lack of effective government oversight of the BP pipeline. "Where are the guarantees that your Departments can cooperate with the nations' oil companies to oversee pipeline safety and inspection?," Weldon wrote. "It would be logical to assume that regular inspections are carried out by both private and federal agencies to comply with safety and environmental standards of our oil-carrying pipelines. This is an atrocious neglect of the basic safety and commercial responsibility."
Posted at 12:02 PM
Comments
Is this thing on?
Jim | 08.10.06 03:40 PM
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Instead of the phrase: "Citing serious concerns for America's security and the average consumer...", it may have been more appropriate to say: "Citing a serious challenge to his seat in Congress by Democratic candidate Joe Sestak ( http://www.sestakforcongress.com ), Weldon tries to extricate himself for his established connections to Bush and the GOP in time to save his seat."
Keep an eye on the PA-7 race as we blog the Sestak-Weldon match up at http://www.PA7Watch.com.
Seventh Watch | 08.11.06 09:25 AM
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