Congressional Report Blows Holes In Regime's Claimed Efforts In Gulf

From Fire Andrea Mitchell:

Day 74 of oil spill: Congressional Report claims Obama regime lied about cleanup efforts of Gulf oil spill


Billy Nungesser, president of New Orleans’ Plaquemines Parish, sensed that a chart showing 140 oil skimmers at work — a chart given to him by BP and the Coast Guard — was “somewhat inaccurate.” So, Nungesser asked to fly over the spill to verify the number. According to CNSNEWS the flyover was cancelled three times before those officials admitted that just 31 of the 140 skimmers were actually deployed!





The incident is detailed in a report released Thursday by Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Republicans say the report provides evidence that the Obama administration misrepresented the assets devoted to the cleanup, misrepresented the timing of when government officials knew there was an oil spill and misrepresented the level of control the Government had over the matter. It also claims the Obama administration seemed more interested in public relations than cleaning the mess and plugging the hole.



The report, which relies on interviews with several local officials in Louisiana, goes on to quote Nungesser, who had been on local and national television enough so that the White House became concerned. Two White House officials visited him on Father’s Day and said, “What do we have to do to keep you off TV?” His answer was, “Give me what I need.”



Other Parish officials said the administration did not provide as many assets as it claimed. One Parish official called these “phantom assets.”



The report also states that the people in the Gulf do not support President Obama’s six-month moratorium on offshore drilling, and also criticized Obama’s delay in allowing international assistance until 70 days into the spill.



“This report reveals a stark contrast between the narrative being told by the administration in Washington and the sobering realities and challenges that the people closest to this catastrophe are struggling to overcome,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.



“These testimonials from the people who are on the frontlines of this crisis have brought to light a bureaucratic quagmire that is exacerbating the response and clean-up effort – in a post-Katrina world, this is unimaginable and unacceptable,” Issa said.



“The evidence on the ground suggests that the White House has been more focused on the public relations of this crisis than with providing local officials the resources they need to deal with it,” he added.