Saturday, March 19, 2011

Chair of the Texas Railroad Commission to testify before Congress

The chair of the Texas Railroad Commission will testify before Congress Wednesday morning and is expected to argue that more permits for deepwater drilling should be issued sooner rather than later.

Elizabeth Ames Jones, one of three elected members of the commission, and a Senate candidate, will testify before the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Jones publicized the event on her Senate campaign website Tuesday. Jones is running for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat.

On Friday, the Department of the Interior approved a permit for deepwater offshore drilling, the second since President Obama issued a moratorium in the wake of the BP oil spill. Obama lifted the deepwater and shallow water moratoriums in October and May, respectively.

Republicans and some Texas Democrats have pressured the administration to approve more permits as gas prices climb toward four dollars a gallon.

But the administration argues that its cautious behavior is to avoid another catastrophe similar to the BP oil spill.

You can watch the hearing here, beginning at 9 a.m. CST.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/03/chair-of-the-texas-railroad-co.html

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