With over an estimated 5 million gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the BP Rig explosion; is the government doing enough to protect the environment while this mess is being cleaned up?

I say NO!

Let me explain, I am all for the government allowing/forcing BP to be responsible for this disaster. When you think about the government is not capable of handling this cleanup. Although BP has been a suspect in stopping the flow of oil into the Gulf they are still better suited than the Federal Government. So what President Obama and his administration is doing up to this point concerning this spill seems to be the correct course of action.

The problem is what is the government doing to make sure this does not happen again, how will they improve the regulation of offshore drilling?

One move the government will be making is separating the Minerals Management Service (MMS) oil royalty collection and safety inspection roles. Having these 2 departments under one umbrella is a conflict of interest. It is in the best interest of the oil royalty collection department to have oil rigs running; safety at a certain point is secondary for this group. You can imagine the scenarios where the oil royalty guys call in favors with their safety inspection friends to turn a blind eye on a rig that is making a TON of money!

Kudos to the fed for figuring that one out!

So where is the government missing the boat on preventing another catastrophe?

Introducing another BP oil rig, the Atlantis. Thanks to The Rachel Maddow Show we have learned that this rig is operating further out and drilling in deeper waters. Now with all the difficulty BO has had in capping the Deepwater Horizon well why would we have any confidence in BO drilling in deeper waters? Why have President Obama and his administration (Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar) shut down BP’s operations in the Gulf until all their rigs can be fully inspected? Instead we allow a company with a sketchy safety record (Texas City Explosion) to continue to operate while they handle what will be the largest environmental disaster (dwarfing Exxon Valdez).

I would like to see the federal government get tough with BP, President Obama has certainly talked a tough game when it comes to who will pay for the cleanup of this spill but what about shutting BP down. I don’t want to see anymore Congressional Hearings with BP executives talking about they will be responsible for paying “Legitimate Claims” (money BP will pay victims of the oil spill) as a result of the oil spill. BP should not be allowed to drill for anymore oil until they can prove they are capable of being SAFE!!! President Obama promised changed, let’s see that change.

DO THE RIGHT THING!!

As always….
If there is something to be said, “Its On Broadway” to step up and say it!!!