Vitter Comments on Oil Rig Accident Recovery and Cleanup

             (Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter today issued the following statement on the continuing recovery and cleanup operations following last week’s oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico: 

            “Since the first news of this tragic accident, Wendy and I have kept the victims and their families in our thoughts and prayers.  Our first priorities are to help them in any way we can and to figure out what went wrong so we can keep other offshore workers out of harm’s way. 

            “I’ve been monitoring the progress of the cleanup efforts through constant updates from NOAA, and yesterday I met with representatives from the Coast Guard and BP to discuss the next steps in this process.  I’ve also contacted local officials in south Louisiana to offer any help they need from the federal level, and members of my staff are in contact with representatives from the Louisiana fishing industry to talk about their concerns. 

            “Unfortunately, this incident highlights the risks that Louisiana’s workers and families courageously bear to provide a secure and reliable source of energy for our country.  As we move forward with the recovery process, I hope that the rest of the country will realize that our state needs to be fairly compensated for this burden through increased revenue sharing from offshore production,” said Vitter.