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NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman


For Immediate Release: October 25, 2007
Contact: Jodi Seth or Brin Frazier / 202-225-5735

 

Dingell, Stupak Respond to DOJ’s Announcement of Record Penalties Against BP

Washington, DC - Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, issued the following statements today in response to the Department of Justice’s announcement of both criminal and civil penalties levied against BP.

“With respect to the $50 million Clean Air Act penalty for failing to maintain safe operations of the Texas City refinery, I note with curiosity that when an average citizen commits a felony it usually leads to a prison sentence. Yet, apparently, when a big oil company commits a felony that causes 15 deaths, it pays a criminal penalty equal to less than a day’s corporate profits,” stated Dingell. “Until the Department of Justice starts holding corporate executives accountable, I am not sure that there will be a meaningful shift in corporate culture.”

“Congress has held hearing after hearing about BP’s mismanagement, and now DOJ, CFTC and EPA have imposed criminal fines. However, we continue to wonder what it will take to bring a meaningful change in culture at BP,” said Stupak. “It is troubling that many of the same BP executives who were responsible for the management failures that led to the criminal charges and settlements announced today are still employed by BP, and, in some cases, have been promoted to the highest levels of the company. This does not reflect the kind of corporate culture change we would expect if the company’s leadership took to heart the consequences of its mismanagement.”

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