Marco Rubio: Senate Committee Should Meet in Florida to Tackle BP Oil Spill Issues

Marking the one-year anniversary of the Gulf oil spill, on Wednesday Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio called for the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to meet in Pensacola to focus on the regions recovery.

Last years tragedy was an extraordinary disaster that continues to hurt the Gulf Coast economy and livelihoods of its residents, said Rubio. Over the past year, some Floridians have been able to bounce back, but many business owners and employees throughout the region have struggled to regain their footing, particularly in the tourism and fishing industries.Many small businesses have had to lay off workers, while others have sadly had to close their operations entirely. To add insult to injury, far too many of these entrepreneurial, hard-working Floridians are still waiting for the financial restitution promised to them. They deserve better.

The Gulf Coast will recover from last year's disaster, but it will require our continued involvement. I will continue working with my Senate colleagues, particularly those representing the Gulf Coast states, on legislative solutions to address the challenges residents are still facing today, added Rubio. "I also believe there is no substitute for seeing the impact firsthand and hearing directly from the residents whose lives have been changed by the spill. To that end, I have asked the Senates Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee to hold a field hearing in Pensacola as soon as possible to assess the efforts of the short-term recovery effort, evaluate what is needed for the Gulfs long-term recovery, and identify areas where we can best assist those worst impacted by the largest environmental disaster in the history of this country.

On Wednesday, Rubio sent a letter to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., the chairwoman of the committee and to ranking Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snow of Maine, asking for a meeting to be held as soon as is practicable in Pensacola to evaluate both the economic and ecological recovery status of the Gulf of Mexico a year after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.