President Obama Creates Gulf Commission: Heads Appointed

Bipartisan Nat'l Commission on BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

William Reilly, Norris McDonald
President Barack Obama has announced the appointments of former EPA Adminstrator William K. Reilly, left (with Center President), and Bob Graham, right, a Democrat who also was Florida governor, as the panel's heads. Obama intends to name five others to the commission, which will examine issues such as what caused the spill, the safety of offshore drilling and operations at Minerals Management Service.

The bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling is tasked with providing recommendations on how we can prevent – and mitigate the impact of – any future spills that result from offshore drilling.

The commission will be focused on the necessary environmental and safety precautions we must build into our regulatory framework in order to ensure an accident like this never happens again, taking into account the other investigations concerning the causes of the spill.

The commission will have bipartisan co-chairs with a total membership of seven people. Membership will include broad and diverse representation of individuals with relevant expertise. No sitting government employees or elected officials will sit on the commission.

The Commission’s work will be transparent and subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Commission will issue a report within six months of having been convened.

(White House)