Barton Says Gulf Disaster No “Act of God”

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Barton Says Gulf Disaster No “Act of God”
Senior Republican rebuts Rick Perry’s irresponsible and inaccurate defense of BP

Rep. Joe
Barton (R-TX-6)

“There was in all probability shoddy maintenance; there were mislabeled components; the diagrams didn’t depict the actual equipment. But that was not an ‘act of God’ like a hurricane or an earthquake or a volcano that man can’t control,” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Ennis) (NECN, May 12, 2010). “We’ve had an accident. It is not an ‘act of God’” (Reuters, May 12, 2010).

Click here to see video of Rep. Barton

Congressman Joe Barton (R – TX- 6) , the senior Republican on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, has adamantly stated that human error – not a natural disaster – led to the explosion and giant oil spill at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Corporate executives from BP, Halliburton, and Transocean engaged in intense finger-pointing, but not one suggested that the explosion and massive spill was caused by anything other than mechanical or human failure.

Both Republican and Democratic Members of Congress were direct in stating their views that the disaster was the result of human error and expressed frustration with the blame game played by corporate executives testifying.

Sen. John Barrasso (R – Wyoming) – “I hear one message, and the message is: ‘Don't blame me.' Well, shifting this blame does not get us very far” (Reuters, May 10, 2010).
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D – New Mexico) – “If this is like other catastrophic failures of technological systems in modern history … we will likely discover that there was a cascade of failures and technical and human and regulatory errors,” said Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Perry should apologize for crass and inaccurate defense of BP

"It’s now clear that Rick Perry was wrong. He should admit his failure and apologize to the families of those lost in the explosion and to Texas voters who he has misled."
– Matt Angle, Director
Lone Star Project

Sworn testimony before Congress points to a bad cement job, a modified “fail-safe” device, a “useless” test part of a key component, a dead control pod battery, and a leaky hydraulic emergency system as possible reasons for the catastrophe (AP, May 12, 2010; Reuters, May 12, 2010; Dallas Morning News , May 13, 2010). However, not once has anyone testifying under oath suggested that the explosion was the result of an “act of God” under either the literal or the legal definition.

See the Lone Star Project video on YouTube

When the rig exploded, Rick Perry failed to utter a word of sympathy for the eleven men who died in the explosion. He has made no constructive efforts to prepare the Texas coast for potential damage from the massive oil spill. Perry quickly made excuses for BP, ignored the threat to Texas and oddly presented himself as both a moral and legal authority by calling the explosion an “act of God.”

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