Dennis Kucinich News

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07), a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a request to Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on August 30, requesting that, in his role as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, Rep. Kucinich convene a hearing to examine questions surrounding the extent of the oil that remains in the Gulf of Mexico following the spill from the BP Macondo well-site, as well as the adequacy of current government and private industry efforts to assess the danger that remnant oil in the waters of the Gulf poses to the environment and to the seafood harvested from the Gulf.

Despite President George W. Bush's calls for more oil and natural gas production at home, the House of Representatives on Thursday voted to block drilling in a lucrative tract off Florida's coast and to bar it in areas protected as national monuments. The Republican-led House also voted to support rules to fight water pollution from hard-rock mining imposed by former President Bill Clinton, fending off industry-backed efforts to ease the regulations. These votes, which were well-received by environmental groups, came as the House of Representatives passed by a 376-32 vote an $18.9 billion bill to fund public lands programs with the Oct. 1 start of the next fiscal year. That was nearly $800 billion more than Bush wanted.