Sen. Patrick Leahy's bill faces an uphill climb
The Senate Judiciary Committee put off a scheduled vote last week on legislation that would increase penalties - including possible prison time - for environmental crimes.
"The tragic explosion of British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon oil
rig last year is just one example of why this legislation is needed,"
said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the
bill's sponsor. "Eleven men died in that explosion, and oil flowed into
the Gulf of Mexico for months, with deadly contaminants washing up on
the shores and wetlands of the Gulf Coast. The catastrophe threatened
the livelihood of many thousands of people throughout the Gulf region,
as well as precious natural resources and habitats."
Leahy said "the people responsible for this and other catastrophes should be held accountable, and wrongdoers -- not taxpayers -- should pay for the damage they have done."
Leahy's bill, which was approved by the Judiciary Committee last year but never made it to the Senate floor for a vote, directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to determine penalties that "appropriately account for the actual harm to the public and the environment from the offenses."
The bill faces an uphill climb, particularly in the House, where the new GOP majority has shown little interest in expanding regulatory authority they see as counterproductive to job creating and expansion of domestic oil and gas production. No date was set for a Judiciary Committee vote on Leahy's bill.
Bruce Alpert can be reached at balpert@timespicayune.com or 202.857.5131. Jonathan Tilove can be reached at jtilove@timespicayune.com or 202.857.5125.