Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is demanding answers from White House energy czar Carol Browner over the administration’s decision to enact a six-month deepwater drilling moratorium in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf.  In the letter to Browner, Upton raises concerns over a Department of the Interior Inspector General review that determined White House staff had made edits to the Executive Summary of Interior’s Report leading to the false implication that the drilling moratorium recommendation had been peer-reviewed by experts.
 
In his letter to Ms. Browner, Upton wrote, “The administration proceeded with its moratorium despite the fact that thousands of American jobs would be lost, the offshore oil and gas industry would suffer, and that it would have negative ramifications on U.S. domestic energy supply…I am concerned that the Report’s Executive Summary may have been misleading as drafted as it implied that the decision to impose a six-month deepwater drilling moratorium was peer reviewed by scientists and industry experts, when that was not the case. … I would like to know what prompted any last-minute edits that were made by your staff to the Executive Summary and whether these changes were made to bolster the case for the moratorium.”
 
Upton specifically is seeking answers from Browner on:

1.       What edits were made by your staff to the original DOI draft Executive Summary,
          as determined in the OIG’s Investigative Report?

2.       What prompted these edits and under whose direction were they made? Please
          provide all written documentation concerning these changes and their               
          authorization.

3.       Was it the intention of you or your staff to misleadingly suggest that the Report’s
          Executive Summary had been peer reviewed by experts, when that was not
          actually the case?

Upton is co-chair of the House Republicans’ American Energy Solutions Group and a strong supporter of the “all of the above” American Energy Act (H.R. 2846) to fortify the nation’s energy needs through increased production of domestic natural resources.

View the full text of the letter HERE.