Congressman, Denny Rehberg, has sent a letter to the Transportation Committee asking them to invite Montana’s Senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, to participate in a pipeline safety hearing on the ExxonMobil pipeline spill in the Yellowstone River.  In the letter to the full-committee chairman John Mica (FL-07) and the subcommittee Chairman Bill Shuster (PA-09), he pointed out the importance of working together with the Senate to address the challenge.  The Thursday hearing was originally scheduled at Rehberg’s request.

“This hearing is about getting answers and finding solutions,” said Rehberg, a rancher from Billings.  “The more people we’ve got sitting around the table with ideas, the better off we’ll be both in the short term and the long term.  Since any Congressional response will need Senate buy-in, it’s best we get them on board in the earliest stages.”

The Letter is below:

Dear Chairman Mica and Chairman Shuster:

Thank you for honoring my request to hold a hearing on the ExxonMobil pipeline spill in the Yellowstone River.  

As you know, since the oil spill took place on July 2, government authorities, ExxonMobil and concerned Montanans have been working to clean up the crude oil that was released from the Silvertip pipeline into the Yellowstone River.  Given that your committee has jurisdiction over the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PMHSA), I believe this hearing will help answer Montanan’s questions about what caused the spill and how we can prevent an accident like this from occurring again.

Given the overwhelming concern in Montana about this oil spill, I urge you to also invite Montana’s senators, Sen. Max Baucus and Sen. Jon Tester, to testify at the hearing.  It's going to take the effort of the entire Montana delegation working together to ensure Montana does not suffer any additional short term or long term impacts from this spill. Like me, they have been hearing from Montanans and should have valuable information to share.

Thank you for your consideration of my request.  I look forward to participating in the hearing.

Sincerely,

Denny Rehberg

(From Rehberg's Press Office)

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