Mack blames Obama, oil company for poor leadership, slow response
During a brief press conference Monday morning on Sanibel, Congressman Connie Mack was critical of the Obama administration’s lack of leadership in dealing with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, calling for additional funds and personnel to be deployed to assist in cleanup efforts.
Standing on the beach in front of the Sanibel Fishing Pier, surrounded by local officials and supporters, Mack called British Petroleum’s response to the spill “extremely slow.”
There’s plenty of blame to go around,” he said.
But the bulk of his criticism was focused squarely on Obama and the federal government’s dedication to assisting with cleanup efforts throughout the affected Gulf of Mexico region.
“You would expect President Obama to lead us now that we’re in this position,” said Mack, a Republican who represents Lee and Collier counties. “”So far, we have seen a lack of urgency. We need to have all resources available committed to stopping the leak and protecting the shoreline and wetlands and marshes. Peoples’ lives are being destroyed by this disaster.”
Mack also called the situation an “all hands on deck emergency.”
“We know that we have resources available,” he continued. “We need booms. We need boats. We need people out there.”
James Wilson, a resident of North Fort Myers, said that many people in Southwest Florida have offered to take part in oil cleanup training, but local officials have yet to call upon the public for their help.
“I’d like to know how I can help,” he said. “People want to take care of this problem. It’s time to take charge.”
Elizabeth Wedlake of Fort Myers, who carried a sign which included her certification from the Ostego Bay Foundation for beach cleanup training, recently returned from a trip to Florida’s panhandle region. She said that volunteers cleaning the shoreline discovered tar balls sized between two inches and nearly one foot.
“The folks from BP were nice to me,” Wedlake recalled. “We need to take part in this grassroots effort to get trained to help clean up our beaches. We need to be ready to go.”
Mack also stated that he will continue to monitor both the federal government’s response to this disaster and British Petroleum’s efforts to contain the oil leak.
“Moving forward, in Congress, when somebody comes before us and has a request for a drilling permit, we’ll have to make sure that this can’t happen again,” he said.
In the meantime, Mack hoped that tourists from around the world would continue to enjoy all that Sanibel has to offer.
“We have to stop the myth that there are tar balls washing up on the beaches of Southwest Florida,” he added. “It may be a little hot, but it’s just beautiful here.”