Lawmakers to hold spill hearing
by Deborah Barfield Berry - The Daily Advertiser (excerpt)

WASHINGTON — House lawmakers will hold a field hearing in Houma on Monday to assess how Gulf Coast communities are recovering from last year's BP oil spill. The hearing by the House Natural Resources Committee — to take place two days before the one-year anniversary of the spill — will help shape upcoming spill legislation, said Rep. John Flemin, R-La., a committee member. "We're going to hear about the impact this is having," Fleming said. "When you're there, there's a backdrop. We'll be down there where the citizens, who have been impacted, can see and hear for themselves exactly what is going on."

The hearing, titled, "Gulf of Mexico: A Focus on Community Recovery and New Response Technology," is the seventh this year.

It will be held at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center and will begin at 9 a.m. Witnesses include Garret Graves, chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Owen Kratz, president and CEO for Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. and a host of local business owners.