WASHINGTON, DC – In a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the Gulf oil spill, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) discussed the bureaucratic obstacles to the cleanup efforts and heard testimony on safety and liability issues from widows of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion.

“We continue to see a failure of the Obama administration to grasp the extent of this disaster,” said Wicker, a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. “We need to fight this oil in the open waters with a fleet of skimmers, but unfortunately bureaucratic hurdles allowed oil to make its way into the Mississippi Sound and onto some of our beaches.”

For several weeks, Wicker has been calling on the administration to eliminate the unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles impeding the cleanup effort, including the delays in getting more skimming vessels to the Gulf Coast. Wicker pointed out that more than half a million barrels of oil have flowed into the Gulf during the time it has taken the administration to respond to the request for more skimmers.

The hearing also focused on the safety and liability issues associated with the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion. Mrs. Natalie Roshto of Liberty, Mississippi, was one of the two widows testifying in today’s hearing where she discussed the discrepancy in current law pertaining to the death of a loved one on high sea versus land. Mrs. Roshto is the wife of Shane Roshto, who lost his life in the rig explosion.

“We must remember that this terrible tragedy has not only threatened the way of life for so many in the Gulf region, but it has also taken the lives of loved ones, including Shane Roshto,” added Wicker. “I appreciate the courage of Mrs. Roshto in testifying during these difficult times and bringing to our attention the inequalities in how these claims are handled. The families of the victims of Deepwater Horizon should be entitled to equal treatment under the law.”

Click here to watch Wicker’s opening statement at the hearing.

Click here for a copy of Roshto’s testimony.