Capps, Markey push Senate on spill commission subpoena power

The co-chairs of the commission – former Florida Sen. Bob Graham (D) and former EPA Administrator William Reilly – on Tuesday said the lack of subpoena power is hindering the probe.

“The Senate must act this week so investigators can compel testimony from reticent companies and enable the commission to complete its report on the causes of the spill by the January deadline. Without this critical tool BP and the other companies involved in the spill may escape being held accountable for their mistakes,” Capps and Markey wrote Wednesday in the letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

But their 11th-hour request is unlikely to be granted. A spokesman for Reid noted earlier today that Republicans have objected to the legislation in the past. The Senate is slated to adjourn tonight until after the mid-term elections.

“By blocking the commission subpoena power, Republican obstructionists in the Senate are shielding BP from investigators tasked with getting to the bottom of this crime,” Markey said in a prepared statement.