Recommendations from a presidentially appointed panel that studied the 2010 Gulf oil spill have drawn a mixed reaction on Capitol Hill. In the Senate, a key Democrat plans to introduce a measure aimed at tightening safety and increasing oversight of offshore drilling. But in the House, Republican leaders gave the panel’s report an icy response. The divided views are likely to stall—or block—legislation to enact the panel’s proposals.
The report said there were “systemic” problems in the oil-and-gas industry and recommended changes in offshore practices and regulations. President Obama called for the study after a drilling-rig explosion last April left 11 men dead and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.