The Center for Public Integrity has just broken an important story that indicates a failed federal response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 

According to the report:

The Coast Guard has gathered evidence it failed to follow its own firefighting policy during the Deepwater Horizon disaster and is investigating whether the chaotic spraying of tons of salt water by private boats contributed to sinking the ill-fated oil rig, according to interviews and documents.

The Senate will continue work on H.R.5297, Small Business Jobs bill.  The House is scheduled to vote on H.R. 5822, the Mil Con – VA appropriations bill.  The House is also expected to vote on 20 bills on the Suspension calendar. 

Is it possible that errors by the federal government caused the leak of oil?  According to the report, this is possible:

While investigators have zeroed in on a series of missteps and ignored safety warnings aboard the rig that preceded the fiery explosion April 20, the question of what caused the platform to collapse into the Gulf two days later remains unanswered and could prove vital to ongoing legal proceedings and congressional investigations. That is because the riser pipe from which the majority of BP’s oil spewed did not start leaking until after the rig sank. Experts and some lawsuits have openly tied the sinking of the drilling vessel to the severity of the leak.

At a minimum, Congress needs to investigate these new allegations to see if they are true.  We all remember the President declaring “plug the damn hole.”  The issue has now been raised as to whether actions, or inaction, by federal officials lead to a collapse of the oil rig and the spewing of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.  These are serious allegations that deserve an in depth investigation.