House oversight chairman wants to ask gov’t agency how oil spill companies got permits

Stupak: How did oil spill companies get permits?

WASHINGTON — The chairman of a subcommittee delving into what happened at BP’s blown-out oil well says he wants to talk with the federal service that is supposed to oversee drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat, told CBS’ “Early Show” he wants to know why the Minerals Management Service gave permits to BP and the companies involved in various aspects of the well and rig. The service enforces drilling regulations and collects the royalties oil companies pay to the government.

Stupak said Thursday that once permits to drill are issued, the federal government’s role is to make sure the companies are drilling properly, to protect the environment. But investigators found evidence of equipment failures in aspects of the well’s safety that weren’t monitored.

(This version CORRECTS name of agency to Minerals Management Service.)