AP source: Former Fla. senator Graham to co-chair presidential commission on Gulf oil spill

AP source: Graham to co-chair panel on oil spill

WASHINGTON — The White House plans to name former Florida Sen. Bob Graham to co-chair a presidential commission to investigate the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A person familiar with the decision said Graham would help lead the commission, which will be similar to panels that investigated the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster and the nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island in 1979. The person spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a public announcement.

Graham served in the Senate from 1987 to 2005 and previously served two terms as Florida governor.

The commission’s inquiry will range from the causes of the spill to the safety of offshore oil drilling and the functioning of the Minerals Management Service, the government agency that grants drilling rights.