Yesterday, millions of Americans cast their ballots. Republicans had a good night, and I congratulate all the candidates who won.

But what stands out to me is that the message Americans sent yesterday is one you’ve sent for several elections in a row now. You expect the people you elect to work as hard as you do. You expect us to focus on your ambitions — not ours — and you want us to get the job done. Period.

I plan on spending every moment of the next two years rolling up my sleeves and working as hard as I can for the American people. This country has made real and undeniable progress in the six years since the 2008 economic crisis. But our work will not be done until every single American feels the gains of a growing economy where it matters most: in your own lives.

While I’m sure we’ll continue to disagree on some issues that we’re passionate about, I’m eager to work with Congress over the next two years to get the job done. The challenges that lay ahead of us are far too important to allow partisanship or ideology to prevent our progress as a nation.

As we make progress, I’ll need your help, too. Over the weeks and months ahead, I’ll be looking to Americans like you, asking you to stay engaged.

I am optimistic about our future. Because for all the maps plastered across our screens today, for all the cynics who say otherwise, we are more than a simple collection of red and blue states. We are the United States.

And yesterday, millions of Americans — Democrats and Republicans, women and men, young and old, black and white — took the time out of their day to perform a simple, profound act of citizenship. That’s something we shouldn’t forget amid the din of political commentary. Because making progress starts with showing up.

Let’s get to work.

President Barack Obama

Since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, BP and federal agencies have claimed that much of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico simply “disappeared.” But recently, researchers discovered a massive, oily “bathtub ring” the size of Rhode Island on the Gulf’s deep ocean floor.

It’s now clear that the federal oil spill response was poorly planned, haphazard, and largely ineffective. This discovery highlights the alarming fact that the EPA still has not issued stronger protections to make sure that oil spill response techniques—such as the use of potentially toxic chemical dispersants despite lack of knowledge about their health and safety effects—are safer and more effective.

We have a chance to make sure this outrageous failure isn’t repeated. While the EPA has proposed stronger protections for chemical dispersants, it is still waiting for the Office of Management and Budget to move forward.

Let’s end the wait and ensure that companies like BP can’t just dump secret, toxic chemicals on oil spill disasters and call it a day.

Earthjustice has been fighting in court since the BP disaster to force the EPA to fulfill requirements mandated by the Clean Water Act for chemical dispersants. But we need widespread public urgency to move these protections forward.

Tell the Office of Management and Budget and the EPA to propose new safeguards for toxic dispersants now.

Toxic dispersants were used in response to the Gulf oil disaster without prior understanding of their effects on the marine ecosystems and human health. And Earthjustice had to sue to ensure that information about the dispersants—including their chemical ingredients—wasn’t kept secret.

EPA’s failure to have adequate dispersant protections in place was one of the many causes of the confusion, concern, and uncertainty surrounding the response to the BP disaster in 2010.

As the federal government and BP waffled on dispersant use in the middle of the crisis, it became apparent how little testing and study had been done beforehand. Even then, former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson readily acknowledged the agency’s lack of knowledge about dispersants. The result was a poorly planned, haphazard response, the effects of which—such as the recently discovered oil ring the size of Rhode Island—will be felt for years to come.

Please take action today to ensure stronger safeguards from toxic chemical dispersants like the ones used in the BP oil spill.

Take Action Now: http://action.earthjustice.org/oil-dispersants 

Sincerely,

Marianne Engelman Lado
Managing Attorney

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