La. lawmakers say BP response not enough

WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- Two Democratic members of Congress from Louisiana said Sunday BP's response to the oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has been inadequate so far.

"Everything's at stake. This is catastrophic," U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon said during a joint appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation" with U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.

"... I think as a general body moving forward, they have not moved as quickly and as expeditiously as we would have liked them. They feel that they're moving forward at a good clip. A good clip to them, for us, Senator Landrieu and I, is not fast enough and is not been effective enough."

Landrieu said not only have the oil company's efforts been less than what's needed, the same is true for the response by state and federal governments.

"... Obviously, it's not enough on any part, not at the federal, the state or BP, and we have all have to do better," she said.

Landrieu said a dome containment structure that is still six to eight days from being put in place to try to stop the oil leaking from the ocean floor, should have been ready months ago, in event of an emergency.

She also advocated drilling two relief wells, not just one.

"... I think the government is forcing BP, and I hope this is the case, to drill two wells, hopefully one of them will get there," Landrieu said. "And these are very expensive to do but they've got to do it."