Cabinet officials, senators head to Gulf to view oil spill

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will visit Louisiana Monday to check out the response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill with a bipartisan group of senators.

The visit comes as lawmakers are readying a series of legislative responses to the spill, covering areas such as oil industry liability limits, offshore safety controls and disaster aid.

Traveling with Salazar and Napolitano will be Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), and David Vitter (R-La.).

Durbin is the majority whip while Bingaman and Murkowski are, respectively, the chairman and ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The cabinet officials and lawmakers will “conduct a flyover of the affected areas; discuss the latest response efforts in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast with federal officials leading the effort as well as BP representatives; and meet with local community and industry leaders,” according to the Obama administration notice of the trip.