BP CEO Tony Hayward is testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. The meeting is chaired by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI). It is expected that the meeting will be interrupted throughout the morning for a series of House votes. You can watch the testimony live on CSPAN 3. You can find part one of the liveblog here.

12:15 – the committee has resumed after breaking for several House votes.

12:22 – Bart Stupak (D-MI) do you believe the government should allow companies with terrible records to continue to drill on public land?Hayward dances around the question without answering.

12:26 – Michael Burgess (R-TX): I will not be apologizing to you. (Wow that is quick even his fellow committee members seem to be throwing Barton under the bus after his apology to Hayward.)

Is there any other well in the Gulf of Mexico that have the same design. Hayward says there are.

Hayward’s only briefing about the well before the explosion was when they told them they made a discovery. (Great exchange) Hawyard: with respect we drill hundreds of wells a year Burgess: Yeah that is what scares me.

12:34 – Henry Waxman (D-CA) Did BP make a fundamental misjudgment in the well design? Hayward keeps repeating “I wasn’t involved in that decision/discussion.”

Hayward tries to make the case it was an engineering decision but Waxman cites internal documents and claims that it makes it appear that it was an economic decision to use a less safe design.