Boehner: Get the damn law fixed

[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/06/10/art.boehner.gi.jpg caption ='Figure out what the hell went wrong, and then have the hearing and get the damn law fixed!' Boehner said Thursday."]

Washington (CNN) - House Republican Leader John Boehner mocked Congress for holding multiple hearings on the BP oil spill before experts have figured out how to halt oil still gushing into the Gulf. He sarcastically called the packed hearing schedule, "Congress at its best."

"You know, why don't we get the oil stopped, alright? Figure out what the hell went wrong, and then have the hearing and get the damn law fixed!" an exasperated Boehner told reporters at his weekly press conference on Capitol Hill.

When pressed about whether he supported lifting the liability cap on oil companies or restructuring the federal agency overseeing offshore drilling, the Ohio Republican sidestepped the questions, saying, "I don't know what people have in mind."

Boehner called for a bipartisan approach to oil spill legislation, saying at this point Democrats have not reached out to Republicans. "There is probably a lot that we can do and we can do it together."

Updated at 5:30 p.m. ET with reaction from Democratic Rep. Charlie Melancon, after the jump:

Louisiana Democratic Congressman Charlie Melancon, pushed back on GOP Leader John Boehner's suggestion that Congress was having too many hearings on the oil spill instead of working with experts to stop the spill, telling CNN, "they're haven't been enough yet."

Melancon called for "an extensive investigation," and took a swipe at Republicans, saying, "This is the beginning of what we need to find out just like any investigation. Ask them why they were so concerned about a blue skirt," a reference to the GOP investigation of former President Bill Clinton's relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Melancon said there needed to be more, not fewer hearings by multiple committees. "We're having these hearings because 11 people were killed, and because the environment and the ecosystem, the Gulf of Mexico, and the coastal wetlands along the coast area which are important to this country are all in jeopardy because somebody, somewhere decided to waive the laws and make exceptions, that's why."