Roy Blunt Supports Half Measure On Oil Spill Liability
“BP has been unable to stop this oil from leaking and to stop the pollution from spreading,” says Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. “We are 33 days into this effort, and deadline after deadline has been missed.” (As of this morning, it’s 34 days of Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.)
Given the remarkable, repeated failure of BP to either control or contain the offshore drilling oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, how should Congress respond: 1) By keeping limits on the amount BP has to pay for the cleanup, but increasing the limits; or 2) Removing the limits on oil spill damages BP must pay for?
A recent bill from Roy Blunt, U.S. Representative from Missouri’s 7th district, chooses the first path. Another bill, H.R. 5355, introduced by U.S. Raul Grijalva, follows the second path. Grijalva’s bill, H.R.5355 is simple, removing all liability limits for companies conducting offshore drilling for fossil fuels.
Blunt’s bill, on the other hand, retains an upper limit past which an oil company doesn’t have to pay for damages related to oil spills. Past that limit, the American people pick up the tab. Representatives Jo Bonner and Jeff Miller have joined Blunt in working to retain this protection for drilling companies.
