Sen. Warner’s YouTube channel says, “Senator Mark Warner spoke to WSET Ch. 13 in Lynchburg about why BP must pay every dime of the cost of the Gulf oil leak.” I sure hope so!
UPDATE: On a related note, this is “a good start”, as President Obama says.
The Obama administration and BP reached an agreement Wednesday under which the company will place $20 billion in an escrow account to pay damage claims resulting from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The company, whose chairman announced Wednesday that it would not pay dividends to shareholders for the rest of the year, will also contribute $100 million to a fund that supports unemployed oil workers.
Good stuff. Now, it’s time for some serious consideration of criminal prosecution of the people responsible for trashing the Gulf of Mexico. Also, it’s time – actually, long past time! – for the Senate to pass strong, comprehensive, clean energy and climate legislation – including a cap and/or tax on carbon. Oh, and how about an outright ban on new, offshore oil drilling unless and until there is absolute, 100% guarantee that this will never happen again? And how about requiring that existing offshore oil rigs comply with stringent safety standards if they want to continue operating? All of this seems like the bare minimum we could and should be doing right now. Any millenium, now, Senate!
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