Posted on 06/16/2010 12:29:58 PM PDT by jazusamo
President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that BP officials have agreed to set up a $20 billion escrow account to pay claims for losses resulting from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Obama, speaking in the White House State Dining Room after an exhaustive meeting with the company's officials, said the company also volunteered to establish a $100 million fund to compensate workers' lost wages from Obama's moratorium on offshore drilling.
Obama said he has seen the frustration and concerns of Gulf Coast citizens, and the escrow account "will provide substantial assurance the claims people and businesses have will be honored."
The meeting at the White House ran for more than four hours, well past the scheduled time. One source with knowledge of the meeting said that at one point, BP's top executives met with their attorneys to hammer out the details of the agreement.
The president stressed that the $20 billion over four years is "not a cap," and BP will be on the hook for costs and claims that run over that amount.
"BP will also continue to be liable for the environmental disaster it has caused, and we're going to continue to work to make sure they address it," Obama said.
The president said that BP's "liabilities for this spill are significant."
"They acknowledge that fact," Obama said. "And we will continue to hold BP and all other responsible parties accountable. I’m absolutely confident BP will be able to meet its obligations to the Gulf Coast and to the American people. BP is a strong and viable company and it is in all our interests that it remains so. So this is about accountability. At the end of the day, that’s what every American wants and expects."
Going a step further, BP's Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg announced after Obama spoke that BP will not pay its stockholders dividends this year.
So is a certain lawyer at the bottom of the ocean...
Like all blackmail victims, BP is about to find out that the $20B payment didn’t make the problem go away. They will need to make additional payments in the future, or else “things will happen”.
Bah, let the taxpayers cover it.
Now that he’s spent all of America’s money, he’s on a spending spree with BP’s.
“the company also volunteered to establish a $100 million fund to compensate workers’ lost wages from Obama’s moratorium on offshore drilling. “
What????????????????????????????????????/
This is exactly what the Palistinian Authority dude said when Obama gave him $400Million in his visit to the WH - “This is a good start...”
This is exactly what the Palistinian Authority dude said when Obama gave him $400Million in his visit to the WH - “This is a good start...”
Wow, the guts here are incredible. Choke off the oil companies that liberals forced far off shore, then make the oil companies pay salaries for people not working because they changed their mind and said no more drilling...
Yep, Michelle Bachmann called it right wnen she said, ‘It’s all about extortion.’
Well, then we need to stop supporting BP...
This is total extortion. This was an Obama-caused disaster and will be open ended.
Ah, the joys of writing checks on somebody else’s account. BP knows
they are dead don’t they?
Exxon/Mobil! Are you paying attention? You know we’d hate to have anything unfortunate to happen to you, you know wad I mean?
Consumate shakedown artist.
This one can’t be solved with $. Sometimes you have to roll up sleeves and work hard to solve things.....but Barry wouldn’t know about that.
and BP has just hired the biggest law firm in Florida as has Haliburton.There are lawsuits coming in now from home owners who say their beach property has lost its value.
** BP hires Florida law firms to defend growing litigation
snip**
The potential number of plaintiffs in Florida is “enormous,” said Spiro Verras, one of the lawyers involved in the litigation. “The population of Florida is concentrated on its coasts.”
Richard said a multidistrict litigation panel will convene next month to hear arguments and decide where the federal lawsuits will be consolidated. Currently, lawyers in different cities are lining up clients and filing separate suits, he said.
“It depends on who wants to get into the party,” Richard said. “It’s a little bit crazy.”
more at link
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