Posted on 06/16/2010 4:07:51 PM PDT by BobP
Maryland lawmakers press BP to pay more for Gulf leak - Cardin, Mikulski back $20 billion escrow fund
June 14, 2010
Fresh from visits to the oil-smeared Louisiana coast, Maryland's two Democratic senators and one of its House members called today for new measures to ensure that BP pays for the damage caused by the largest petroleum spill in U.S. history.
Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin backed the Obama administration's move to get BP to set up an escrow account for paying damage claims, saying the company ought to stock the fund with $20 billion.
Mikulski said the company should set aside funds promptly, because she feared that as damages mount in the Gulf of Mexico, "the lawyers will take charge" and put BP in bankruptcy. That could slow or halt payments to harmed businesses and individuals.
...
Rep. Elijah Cummings, a fellow Democrat, said he and other House members are working on legislation to raise the federal cap on liability for damages caused by an offshore oil spill. Now set at $75 million above the costs of cleanup, Cummings said the liability cap for spills needs to be "commensurate with the risks."
Cummings, chairman of a House subcommittee that oversees the Coast Guard, has visited Louisiana twice to see the damage and to observe cleanup efforts. He said BP took "shortcuts" in drilling that made the blowout possible, but added that the federal government did not exercise appropriate oversight.
...
The lawmakers also said the spill is a stark reminder that the U.S. is too dependent on oil and that Congress should move forward with an energy bill.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
WAKE UP AMERICA...
I can hear the sound of the scam artists and politicians smacking their lips in anticipation. Remember how much fraud and waste was associated with Katrina? This will make it look like a model of efficiency.
The great BP money grab begins.
...these three Maryland Stooges need to zip it...clean up the Chesapeake Bay first then they have room to talk.
I know it’s obvious, the rats see this money as theirs and they all want a piece of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Reid was assigned manager of the money after he loses in November. The GOP better start investigations as soon as they get power back. Humiliate the rats.
If the federal law capping spill liability is meaningless for BP;
then it is meaningless for all of the other oil companies.
If a federal law can be declared meaningless by the president;
then all federal laws can be declared meaningless.
and should be more dependent on Democrats.
It’s no surprise to any Marylander that these three do anything Obama wants them to do.
Their strings are connected and Obama pulls them, If Obama says crap, these three say where and how high.
The big fight will be between the trial lawyers, who want to reap billions in fees, and Congress, who wants to rake in billions to buy votes with.
The $20 billion escrow account just became a target in every plaintiff attorney's sights.
I'll bet they have guys on the ground in South Louisiana recruiting clients for the class action suit of all time.
In their mind, one-third of that $20 billion belongs to them.
Also the Wednesday, 6/16/2010 Speech after the BP Meeting ...
BP settlement. Undergraduates switching to legal careers
Law Schools See Ten-fold Increase
"This is good for decades.. my grandchildren will be lawyers also," said one undergraduate. "Hot damn!"
Angry Ben and the Red Dwarf doing what they do best: meddle.
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
blood in the water ... BP will be Zero’s Bear-Sterns ...
In fact, I can see them trying for 50% share of the jackpot.
You can bet that the Congress and White House won't offend their Trial Lawyer support base by limiting damages in any way, and there will be Gubmint "penalties" on BP (passed on to consumers), then a tax to build a "contingency fund for future cleanup", AND, open season for trial lawyers IN ADDITION in Class Action Suits to get BP discount coupons for the plaintiffs, and BILLIONS in FEES to the Trial Lawyers, as usual.
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