BP's Influence Peddling In Congress Bears Fruit Two Years After Gulf Spill

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/12/bp-oil-spill-gulf-of-mexico-oil-lobbyists_n_1335556.html

As millions of barrels of oil began pouring into the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, Democratic lawmakers began asking the question: what was the proper amount of money that the company responsible for the spill should have to pay?

This wasn't some sort of philosophical exercise. Oil companies pay money into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to help cover the costs of major disasters. But under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, a company responsible for a spill is liable for only $75 million in economic damages, provided it didn't exhibit "gross negligence." The federal government picks up the next $1 billion.

Since it quickly became evident that the cost of damages to the Gulf would far exceed those figures, a group of senators, led by Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), tried to change the law. They proposed raising the $75 million cap on liability to $10 billion.

The bill was dubbed the "Big Oil Bailout Prevention Unlimited Liability Act." Introduced during the peak of anger over the spill and amid legitimate fears over how long the oil would continue to flow unabated, it seemed as though there was a fairly reasonable chance it would pass. When President Barack Obama not only endorsed the measure but also argued for eliminating a cap altogether, its prospects improved further.

It never even made it to an up-or-down vote. Republican senators and several oil-state Democrats -- pitching symbolic, watered-down alternatives -- filibustered the bill's consideration. A separate attempt to use unanimous consent was blocked as well.

Opponents made the same argument each time. Increasing the economic liability for offshore drilling would, as Sen. Lisa Murkowksi (R-Alaska) insisted, end up empowering the "biggest of the big oil" companies by discouraging the small ones from taking the risk.