As the White House flirts with the idea of lifting the liability cap on oil companies engaged in offshore drilling, congressional leaders are upping their anti-BP rhetoric, suggesting in no uncertain terms that the oil giant responsible for the Gulf spill has been both negligent and dishonest.
“There is reason to believe there was a lot of negligence present here, and that corners were cut that should not have been cut and that representations made by BP in particular, and/or Transocean…as to how much oil could be handled were inaccurate,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer at his weekly press availability this morning.
Congress and the White House are toying with different ways to hold oil companies accountable for future spills, including by putting them on the hook for the entire cost of clean up and damages. But requiring BP to cover the costs of this spill could be trickier…unless, as Hoyer suggests, they’re found to have violated safety regulations.
Relatedly, the House Energy and Commerce Committee claims to have uncovered safety violations that led to the explosion and the leak.
