http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/06/17/17greenwire-texas-lawmaker-apologizes-to-bp-ceo-for-20-bil-57728.html
I'm ashamed that people like Joe Barton work for "The People" of the United States.
It's quite obvious where his loyalty lies.
Recent estimates have Deep Horizon gushing forth 2 million gallons of oil a day, with no end in sight.
The costs of this disaster can't even begin to be estimated until the oil has stopped flowing. The 20 billion dollar deposit is a drop in the bucket compared to what the real costs will actually be, if and when, the oil finally does stop flowing.
In an unexpected move, a top House Republican today offered an apology to BP PLC for what he called a White House "shakedown" of the British oil giant.
Texas Rep. Joe Barton, the top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said that President Obama went too far in pressuring BP to fund a $20 billion escrow account to pay for environmental and economic damages resulting from the ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
"I am ashamed of what happened at the White House yesterday," Barton said. "I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would consider a shakedown, in this case a $20 billion shakedown."
Barton said that it was unfair for the White House to press for the fund at the same time that Attorney General Eric Holder is considering criminal charges against the oil company.
"There is no question that BP is liable for the damages, but we have a due process system," he said. "I'm not speaking for anyone else, but I apologize."
