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From USAToday
By Frederic J. Frommer and Matthew Daly, Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON — A leading House Republican on Thursday accused the White House of a "$20 billion shakedown" of oil giant BP by requiring the company to set aside that amount to compensate those hurt by the Gulf Coast oil spill.
Rep. Joe Barton made the assertion at the outset of a House hearing where BP's chief executive officer, Tony Hayward, is appearing for the first time before Congress.
Facing Hayward at the witness table, the Texas Republican congressman said, "I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House" on Wednesday. Barton was referring to the agreement that President Barack Obama announced with BP for establishment of a $20 billion relief fund.
Hayward, sitting by himself at the witness table, is expected to be interrogated sharply by lawmakers about BP's preparedness for such a massive spill and its failure to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf.
A day after agreeing to a $20 billion victims' compensation fund, BP's chief executive is ready to tell Congress that he was "personally devastated" by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and understands the anger that Americans feel toward him and his company.
Hayward's contrition isn't likely to save him from a bruising Thursday on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are preparing to channel constituent outrage over the worst environmental disaster in the nation's history.
In prepared testimony obtained by The Associated Press, Hayward says the explosion and sinking of the BP-operated rig "never should have happened — and I am deeply sorry that they did."
Newly disclosed documents obtained by the AP show that after the Deepwater Horizon sank, BP made a worst-case estimate of 2.5 million gallons a day flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. That figure is far higher than the company said publicly until this week, when the government released its own worst-case estimate of about that amount.
The undated estimate by BP, apparently made sometime last month, reflected the actual situation as it was understood by BP at the time, said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Grassley, senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, who obtained the documents as part of an investigation into the oil spill and its aftermath.
Grassley said it was not clear when BP made the calculation. "Certainly Americans have a right to know that BP made these estimates, the date these estimates were determined and why they were not disclosed at that time," he said Wednesday.
In a letter to BP America President Lamar McKay, Grassley asked BP to explain when it calculated a worst-case scenario of 60,000 barrels a day and to provide documents justifying the figure.
In the course of the crisis in the Gulf, Hayward has irritated some with comments like "I'd like my life back." He strikes a more deferential tone in remarks prepared for the congressional hearing.
"To be sure, neither I nor the company is perfect," he said. "But we are unwavering in our commitment to fulfill all our responsibilities." He said the company has spent nearly $1.5 billion so far and won't stop spending until the job is done.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on oversight and investigations is looking into the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed a flood of oil that has yet to be stopped. Hayward called it "a complex accident, caused by an unprecedented combination of failures."
After accusing the company a day earlier of "recklessness," President Obama and top advisers met Wednesday with BP officials, including Hayward and board chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg. After the meeting, Obama announced BP agreed to pay into a $20 billion compensation fund. He said BP is "a strong and viable company," and its stock price rebounded.
Last week, the president said he would have fired Hayward for comments such as when Hayward said he wanted his life back.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the oversight and investigations subcommittee, and the full committee chairman, California Democrat Henry Waxman, wrote Hayward this week to expect questions on documents showing company decisions before the explosion "that increased the risk of a blowout to save the company time or expense."
Ahead of the session, Stupak said of Hayward's appearance, "I expect him to be sliced and diced."
Contributing: Associated Press writers Matt Apuzzo and Eileen Sullivan
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
At least he is loyal. This looks like political suicide.
By Frederic J. Frommer and Matthew Daly, Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON — A leading House Republican on Thursday accused the White House of a "$20 billion shakedown" of oil giant BP by requiring the company to set aside that amount to compensate those hurt by the Gulf Coast oil spill.
Rep. Joe Barton made the assertion at the outset of a House hearing where BP's chief executive officer, Tony Hayward, is appearing for the first time before Congress.
Facing Hayward at the witness table, the Texas Republican congressman said, "I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House" on Wednesday. Barton was referring to the agreement that President Barack Obama announced with BP for establishment of a $20 billion relief fund.
Hayward, sitting by himself at the witness table, is expected to be interrogated sharply by lawmakers about BP's preparedness for such a massive spill and its failure to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf.
A day after agreeing to a $20 billion victims' compensation fund, BP's chief executive is ready to tell Congress that he was "personally devastated" by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and understands the anger that Americans feel toward him and his company.
Hayward's contrition isn't likely to save him from a bruising Thursday on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are preparing to channel constituent outrage over the worst environmental disaster in the nation's history.
In prepared testimony obtained by The Associated Press, Hayward says the explosion and sinking of the BP-operated rig "never should have happened — and I am deeply sorry that they did."
Newly disclosed documents obtained by the AP show that after the Deepwater Horizon sank, BP made a worst-case estimate of 2.5 million gallons a day flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. That figure is far higher than the company said publicly until this week, when the government released its own worst-case estimate of about that amount.
The undated estimate by BP, apparently made sometime last month, reflected the actual situation as it was understood by BP at the time, said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Grassley, senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, who obtained the documents as part of an investigation into the oil spill and its aftermath.
Grassley said it was not clear when BP made the calculation. "Certainly Americans have a right to know that BP made these estimates, the date these estimates were determined and why they were not disclosed at that time," he said Wednesday.
In a letter to BP America President Lamar McKay, Grassley asked BP to explain when it calculated a worst-case scenario of 60,000 barrels a day and to provide documents justifying the figure.
In the course of the crisis in the Gulf, Hayward has irritated some with comments like "I'd like my life back." He strikes a more deferential tone in remarks prepared for the congressional hearing.
"To be sure, neither I nor the company is perfect," he said. "But we are unwavering in our commitment to fulfill all our responsibilities." He said the company has spent nearly $1.5 billion so far and won't stop spending until the job is done.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on oversight and investigations is looking into the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed a flood of oil that has yet to be stopped. Hayward called it "a complex accident, caused by an unprecedented combination of failures."
After accusing the company a day earlier of "recklessness," President Obama and top advisers met Wednesday with BP officials, including Hayward and board chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg. After the meeting, Obama announced BP agreed to pay into a $20 billion compensation fund. He said BP is "a strong and viable company," and its stock price rebounded.
Last week, the president said he would have fired Hayward for comments such as when Hayward said he wanted his life back.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the oversight and investigations subcommittee, and the full committee chairman, California Democrat Henry Waxman, wrote Hayward this week to expect questions on documents showing company decisions before the explosion "that increased the risk of a blowout to save the company time or expense."
Ahead of the session, Stupak said of Hayward's appearance, "I expect him to be sliced and diced."
Contributing: Associated Press writers Matt Apuzzo and Eileen Sullivan
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
At least he is loyal. This looks like political suicide.
very interesting....... We still have his back though.
