BP should compensate thousands of oilfield service companies and workers who lost business and wages after last year’s oil spill and a resulting moratorium on deep-water exploration, a Louisiana lawmaker said.
Rep. Jeff Landry, R-La., called on the British oil giant to compensate the workers and businesses, who currently are in a kind of legal limbo — ineligible both for payments under the Gulf Coast Claims Facility administered by Kenneth Feinberg and from a now-shuttered $100 million fund BP established for oil rig workers hurt by the spill.
“It would be both reasonable and just for BP to authorize Mr. Feinberg to mitigate and compensate the claims of those who suffered financial harm due to the disaster-induced moratorium,” Landry said in a letter to BP America Chairman Lamar McKay.
“Such an action would not only provide much-needed assistance to thousands of Louisiana families and businesses, it would also further prove that BP stands ready to act as a responsible corporate citizen,” Landry added.
Landry essentially wants to see oilfield workers put on the same playing field as commercial fishermen and shrimpers who have successfully been reimbursed for lost work and wages as a result of the spill.
A sharp critic of the deep-water drilling moratorium, Landry insisted that even if it was government-imposed, the ban was a direct result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Although roughly 750 offshore workers have secured compensation from BP’s $100 million Rig Workers Assistance Fund, Landry said that ignores the “scores of oilfield service and supply companies and their employees who have suffered tremendous losses due to the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the subsequent drilling moratorium.”
“From the coil tubing operators to the cooks and caterers, thousands have been adversely affected, but many have not been compensated,” Landry said.
Landry’s letter comes just a few weeks after a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Gulf Coast Claims Facility in which Feinberg acknowledged some workers hurt by the drilling ban haven’t been compensated because their losses were the result of the moratorium and not the oil spill.
The answer, Feinberg suggested, was for BP to change the rules for payouts from the GCCF, effectively allowing oilfield service workers to be compensated. Another option would be for BP to pay the claims independently.
Landry asked McKay to authorize Feinberg to address the oilfield service and supply workers’ claims instead of allowing them to be “denied because of the parsing of legal hairs.”
BP spokesman Scott Dean stressed that the company is complying with the federal Oil Pollution Act, which requires payment of certain types of claims.
“That law was not designed to remedy claims arising from the government’s decision to impose a temporary moratorium on drilling in the Gulf,” Dean said. “BP has nevertheless gone beyond legal requirements and provided $100 million to the Rig Workers’ Assistance Fund administered by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.”
Although it is closed to workers’ claims now, the more than $64 million still remaining in that rig workers fund is now being distributed by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation “as it deems appropriate,” Dean added.
Idiotic. The moratorium is beause of Obama. BP didn’t cause that. Obama want’s nothing to do with drilling or any type of gas for that matter. He would rather put money in Solyndra or other waste of time inefficient solar panel projects.
More Republicans looking for entitlements.
What a RINO. I’d expect this nonsense from a share-the-wealth Dem but not from a real Republican. This guy needs to be replaced.
It figures. The government put the people out of work and now wants someone else to pay. If Obama didn’t put the moratorium in place there would not have been anymore spills and the industry would have continued and been happy to adhere to new regulations without the need for a total shutdown..
While BP should be responsible for direct and indirect results of the spill, the moratorium was the direct result of knee-jerk political reactions that BP has no control. BP executives cannot be held responsible for the actions of a government that they cannot even vote for.
This is a perfect example of what is wrong with our country today. There should heve never been a maratorium. Drilling should have gone on without stop. You don’t stop driving cars because ther has been an automobile accident. The Obama anministration is at fault. They should pay with their political butts. Vote them out! Vote this RINO out also. How ridiculous!
Rep. Jeff Landry, R-La. needs help. Such a letter would be expected from the Obama loonies and not from someone who I would expect to have retained some kind of common sense.
The moratorium was caused by an impotent administration and not by the industry or BP.
Nooooooow I get it. Took me a while. Next year is reelection time of course. That’s what it’s all about.
What a crock! The ban is what is hurting workers, not the incident.
Shows why we need even less regulation, the very thought that an oil company cannot pollute the environment non-stop scott free is unconstitutional radical ideas that we must purge from our thoughts.
Corporations aren’t citizens.
I am of the school that when one child acts bad, you don’t punish the whole class. Always hated being punished for something someone else did. (I’m talking cases when the culprit is known.) Yet we all know teachers who did just that. Obama has been added to the list so the money should come out of his pocket.
That congress critter is nothing but a RINO as deep down he is a democrat trying to look like a republican…. Nobama and his minions are the ones who ordered the stoppage of ALL drilling and its associated jobs….
What a dumb a**, typical politician looking for a handout to help himself, hope this helps himself not get reelected.
Jeff Landry – you MUST be a RINO!
Stanley7746 missed the point, even after all this time. No hope for you bubba.
Who sank the ship?
BP caused the Macondo fatal explosions with shoddy well architecture, 2nd rate drilling procedures and cutting corners. This resulted in 11 deaths, destruction of the rig and a large offshore oil flare. No one has been brought to justice for these negligent homocides.
Sinking the MODU was the direct cause of the largest oceanic oil spill in American history. Scuttling the ship was a separate and distinct set of criminal acts. The culprits that scuttled the ship have not been identified by any controlling legal authority.
Who sank the ship? They should also be brought to justice and pay the damages, including the service sector losses.
This is transparently political and an absurd claim. But of course, neither party has a monopoly on the practice of purely political ploys.
That is probably the silliest thing I have ever heard of in my life. I agree with Tex in that next year is a re-election year and he is striving to get more votes. More money was poured into that region than normally would have if the incident had not happened. It was a terrible incident and lives were lost, but the government is continuing to milk it for all it’s worth.
If Congress had term limits we wouldn’t have these career politicians sending out letters for their self-gain.
Oh look, another government extortionist. He’s obviously taking his ques from Obama, the Extortionist in Chief. I also bet Landry also wants to be the administrator of the funds.
BTW, the feds only paid $5 Billion of the $20 Billion that Obama extorted from BP. Worse only 38% of 947,892 claims were proven to be genuine. The remaining 587,693 claims were fraudulent. What is the Big Zero going to do with the remaining $15 Billion? Legally, since all legitimate claims have been paid, the remainder should be returned to BP. Anyone want to bet that will happen?
That is nothing but a political stunt. It is time to move on and stop trying to pile more on then is a reality.
Shouldn’t the hussein administration pay them with their bribe money? thje lying stimulus plan? no wait they gave that to solyndra…I forgot…
BP should compensate thousands of oilfield service companies and workers who lost business and wages after last year’s oil spill and a resulting moratorium on deep-water exploration, a Louisiana lawmaker said. Why should BP pay? Do the companies and workers pay to BP when they have profit? Every thing is game-able. Louisiana lawmaker, you are too much. How much more money do should BP pay for you? Stop blame on BP. The workers love the way BP paid to them. They exchange their life for rich and live wealthy. Stop. stop. stop dump shxt
Hotshot007…. This must be what you get when only 20% of the brain cells are working. Go back to living in your mom’s basement, smoking pot, and eating chee-to’s.