Tony Hayward opened his testimony in Congress Thursday by apologizing on behalf of BP for the disaster that is the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010. But he then was easily upstaged by an additional apology from a Republican for the White House “shakedown” of BP for a $20 billion dollar fund to cover damages from the oil spill. Lawmakers vented predictable wrath on the beleaguered oil business executive at the House Energy and Commerce listening to investigating the oil spill. The shakedown apology to Hayward from Texas Republican Joe Barton was also pretty predictable considering the representative’s record.
Tony Hayward just sits when the gusher flows
While Tony Heyward took his lumps, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico reached at least 100 million gallons as outlined by government estimates. According to the New York Times, the oil spill cap BP has been using given that June 3 has collected about 15,000 barrels a day. Scientists estimated Tuesday that the BP oil leak ranges from 35,000 barrels to 60,000 barrels a day — which is very much up from the flow rate they issued only last week, of 25,000 to 30,000 barrels a day. It continues a pattern in which each and every new estimate of the flow rate has been dramatically higher than the one that is was before.
Hearing dominated by political posturing
As lawmakers made statements, Tony Hayward listened quietly for about 90 minutes. Democrats seemed like they were led by California Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the full House Energy and Commerce Committee, harshly criticized BP for the shortcuts it took that lead to the disaster. Republicans used the televised hearing as a really great opportunity to criticize the Obama administration for its response to the BP oil spill. As they used the listening to to score political points with their base, Republicans accused the administration for using the hearing to try desperately to put the oil industry out of business to advance its energy policies.
Joe Barton ashamed of BP “shakedown”
Before Tony Hayward had a chance to apologize, he got his own apology. Barton said he was “ashamed of what happened within the White House yesterday. I apologize. I don’t want to live in a country where any time a citizen or corporation does anything wrong, they are subjected to such political pressure.” He said it was “a tragedy of the first proportion, that a private corporation can be subjected to what I’d characterize as a shakedown, a $20 billion shakedown.” Reuters reports that Republicans are seeking to pick up seats from majority Democrats in November’s congressional elections. Using BP’s $20 billion oil spill damage fund to criticize the Obama administration is an very risky stance that is bound to be unpopular in the Gulf region, where out-of-work fishermen are desperate for claims payments to survive economically.
Barton’s shakedown wasn’t a surprise
Tony Hayward and a majority of Americans may are shocked at Barton’s shakedown apology. But it was reported by the Washington Post that for Barton, outrageous statements about energy and climate change are nothing new. Barton is the biggest recipient of oil and gas industry campaign contributions within the House of Representatives as outlined by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Some of these comments were:
Barton on wind energy:
“Wind is God’s way of balancing heat. Wind is the way you shift heat from areas where it’s hotter to areas where it’s cooler. That’s what wind is. Wouldn’t it be ironic if within the interest of global warming we mandated massive switches to energy, which is a finite resource, which slows the winds down, which causes the temperature to go up?”Barton on climate change:
“I think that inevitable that humanity will adapt to global warming. I also believe the longer we postpone finding ways to do it (adapt) successfully, the more expensive and unpalatable the adjustment will become. Adaptation to shifts in temperature is not that difficult.”
Barton on Co2:
“CO2 is odorless, colorless, tasteless – it’s not a threat to human health in terms of being exposed to it. We create it as we talk back and forth. So, and if you go beyond that, on a net basis, there’s ample evidence that warming generically — however it is caused — is a net benefit to mankind.”
Hayward gets an apology edgewise
Tony Hayward finally got his chance to apologize after a protester, smeared in black, disrupted his testimony by shouting that he should be charged with some kind of a crime. After she left the room, Hayward said he was “deeply sorry,” and that the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 should have never happened. He also offered his condolences to everyone who knew the 11 individuals who died within the explosion of the oil rig that set the disaster in motion. Hayward has yet to face any questions from a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which recessed after his statement to allow all of the members to vote. No more apologies will be expected.
More information on this topic
New York Times
nytimes.com/2010/06/17/us/17spill.html
Reuters
reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65G42D20100617?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
Washington Post
voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/06/joe-bartons-bp-shakedown-comme.html
