[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 74 (Monday, May 17, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S3794]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              BP OIL SPILL

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, Wall Street isn't the only place where a 
reckless pursuit of profits has proven destructive. In the weeks since 
the Deepwater Horizon explosion, as much as 20 million gallons have 
spewed into the Gulf of Mexico. To put that so it is more 
understandable, think of the Exxon Valdez. The Exxon Valdez was an 
awful spill, but it was only 11 million--I underline that, only 11 
million--gallons. Already, the disaster in the gulf has been twice that 
big as far as the amount of oil spilled.
  Last night's edition of ``60 Minutes'' reported damning evidence that 
the roots of this tragedy are in British Petroleum executives' efforts 
to pad their own wallets. The program was very direct and to the point. 
Their greed led to 11 horrific and unnecessary deaths. It has harmed an 
enormous tourism industry, weakened business at countless fisheries, 
and disrupted life for many along the gulf coast. As the pollution 
grows worse, those consequences will only compound.
  It is the responsibility of Congress and the administration to 
investigate this disaster, and it is the responsibility of British 
Petroleum and anyone else found culpable to pay the price of those 
damages. By law, oil companies are liable for only $75 million in 
damages in instances such as these. This is clearly insufficient. One 
way Congress can act now is by raising that limit. Some believe it 
should be raised to $10 billion. Others support no cap at all. I 
certainly think a $10 billion cap is inadequate.
  Whatever the final figure, the catastrophe that continues to poison 
our gulf coast is a wake-up call. We must make sure oil companies learn 
their lesson. While they spend record profits on finding more oil, they 
also must find safer ways to drill and to handle it. They must invest 
in rapidly developing clean domestic energy to protect our environment 
and increase our energy security.
  Secretary Salazar and the President deserve credit for their 
continued efforts to clean up the previous administration's efforts to 
put oil company profits before people.
  In the meantime, we and the Senate must also learn from the mistakes 
on Wall Street to the Gulf of Mexico. We have to work as quickly as 
possible to protect against it ever happening again.
  I note the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

                          ____________________