The following is an excerpt from a seizeBP.org report.
The Obama administration severely downplays the relationship between government officials and the petroleum giants, which he says has been "cozy." He has stated that he will be more critical of this relationship, yet the federal government has approved 27 new drilling operations since the April 20 explosion.
As a result of the immense political power of big oil companies, a $75 million cap was placed on liability for damages other than oil removal and cleanup following the Exxon Valdez incident. Attempts to raise the cap as high as $20 billion have been blocked. BP is claiming it will pay for any "legitimate" claim of economic damage above the current cap.
Working people in the region and much of the country are dependent on the Gulf for their livelihoods. Petroleum giants and laws created in their interests should not dictate compensation. The damages may well run in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Why should there be any cap on liabilities?The facts and the unknowns about the disaster combine into one necessary call—the seizure of BP’s assets for on-going environmental and economic compensation and clean up in the Gulf.
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