(Host) Vermont’s congressional delegation has entered the debate in Washington about how to respond to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
As VPR’s Ross Sneyd reports, the delegation is critical of BP’s response to the spill.
(Sneyd) Senator Bernie Sanders says BP should be held responsible for all the costs of the disaster.
He says that includes paying to stop the oil gusher, clean it up, and get the fishing industry back in business.
In Sanders’ view, the government should remove the cap on damages that BP could face.
The Obama administration is reluctant to lift the cap for something that’s already happened. In an Energy Committee hearing, Sanders pressed Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli to change course.
(Sanders) "A year from now the TV cameras will not be there. And some fisherman is going to have to go to court to try to get damages from BP – a multi-billion-dollar corporation – this guy doesn’t stand a chance. Now is the moment. Do we lift the cap or do we not? What’s the answer?"
(Perelli) "As I indicated our proposal to lift the cap is focused on the future."
(Sanders) "So it is not dealing with BP. It is, as I hear it, correct me if I’m wrong, your position is that we should not lift the cap on BP for this oil spill?"
(Perelli) "As I indicated, we are focused on the proposal for the future."
(Sneyd) Congressman Peter Welch says he’s felt pressure to get the federal government to do something to stop the oil leak.
(Welch) "It’s not a matter of who’s in charge. It’s a matter of getting it done. If it was simply a matter of saying person X or Y is in charge and that’ll make it happen, we’d do it. So there’s a lot of frustration that is inevitable when you’ve got this catastrophic situation occurring literally a mile beneath the sea."
(Sneyd) Welch says he’s pushing Congress to acknowledge the inherent risks of the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.
He says this could be an opportunity to shift national energy policy away from oil and more toward energy conservation.
Senator Patrick Leahy says he believes the federal government should take over the cleanup itself.
For VPR News, I’m Ross Sneyd.