we will be watching closely. we will of course, cover the hearings on thursday, when the bp executives are grilled by some very, very angry members of congress. that will be very exciting, important, i suspect. that wraps up our special coverage of this hour. the president's address to the nation. his first from the oval office. thank you for joining us. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. and "larry king live" starts now. >> larry: thanks, wolf, president obama in his first address from the oval office outlined his battle plan. a three pronged approach. we'll be talking about in the next hour. it comes on the day the government upped the estimate of leaking oil to as many as 60 barrels a day. that may be up to 50% more than previously thought. joining us to begin things, james carville, cnn political

contributor, democratic strategist, and sammy kershaw, country music artist and republican candidate for lieutenant-governor of louisiana. sammy, i will start with you. the president said in one paragraph here, make no mistake, we will fight this spill with everything we have got for as long as it takes and we will make bp pay for the damage their company has caused. we'll do whatever is necessary to help people recover. was that strong enough for you? >> well, you know, i also heard him say that -- he was going to work together with bp. but i hope that don't just mean they're going to make bp pay not only that, but they need to work together to plug this hole. that's what we need. we need the hole plugged. there is a lot of folks down there hurting really bad. a lot of fishermen, shrimpers, crabbers. and you know, we have a -- a coastline.org, protectourcoastline.org. no government red tape or bp

paperwork. it's something we have put together to help the fishermen and all the folks down there on the gulf. and you know i hear a lot of people keep talking about trickle down effect and certain things and all that. if you think about it. here we are in the gulf of mexico, south. and let's talk about a trickle up effect. you shut this oil drilling down in the gulf. this is going to eventually start trickling up through out america. it's going to hurt louisiana for sure. going to kill us. but we have to plug that hole. get our people back to working again. and i do have to mention something right quick, i know a lot of the press makes it seem as though all of our seafood is ruined. i do have to say that 70% of our seafood we are still producing it now. the people around the country need to know that we are still -- we're still able to produce 70% of good, good, clean, safe, seafood. and the 30% that we're not produce degree, you know some of those areas that are closed off are precautionary.

so i just want to make sure that people know that, that all of our seafood is not ruined. >> larry: james carville, did he, did he, did he not say anything you wanted him to say? >> look, i thought that he alluded to the coastal restoration and that is the clear thing the not just to clean up. we have got to restore the coastline there. he said he was committed to making the gulf better. so, i take it from there. i hope that he is right on this 90%, being able to capture 90%. i hope he is right the relief well is going to be there by the summer. i think that some people think it will take longer than that. but, hey, look, we can hope for a lot of things here. but of the big news is, how much is bp going to put into the fund. what are they going to do to expedite this. the speech is one thing. action is another. wait and see where we go from here. >> what james, can he force them to do? >> i am not sure from my

understanding what the lawyers claim there is no provision he can force them to put the money up. but the federal government has a lot, lot of things at its disposal. and this money is not getting to people down there, in a way that is satisfactory. if there is some way the president can expedite and get bp do it and legally work it out. he said was going to do that meeting with them tomorrow. we are waiting on a figure. let's see. some people were hoping for a figure tonight. fair enough to allow him a chance to meet with them tomorrow and use presidential persuasion. that's what's called for, i suspect that's what he will do. >> larry: sammy, why are you shaking your head? >> well, i thin tubing start with. bp should have taken the $50 million, i think on their publicity ads and given it straight directly to the fishermen. and all those folks down on the coast. i know i don't like watching the head of bp on tv fryi vchltv tr

the company. i would rather have the shrimpers talking to the press saying, bp is worried about us. they sent us money directly to us to take care of us that's what i would have liked to have seen. i'm not running bp. right now i'm glad i'm not. but that's i think what i would have done. i wouldn't have spent all that money to say we are great. bp is great. we're going to fix all this. would have sent it to the fishermen. >> larry: james what do you make of congressional republicans saying this is, this gulf disaster, the democrats are exploiting it for a liberal agenda? >> first of all -- honestly the president, the idea that he is just using this is something -- i don't think holds up. i haven't hesitated to criticize the president. i think they're trying to use this as a political agenda, back and forth. that is not the key thing that people in louisiana are looking for. the key thing they're looking for is to get immediate relief and they're looking for a long term commitment. they're looking to get the

coastline rebuilt. that's what they're focusing in on. and we got this moratorium, we got to get this thing lifted at some point. you can, mary landrieu will be on. i will let her speak. fishing, petroleum are the basis of our economy. there is a way to do this safely. any number of really good ideas that we can get these drilling rigs back to high balling here, pretty soon. if we don't it will be the end of south louisiana as we know it. and i wish that he would have had some kindx-pa ditd process to end the moratorium and get the rigs running. >> larry: sammy is this political or a tragedy both parties have to focus on or do you see politics here? >> i think it needs to be. i see politics. but i see it on both sides. i hate to say that. but i see it on both sides. this is an american problem now. let's forget about democrat, republican for a while. let's get this hole plugged, take care of those people down in southwest, south louisiana.

on the gulf. those people are hurting. they're dying down there. i'm telling you those people are starving. they don't know what they're going to do. their stress level is probably so high it has just gone through the roof. but i just think it needs to, to quit being a democrat/republican thing. and become an american thing. this is a disaster. when there is disasters that happen around the world, america is always first to go and help those folks out. i think americans are good, strong people. and they, they care about, we care about our own. i think i see america going to, fixing to come together and help all those folks, those fishermen and help the gulf coast. because, in the long run, i think it will help all of america. >> larry: james, do you think, do you agree with john king this could be his katrina? >> you know i think they're two separate events. i really try to avoid any kind of comparison here. i think it is a catastrophe, biggest environmental catastrophe in the history of

the country. and in this for the long haul. i think a lot of people down in my part of the world are very, very, deeply concerned. to some extent scared and appropriately so. and i think the president, hopefully he made a start tonight and that we get this thing going. we have to figure a way to get these rigs back up and running in a safe, dependable way, have to get people reimbursed rebuild the coastline and get this cleaned up. if the president can do that. more power to him. i certainly hope he can. but i tell you this is, this has been a very, very tough go. and it will be tough for a while. >> larry: t. boone pickens, and senator mary landrieu coming and the president will face off tomorrow with executives from bp. back with carville and kershaw and ask them what they think he should say to them. stay with us. [ female announcer ] right now when you stay two times with comfort suites or any choice hotel, you can feed a family of four. book now at choicehotels.com to start earning your $50 restaurant gift card.

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>> larry: we're back, the president implored americans to night to change our ways now. watch. >> as we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential

to grow our economy and create millions of jobs. but only if we accelerate that transition. only if we seize the moment. and only if we rally together and act as one nation. workers and entrepreneurs, scientists and citizens, the public and private sectors. >> larry: that's down the road. what about tomorrow? sammy kershaw, what should he say to the head of bp? >> well, you are going to have to hold bp's feet to the fire. and you know, i think that a lot of these other oil companies too, you know, conocophillips will help hold bp's feet to the fire. we can't stop drilling. i got to keep going back to that and our fishermen. we are going to have a lot of people out of work. but he needs to stay on him. it's their problem. it's bp's problem.

they need to plug the hole. they need to plug it right away. they need to make our coastline back what it was. let our fishermen go back to work. so we can, we can produce 100% of the greatest seafood produced in the world right here in the gulf of mexico. >> larry: james, what does he say? what would you have him say, you used to be a presidential adviser, what would you tell him? >> i would say you at the largest tort feaser in the history of the united states. let me tell you this is the way it will work. we are a country that holds third graders accountable, we will hold you accountable for everything that you have done. and we are going to start out and i am going to suggest a figure here, i want you to react to it to put it in escrow. let's just start at $20 billion. then i would see how they reacted. i would be very tough. i would explain to them that, it's very important that everybody know that you clean up your mess. you know you walk in, walk into my children's room and say clean

up your mess. tell bp this because they're gazillion, billion dollar company, they have to clean their mess up. if i was the president i would make that clear, in a very determined way. >> larry: and after the meeting, james, how transparent would you be in telling the public what occurred? >> i think he is going to have to -- he'll say what he did. but then hopefully they come out with a figure and an agreement. i am more concerned with what the figure is and i think anybody would be in the way that the people are going to get reimbursed than the sort of mutual discussion on, on a variety of topics in a candid but frank diplomatic garbage as opposed to coming out with a figure and reality. these people are hurting down there. the people have earned their living doing this for, you know, 40 years, and, or more in some instances. and so that's what people are going to be looking for. and that bp and the federal government are going to be with them in the long haul.

that's what people are concerned about what they really want to hear. >> larry: sammy, you think presidential pressure without say legal power can work? >> well, i'm not real sure. i just -- i know he's going to have to be tough for sure. you know he is going to have to change gears some where in there and let them know high is going to work right alongside them to get this hole plugged. it is okay to go out there and tell the guys what they're going to do, how they're going to do it when they're going to do it. you have to let them know i'm on your side if you want to think about it i am really on your side and here to help you. but you will have to make some things right for the folks down in the gulf and -- and, then i'll stand with you and we'll do this thing together and get it worked out and get it fixed. >> larry: you agree, james? >> everybody wants to plug the hole in the gulf. that's of course, bp wants to do that. the government wants to do that.

shell, chevron, if anybody had an idea how to do it i guarantee you it would be out there. this is not good for the industry and didn't have a good day on the hill today. this is, if, you know, the -- the suits in houston are not having fun tonight. and this is not a good thing. and itch the, if they could they would. i guarantee you that the president wants to shut the hole, i don't doubt that. i don't doubt that bp wants to shuttle the hole. but the point is that -- you have got to use the entire force of the federal government to force bp to do things. that means the justice department, everything else. the entire force of the federal government has got to be involved in the recovery. entire force of the federal government has to be involved in restoring the louisiana coastline and making these people right. that's the important thing. when the federal, the president and the government have a lot of power. and when they use it in the right direction, it's got to be power that people can feel. now, i want that hole closed, i'm not sure that all of the power on the earth knows how to close that thing. if they did they would have a

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>> larry: james carville and sammy kershaw remaining standing by. we'll get their thoughts on what is heard from our next guest. senator mary landrieu, democrat of louisiana, member of the senate committee on energy and natural resources. first, what did you think of the speech? >> well i am very happy the president chose to address the nation from the oval office. i think this incident is very significant and it deserves that kind of venue to deliver a message that is important. this, larry, is not just about louisiana or the gulf coast, although we are on the front line, it is about our nation. it is about our environment. it's about our economy. so i think the venue that he chose was terrific. i think his analogy to a war, to a battle, is also right on. we have not been winning these

battles, the last 57 days. and we need to win this war. and a call for gulf coast restoration as james has been saying is a step in the right direction. >> larry: what are your thoughts about the moratorium? >> we can't last six months. i have tried to explain to the president and to his advisers, i have the greatest respect for secretary salazar. we have 33 rigs that can float anywhere in the world. they can basically be moved anywhere in the world. if we don't figure out how to keep them operating safely, way before six months they will simply leave the gulf and go to africa, china or elsewhere. they can't afford $500,000 a day to be in neutral on idle. it is not going to happen, larry. it is not just the rig workers that the president acknowledged. i want to say i thought he hit some very fine points. but for every man or woman on the rig as james knows there are 150 to 200 there are four, five guys back on shore, driving the

trucks, delivering the ice, making the food. then there are thousands of industries that support it. so we have an environmental disaster that is causing economic damage. but we are going to have an economic disaster if we don't figure out how to, inspect these 33 rigs, and get them drilling as soon as possible. and the country needs the oil. >> larry: do you back up the estimates now, putting it at 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day? >> it could be. but you know it was clear to some of us, you know, eight weeks ago now, this well was one of the largest wells ever discovered in the gulf. when i met with several of the wives at my kitchen table, literally, last week, they said to me, they said senator, our husbands would come home from this well and say this is a well from hell. it was big, it was bad, we'll learn all about how bp didn't handle it very well. we knew initially that it could flow at 60,000 barrels a day. that was why they were excited about the discovery.

it was a very big discovery, not the deepest well, but one of the biggest. so i am like james, i am encouraged by some things i hear the president say, but we have got to put the full force of our government. i think the president made a positive step tonight the but we have a lot more to do. >> larry: sammy, want to comment on what the senator said? >> oh, i'm with her. we can't stop this drilling. it is just -- it would just -- it would just cripple us it would kill us. and these guys will not hang around like she said. i agree with her on it. we have to keep drilling. it's the lifeblood of louisiana. you know? it has been for a long, long time. >> larry: james? >> we just, we can't survive six months. >> larry: james? what do you think? >> obviously i agree with senator landrieu is saying. but the thing right now is, is that it is very important people remember this -- both the

situation in katrina and new orleans and st. bernard parish and situation in the gulf not anything natural about them. they were engineering failures and massive engineering failures. there is nothing, a drilling rig operated properly with proper procedures can be a very safe thing. it had been done a lot. when you had a situation like you had here and you didn't have proper regulation and there wasn't a wall of separation, separation between the regulator and the regulated, this kind of thing happens. and i think we have got, we have got to tighten down on that. but we can tighten down and get it running up again. >> larry: senator, can you comment on the president's selection of michael bromwich served as justice department inspector general. he is going to revamp, minerals management and regulate offshore

drilling. what do you think? >> we need somebody to clean up minerals management. ken salazar started the job, think he found a bigger mess than he bargained forch . government does have a job to play in regulating not just this industry but other industries so consumers, the environment are protected. just getting back to this moratorium. nobody wants them to be safer than people living close to them. people in louisiana, mississippi, and texas. but we have to do this for the deep water rigs faster and let the shallow rigs operate as quickly and safely as we can. it is not just louisiana jobs. the entire nation depends on this energy propose duction. even as we move to a cleaner, greener, energy future. we have to revamp minerals management. i tell you there is a lot more that needs to be done. the president's call for gulf coast restoration was music to our ears. i mean james has been ape great voice, but there have been many organizations, america's wetlands. restore, retreat, and we have got plans, larry, i have been on your show before, talking about

this, we have to win this battle for gulf coast restoration. and the revenue-sharing, or direct revenues would be helpful. >> larry: thank you all very much. senator mary landrieu, james carville, sammy kershaw, we'll have them all back again you can count on it. you can count on t. boone pickens joining us next. he'll tell us what he thought of the obama address, what he would do if he was in charge. he has been right about this all along. stick around.

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new seafood creations from miles apart... that will inspire you to get together. the celebration starts at $12.99. right now at red lobster. >> larry: he is becoming a regular on larry king live these days happy to see t. boone pickens, legendary oil man and chairman of the bp management company no association with the bp oil company. what did you think of the speech? >> i commend him. the president made it clear we have no energy plan. but we haven't had an energy plan for 40 years. so, let's get an energy plan. you know, i am for the wind and the solar.

but that's -- that's not going to solve much for you. that is for power generation. and your problem is transportation fuel. is where you're coming from. and 70% of all the oil we import every day is for transportation fuel. if you remember the president said when he got the nomination that in ten years we would not import any oil from -- he said from the mideast. and i -- i believe he -- that's, you know he told us he would do that. but i have seen no plan to accomplish that. >> larry: he has tried, hasn't he? >> has he tried? >> larry: hasn't he tried? >> well, i don't know where has he tried? >> larry: he's got a house bill. >> something is very interesting, yesterday, that, that the national association of mayors came out and endorsed

both of those bills 1835 and 1408. and those bills, what they do is they take natural gas which is a huge resource in this country. the largest resource the country has. it's -- our natural gas reserves are three times the equivalent of the saudis' oil reserves. here we are not, you know we are not using them. there are 12 million vehicles in the world today on natural gas. and 130,000 of them are in the united states. and we have more gas than any other country in the world. we are honestly, i have known, i have said this before. larry, we are going to go down as the dumbest crowd that ever showed up. to have a resource like natural gas and we don't even use it. >> larry: boone, you have been right all along on this. when are they going to solve this spill? >> okay, remember the first time we talked about it. we were 38 days at that point. >> larry: you said it would

double it? >> it's more. it's more. we are going to be, i would say, don't look for the relief well to be in position and to accomplish the deal. now, everybody is thinking it is going to be august the i think it will be the middle of september. >> larry: and how -- therefore, how worse, how worse is it going to get? >> well you are going to keep looking at that -- >> larry: three months. >> you are talking about. right at the middle of june. june, july, august, september. we are still three months away. we are going to, but you don't have to worry about your news each evening. because it's going to be the same thing over and over again. i mean, and i think bp is going to start to capture more oil through their, their deal that they have going right now. they're at about 15,000, 20,000

barrels a day. hopefully they will get more than that. how much oil are we -- are we -- producing out of the well, right now, probably 40,000, 50,000 barrels? >> larry: boone, if you were the president, how tough would you be when you meet with the head of bp? >> why be tough? everybody said everything they want to say. tell them that, look, let's work together and -- get this darn thing plugged. is what we need to do. but, i mean why are we going to chew them out? let's wait until we get it plugged and then figure out if there really is, was it a -- was it a total accident? was it like an airplane with two good pilots and 300 passengers that crashed? could it be pilot error? sure it could. but i am not interested in an investigation while these people are trying to solve the problem. so -- lay off of them. and work together and then investigate.

>> larry: in the congressional testimony, i want to get this right, the chairman of exxon mobile, exxon, said that if oil companies followed proper well design, drilling maintenance procedures, accidents like this one should not occur. do you agree? >> i agree. i think rex taylorson said the right thing there. if you follow everything, it's just like flying the airplane. if you follow the rules, then watch the instruments, then you are a qualified pilot you will get from "a" to "b" and there are things that happen in between. some times there are accidents. some times people made bad calls. >> larry: so you wouldn't do anything -- if you were chairman of bp would you fire the people who are running it? >> i don't -- well, i would find out, you know, if we -- if somebody made some bad calls, made some judgment errors and all. but i wouldn't rush to do that if i was the chairman of bp.

i would get the well plugged. and along the way, i would, i would figure out. they know about what happened. and we know they got a bad cement job, there is no question about that. we know the blowout preventers didn't work. and beyond that i don't know what anybody said or anybody did. >> larry: we'll take a break. hang on, boone, we'll take a break and ask boone if he thinks bp can survive the crisis. their credit rating took another hit today. don't go away. it doesn't cover everything.

and what it doesn't cover can cost you some money.

we're back with legendary t. boone pickens. president obama says there is a big lesson for us all in this disaster. we better pay attention. >> one of the lessons we learned from the spill that's we need better regulations, better safety standards and better enforcement when it comes to offshore drilling. but a larger lesson is that no matter how much we improve our regulation of the industry. drilling for oil these days entails greater risk.

after all, oil is a finite resource. we consume more than 20% of the world's oil, but have less than 2% of the world's oil reserves. and that's part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean. because we're running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water. >> larry: t. boonech, you agree? >> a lot of it is pretty accurate. but we have got the natural gas. we are number one in the world. and here, he said it on, on oil, we have 2% of the oil reserves. why do we continue to depend so much on oil? why don't we -- >> larry: you said because we're stupid. >> that's right. i agree that we got to get on our own resources. but here, we have resources. we can go to the battery on light duty. we can go to the hybrid the we have butane, propane, ethanol,

all of these things are american. get off of the mideast oil. just exactly what the president said when he got the nomination. he said in ten years we will not be on mideast oil. and i am in total agreement on that. but you have got to have a plan, or nothing will ever happen. it's like a tree. it's like a tree, larry. when was the best time to plant a tree. 20 years ago. just in case you didn't plant it. today is the second best time. you have got to get an energy plan for america. >> larry: well put. can, can bp survive this poor credit downturn? >> well, the credit downturn it started, just before this happened. was aa-plus, then went to aa, now it is bbb. well they're two above junk now. but, sure they can survive it unless, unless the government continues, continues to go after

them like they're going after them. i still say, lay off of them and get the well plugged. get the beaches cleaned up. but we are not that -- we haven't lost that much oil to the beaches. so, you know, someplace in here, yes, i think they're going to survive. but if you look at the american assets they have, it is 700,000 barrels of oil a day and 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day. that's probably worth $150 billion. they have only spent $1.6 billion at this point on the problem. so, yeah, they have got, they have got a strong balance sheet. with very little debt. >> larry: would you invest in bp, would you buy bp stock? >> no. i wouldn't. i wouldn't. >> larry: all right. simply put then. is there even a worse case situation, do you see? a worse case scenario than your

forecasting mid september? >> well then it could be mid december. could that happen? yes it could happen. if you look back at the well, it went 290 days and three relief wells. we have two relief wells going now. they're getting down, right on time. >> larry: what happens, what happens if a hurricane hits? >> oh, man, i don't want that. that would, that would be, that would be bad. you know, they had to shuttle down the tender today because it was struck by lightning. and, they were shut down for several hours before they could get back to -- back to -- to getting the oil into the tender. >> larry: i asked the president this. didn't get a clearancer. could it rain oil on people? hurricane, tropical storm? >> no, i don't think that. you know what you are talking about a hurricane comes in there

and picks up a lot of warm water in the gulf and then rains oil. >> larry: picks up oil? >> no there's not -- i don't -- the percentage of oil to water would be insignificant. so, no, i don't think it could rain oil. >> larry: these are sad days, t. boone, do you see any light? >> i do. light -- we do -- more natural gas than any country in the world. that's good. and some of our technology is advancing at a rapid rate for alternative energy. sure, we're going to get out of the problem. i mean, this isn't -- doomsday. it's a mess is what it is. but one good thing for us, the migratory birds have moved out of the gulf coast and they started moving out in april. and they are thousands of ducks and geese down there. so they are gone. they have gone to the breeding grounds.

>> larry: they're smart. thanks again, t. boone, probably see you tomorrow. >> okay, larry. >> t. boone pickens. representative ed markey and the father of a young man killed in the rig explosion that started awful this. stay with us. it can happen anytime. an everyday moment can turn romantic at a moment's notice. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven, low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right for you and your partner. tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications

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>> larry: before we meet our next guest let's check in with anderson cooper and an update on "360." larry, live in louisiana. startling hearings on capitol hill revealing just what a dog and pony show oil companies not just bp but other drillers as well have put on for regulators, issuing getting approval for spill response plans flawed at best, riddled with factual inaccuracies how did they get away with it? look at the photos taken by the plaquemines parish strike force, a nesting site, see a chick lying dead, nearby eggs crushed. local officials saying clean-up

crews sent by bp are responsible for the destruction. we'll talk about that with billy nungesser president of plaquemines parish. and a revision on the oil flooding into the gulf. should anyone believe the numbers? we'll look into it. larry, top of the hour. >> larry: unbelievable. old friend, congressman, ed markey, chairman of the energy and environmental subcommittee, chief executives from five major oil companies including bp testified before his subcommittee earlier today. and from baton rouge, louisiana, keith jones, his son gordon only 28 years old, was one of the 11 people killed in the deep water horizon oil rig explosion back on april 20th. what did you think of the president's speech, ed? >> i thought he did an excellent job. he laid out a battle plan to -- to ensure that the well was plugged. that there is a response that is

put in place so that the oil is -- sopped up, so that the people who have been harmed are compensated, and he -- he then laid out a battle plan for a renewable energy agenda for the future. wind, solar, biomass, geo thermal, plug-ins, hybrids. he laid out the two things the american people want to hear that their president is working on. i thought he did so in a brilliant way. >> larry: all right. keith, i don't know that you can think clearly on anything these days. losing a child. but what did you think of the speech? >> i was pleased with the speech, larry. i, i agree with a good deal of what the president says. i agree for the time being with the moratorium on deep walter drilling. i see a little bit quicker solution than most do, i think, in that the president has said

what he needs to have is to be convinced that deep water drilling can be done safely. and if it can be done safely, the way for him to learn that is for bp to stand up and act like men and admit what they did wrong. they made bad decision after bad decision after bad decision always erring on the side of making more money and against the -- on the side of safety. and the result was what you saw on april 20th. if they would step up and be like men, admit what they did wrong, take their medicine, i think the president might be convinced that it could be done safely. it just can't be done like they did it. >> larry: you lost a son. have you contacted bp personally? >> i have had no house, a gentleman from bp was four, five chairs down, never looked my way. a lady from transocean at least was nice enough to come and

speak to me and very sincerely express her condolences. but bp, i expect, is fairly unhappy with what we're trying to do in congress, and that is to change the death on the high seas act and make them answerable with punitive dama damages. >> larry: former crack addict, six-time former prison inmate got out, got clean, created a program to help female offenders do the same. watch. >> we all leave prison saying, i'm going to get my life on track. and you end up getting off a bus downtown los angeles, skid row. many times, you don't even make it out of the skid row area before you're caught up into that cycle again. my name is susan burton. after my son died, i used drugs.

i went to prison six times. finally, i found rehab and i thought i can help women come home from prison. i picked them up, bring them back to the house. >> she offered you a warm bed, food. like a real family. she made me want to change my life. >> you proud of my, miss burton? >> sure. you came a long way. >> this is life. that's what it's all about. >> larry: since 1998, susan burton has helped more than 400 women get their lives on track. to nominate someone you think is changing the world go to cnn.com/heroes. back after this. right now, there's a nurse saving a life in baltimore. 20 minutes later,

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>> larry: congressman markey,

how tough should the president be on bp? some say it wouldn't pay. >> it's impossible to be too tough on bp. my heart goes out to mr. jones and his family for his loss because we now know that bp was running through all kinds of red lights, warnings that had been going off in the hours and days before this accident occurred. and so i think it's important for the president to force bp to put together a compensation fund. it's important for bp to be told that they won't be making the decisions. it will not be the chief counsel of bp who decides who gets compensated, that an independent evaluator of all the claims will make those decisions and that we will also repeal the death on the high seas act so that families, like mr. jones, can be properly compensated. it's impossible to fully

compensate, but to just ensure that bp has to pay for what they did to these families. >> larry: keith, on a personal note, i guess it's impossible to answer this, but how do you keep going after you lose a child? what keeps you functioning? >> larry, what's kept me functioning so far, i think, is that my son and i, who were the only lawyers who were immediate family members of any of the 11 took it upon ourselves to go to washington and try to get this unfair law fixed and to see to it that these families could be more nearly compensated. the congressman is right. they cannot be fully compensated. you can't make it up with money. but they can be more nearly compensated if they -- if congress will dramatically change the death on the high seas act and make certain that

if the proof is there as to bp's wanton and reckless conduct that we can make bp regret they made such bad decisions. perhaps they won't do it again. that's what's keeping me going right now. >> how is your son's wife and child? >> they're great. his youngest child, of course, is born a couple of weeks after gordon died and that was the ultimate bittersweet experience, when maxwell gordon came into the world without his dad, but he is a perfectly healthy, happy, big boy and just like his older brother, sleeps through the night, from night one. i don't know how it is. michelle has such good babies all the time. but they are that. and so they've got a lot of family support, a lot of it. and we're making sure that that is going to stay that way.

>> thanks, keith. ed, we have about 45 seconds. t. boone pickens says it will take till september maybe longer. what do you think? >> it's not an easy thing to be able to drill and to find such a small target. i think we have to hope. we have to pray that they get it right the first time. because if they don't and a hurricane hits the gulf, we could have a katrina-hit exxon valdez and the consequences could be catastrophic. let's hope they are successful and also understand the logistical difficulties they face. >> larry: is congress doing everything they can? >> we are on bp every day. we are going to make sure that bp stands for bills paid. and we are not going to relent. we are going to have tony hayward in, the ceo, in another two days. and this will happen every