bp. many of whom are living on the gulf coast. and i do thank you for the patience that you have in this difficult time. through our actions and commitments, we hope that over the long term that we will regain the trust that you have in us. thanks a lot. and i will take a couple of questions. >> did pp [inaudible] on the deep water horizon. >> we are going through a series of investigations and we in the board will do our own independent invest congregation where we will scrutinize everything that we do to make sure that we understand the root cause of this tragic accident. because it shouldn't happen. i have no further comments on that. >> that was a long meeting. what were the sticking points of disagreement that had to be resolved? are you concerned about i will legitimate payments? >> i think it was a very constructive meeting and includes many different parts and it is important to get to all the language right. but the determination and the ambition to get through this was clear fro

bp. >> this was supposed to be signed. >> i am a biologist with the emergency response division, and i am here to answer questions people may have about the biological impact associated with this oil spill. >> we talked to some fishermen, and many are concerned about their way of life. >> people do ask about that, and i fall back on a historical spill that occurred. there was this bill in 1979 -- a spill in 1979, and it went on for nine or 10 months and spewed out something like 140 million gallons of oil into the gulf of mexico before the relief well was in place to stop the flow. dispersants were used. over 2.5 million gallons were applied at that time, and the fisheries recovered from that. >> i started out doing town meetings when i got here, and i realized we were not getting the information now to the public like we wanted to, and we were not able to answer some of the questions about this person's and what are we -- dispersants and what are we actually doing. the whole approach is

to bp. again, we tried to rein in big oil, the republicans are not. same with health insurance. the republicans said know. as a need here today, our conference committee is meeting on operating and more of those that are reckless from wall street causing joblessness on main street. when we pass the bill, not one republican voted for it. it is sad to say that today, only three republicans voted for it. five yesterday. in the event, willis' up to have -- we hope to have -- we will measure our progress by the success being made by america's working families. any questions? >> do you intend to bring it back to the floor tomorrow? i know there are still thinks that you're trying to work out. does widening the language a little bit, did that create problems in your caucus? why are we doing these for other groups, and does that make these groups look like they are -- >> it is about to disclose that if he could not hear the question. it is the daylight that we want to shed on corporate america up ma

you were an exploration manager with bp. you were the director of bp's exploration. you were vice president of bp's exploration and production. you hold a ph.d. from the university of edinboro. based on the may 12th hearing and may 25th memo, our june 14th letter to you, based on all those facts are your trying to tell me you have not reached a conclusion that bp really cut corners here? >> i think it's too ear try to reach conclusions, with respect, mr. chairman. the investigations are ongoing. they've of identified seven key areas, and when they are complete -- >> every one of those seven key areas, sir, dealt with saving time and saving money and accepting the risk. so if we use your own words f-you're going to hold bp accountable, then we have to manage the risk. should leadership at bp be held accountable here? >> there is no doubt that i've focused on safe reliable operations. we've made major changes in everything we do over the last three years. we changed people. >> what changes how far made since april 20th when the bp deep water horizon exploded. what chan

-- that bp will pay the bill. americans are fed up with hollow words and broken promises. and that is why we must also pass legislation to eliminate a measly $75 million liability cap for monetary damages from these spills. big oil with their enormous profits every month can afford to pay for their recklessness. and i want thank you in the rest of the committee for inviting me to speak today, and more importantly, for holding this critical hearing. i hope that we will hear honest and candid answers from bp and the other executives about how they are going to live up to their obligations. thank you again, mr. chairman. >> thank you for lending your voice to this hearing as well. in terms of who should -- >> i will make it easier, i will defer to the good senator from arkansas. >> mr. chairman, thank you. i do not have an opening statement. i will put one in the record. >> i think with that, we can turn to our second panel. if the witnesses will make their way to the table that would be good. >> i've had to -- i hav

have you contacted bp personally? >> i have had no contact whatsoever with bp.ven't, i have no reason to contact them. they certainly haven't contacted me. 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. ♪ you're the one ♪ who's born to care this life was protected... ♪ seems you've always been right there ♪ this life was saved... ♪ soothing sadness ♪ healing pain and this life was made easier... ♪ making smiles appear a

>> we are on bp every day. we are going to make sure that bp stands for bills paid.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

i asked them what about bp. what kind of contact have you had with bp since the incident -- letters, phone calls, visits? one of them said to bp men never extended a hand or a hug when they attended services. i never saw them after that. i asked, what about you, mrs. kemp?" one man said he was sorry for my loss. he asked if he could hug me. the other gentleman told me who he was. they sent two plants to the service. that is the extent of my conversation or any dealings with bp. that is it. do you feel that you owe something more to those women, in terms of expressing something and more? >> as i said, i am devastated. i am certainly devastated. i feel great sorrow for the people who have been impacted. >> the have not heard anything. >> the people who were killed in the accident were not bp employees. they are employees of transocean, another contractor. both of them made it very clear they wanted to deal with the families. we wanted to surprise a support -- to provide support to transocean. we have made it clear

if bp honors its claim to pay if bp honors its claim to pay all of the

it is constructive and to compare at sun's plan with bp's plan. -- exxon's plant with bp's plan.bp will activate the oil spill response plan and assembled a team of technical experts to respond to the situation. here is what exxon mobile says. you can see the text on the screen. in the event the spills or cannot be controlled by the facility operator or remotely with a safety system, exxon mobile will activate the oil spill response plan and assembled a team of technical experts to respond to the situation. the plans are identical. so were the plans for chevron and konica phillips -- conoco- phillips. shell did not give us a plan, but we were told that they had the same strategies as a bp used that have not worked. on paper, these plants look reassuring. bp's plan says it can handle the spell of 250,000 barrels per day. both chevron and shell say they can handle over two hundred thousand barrrls per day. exxon says and they can handle over 150,000 barrels per day. that is far more oil than is currently leaking into the gulf. but when you look at the the details, it becomes eviden

process for bp. he will not be providing testimony today but will be available to answer questions about the claims process, which i probably have a few of those. mr. dempsey, would you like to+ go ahead and give us your statement? >> thank you, chairman. ranking member. my name is ray dempsey. on may 6, 2010, i joined the st. petersburg unified command, directing response to the west coast of florida. i have also been working with the joint information center to share information on spill related efforts. i have worked for this company for 20 years. i volunteered for my current assignment because i want to help the ccmpany respond to an address the needs of the people in the gulf coast region. we are devastated by this accident and has profoundly crush all of us. my heart goes out to the family and friends of those that lost their lives and been injured. we all want to do ann will do the right things for the people affected by the spill.. because of the accident we remain under investigation, both b

bp is responsible. and bp is responsible for all the damage and flow from the bp oil spill and these are some of the consequences from that oil spill. >> thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i have listened through the testimony. waiting to ask my question and no one else did until all of the issues i had in mind were just covered. i won't take my full-time. but simply, calling your attention to the comments made by the outside experts that you turn to. specifically the national academy of engineer iing and a group of them have signed a statement saying we were chose because of our extensive petrolm industry expertise and perspective. and they quote the report and say we broadly agree with the detailed recommendations of the report and compliment the department for its efforts. however we do not agree with the six month blanket moratorium on floating drilling. they quote the report as they reviewed it and then quote the report as it was changed. and i am not questioning that in anyway. simpl

sure, nobody is defending bp. bp messed up. but why make it worse by not doing anything for all most two months after the fact. people, this administration, not only sat on their hands, they sat on everybody else's hands too and prevented this, this catastrophe from being further contained. that's why we have a lot more of these oily pelicans. oh, yeah, absolutely. >> that's absolutely untrue. >> what? how are you even saying that? >> larry: hold it. stephanie. >> this isn't about speeches. what this its about is having a quick relief effort. did the obama administration do everything that it could, absolutely not. but they were thwarted at every attempt by bp. i think bp has to hold the lion's share of the blame here. at the same time the obama administration has to think not just what it is going to do at this moment but moving forward. i don't think having melodramatic hearings with oily pelicans in the air will make anything happen. the right and left used this as an opportunity for political theater and posturing for novem

there were bp personal on the rig. we read that oil workers from the rig held in seclusion on the open water for up to two days after the april 20 explosion while attorneys attempted to convince them to sign the documents stating they were unharmed by the handsome. the men claim that they were forbidden from having any contact with concerned loved ones during that time, and were told there would not be able to go home until they signed the documents that were presented with. after being awake for 50 difficult hours, stephen caved in and sign the papers, and most others did as well. do you think this is inappropriate way to treat people who have experienced bad? and since your executives, you had people on the rig, what was their feeling, and what is your feeling about that? >> i think it was inappropriate and has nothing to do with bp. >> i see, and bp had no comment or opportunity -- did the company know about it? >> i don't believe we wereeaware it was taking place, but it has nothing to do with bp. >> i did mention

here is what bp says. "in the event this bill source cannot be controlled by the facility operator or remotely with a safety system, bp will activate the oil spill response plan and assemble a team of technical experts to respond to this situation." here is what exxon mobil says -- the text on the screen. "in the event this bill source cannot be controlled by the facility operator or remotely with a safety system, exxon will activate the oil spill response and assemble a team of technical experts to respond to this situation." the plants are identical. and so are the plans for chevron and conocophillips. shell says it would use the same strategies of top kills and a jump shot that have already failed. each of the plans include a section on responding to worst- case scenarios, involving offshore exploratory wells. on paper, these plans look reassuring. bp's plan says it can handle a spill of 250,000 barrels per day. both chevron and shell say they can handle more than 200,000

it was a bp's spell, but it was america's ocean. we need you to admit that you knew or should have known, very early on and that this was not a spill of 01 thousand or 5,000 barrels per day. de rigueur cameras, your technology, your expertise -- they were your cameras, your technology, your expertise and that the american people were relying on, and you got it wrong either to limit your liability or out of incompetence. but the impact on this region of and the country is profound and will last for a generation. please, one final chance. apologize for getting that number of wrong. >> we are sorry for everything the gulf coast s going through. we are sorry for that and that spill. we have provided every bit of information that we have to unified command and to thh scientist who are working on this and fulltime since the day you're talking about. we do not have the technology to measure that. that is still under evaluation. >> continue to believe thaa bp is still more interested in its liability than it is of the livability of the gulf

bp was in a crunch. they were behind on the well, i think -- i know, speaking for wyatt, that he was pressured in trying to get things her read up and done. >> that pressure would have come from his -- get things hurried up and done. >> that pressure would have come from his boss? i am trying to understand who might have short circuit did and what the cause of that would have been in terms of safety -- short circuited and what the cause of that would have been in terms of safety. >> i think it was a trickle effect. transocean knew that -- they knew the contract and how they pay the men on the rig. i think it was a trickle effect. -p>> was any of the slowdown --t was a difficult well, as you both mentioned. was any offthe slowdown particularly identified as things that would affect safety? >> when they were osing tools loste whole, they had the hole. they put the deepwater horizon rig over this hole and were stilllhaving problems in the first two weeks that they got their. -- got there. they had to drill

will be transooean or bp here? would it be the owner of the platform for the driller -- for the driller? judge >> we is the owner and operator of the well would make that decision. depending on the severity of the issue and what was at stake, it would be made by a line manager somewhere in the organization. there's been one instance and that came to my mind. >> you talk about natural gas in the use of natural gas is one of those bridge fuels to the future. gas on land where it is not an issue with trap -- drilling a mile down in the gulf. we had issues of where it is occurring because it is closer and closer to civilization, and sometimes right on top of civilization.. mr. tillerson mentioned the loss of the public trust with the industry. what are you doing to create the best practices so that people on land who were nearby and gas drilling operation can have the comfort that their safety is protected, that they are not being expooed to contamination of their water? how are yoo takkng a leadership role in the indu

bp -- the bp chairman apologized today for what's going on.ch. >> i would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the american people on behalf of all the employees in bp, many of whom are living on the gulf coast. and i do thank you for the patience. >> you know, tough judge based on actions and also past statement. i mean, look, bp hassed me a number of statements about promising transparency and i think that's the thing that most people down here just do not believe that they have followed through on. this is a company clearly not used to having the world watching what they are doing. and clearly has not figured out what transparency truly means. there is a number of things that they have done which they could have easily made far more traps parent. their operations currently are not very transparent, a number of thens we have never seen, very basic thing. so i think that is a lot of the frustration here. they have a remarkable story to tell, they are working extraordinarily hard. i don't think anybody here doubts that. they have peop

bp. alabama. danny on the democrats' line. caller: i wonder how many of the people who were calling in yesterday-in -- yesterday bashing the president, thinking this man had not reached out to everybody to try to stop this bleak. i don't know what the american people are thinking. they have stopped thinking for themselves and start listening to talking heads. that is what is wrong with this country right today. you need to stop and think for yourself. this man is doing a great job. host: next is susie, a democrat in jackson, mississippi, as we talk about bp's $20 billion fund. caller: how are you doing? the thing about it is this. i'm from new orleans. on cnn -- host: go ahead. we can hear you. caller: you see them on tv and cnn, and everybody is being duped by them, they are republicans. when you see them say i can do this or that, when is he doing anything? he's always got a tie on. one pair of boots. they are collecting oil and different things. we are going to find out a lot of these

that bp pays for the full cost of this disaster. but we need a clearer chain of command that holds people accountable. the will pollution act states that the president shall ensure effective and immediate remmval of the discharge. on numerous occasions, the president has said that from day one, he has been on the ground and in charge. but where was he when state and local officials waited for nearly a month for approval on a plan to construct sand berms to protect our valuable marsh and prevent at least a dozen pelicans from dying? our fishermen constantly have to seek bp's approval to clean up our beaches. the delay of the sand berms plan is tough prime example of the a administration response to this problem. millions of barrels of oil and they are women, devastating louisiana fisheries. quick action could have limited the scope of this disaster for the present responded by making excuses and shifting blame. i and people throughout louisiana have had enough and are sick and tired of excuses that we continue to be given by the pres

>> or bp pays. >> lehrer: i mean bp pays, yes, right, sorry. >> absolutely. the idea is that the federal government has already designated bp as the responsible party for this spill as a leaseholder for, you know, underneath the spill. frankly their presentation of that bill , the hope is that bp will voluntarily pay it. if bp chose not to, the federal government would have to go to court and pursue that claim. given the circumstances though, it would not be a good tactical call on bp's part to fight over the legality of that presentation. >> lehrer: on the criminal liability issue, there was a big flurry about that when attorney general holder went to the gulf a few days ago and went last week. what are the realistic possibilities there? and what does the record tell us about that? >> well, i think we've got a pretty good sense of what the possibles are for criminal action. criminal prosecution against bp and the other companies involved in the spill. for folks who want to see bp executives put in jail, the criminal process is going to be very unsatisfying.

>> i have faith that bp will do what is best for bp, and i said that on the show with anderson, but i don't believe they are doing what is best for the humanity and the environment right now. >> larry: what is the worst case scenario for the environment? we will ask the people who are there next. urant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i'm going to work with kids. i want to fix up old houses. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. i want to fall in love again. [ female announcer ] together we can discover the best of what's next at aarp.org. [ laughter ] [ slamming ] [ engines revving ] [ tires screech ] [ engine revving ] [ male announcer ] before you take it on your road trip... we take it on ours. [ children laughing ] this summer put your family in an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz now for an exceptional price during the summer event. like the 2010 c-class, an iihs top safety pick. friends around a table... and an evening that brings

is it possible that bp could be ... the name is the problem and one way to solve it is to change the name or change the structure in some way or to sell off assets, that sort of thing? >> well, changing the name is certainly a cynical ploy to be sure. to do with a reputation loss. as you say it's happened. i don't really think that's going to happen here. as we just heard, bp is a gigantic company. operations around the world. they're really big. they have very, very deep pockets. they're going to pay a big price. they're going to pay a reputational price. but to me the key is about culture. and integrating safety and safety is a top priority. remember bp was also the company that had that terrible explosion in texas city back in 2005 that killed people. their recent track record is not all that great. i think one of the things we can see in terms of looking at other companies that have recovered from these situations at least a little bit, they really have emphasized safety. they built it into the culture. it doesn't j

trans ocean, bp. bp actually is the responsible party. although trans ocean was the company that was drilling. i believe halliburton was the company that was doing certain things on that raid. -- rig. i do not know exactly who the responsible parties. bp is ultimately responsible but an investigation will determine who did what in some great detail, largely because there is a criminal investigation. largely we will understand who did what. host: republican for senator dorgan. good morning. caller: how are you all doing? i was wondering because i have been seeing how they have been trying to cap this well off and they have been using these types of methods to cap it off. i was wondering whyythey didn't do something -- just a simple procedure that you do to plug pipes off. if it is just one major league and they cut the pipe or it is square, i did not understand why they did not design some kind of gigantic what they call plumber's plug which basically has a pipe in the center and then it has thread on it and you basically squeeze robert to

bp's plan says it contractor with the marines built response corp. to provide equipment for our response. all the other companies rely on the same contractor. bp's plan says another contractor will organize its oil spill removal. chevron, shell, exxon mobile use the saae contractor. 22,000an relies on gallons of dispersing. well, so do exxon mobil and the other companies. i could go on, but i think you get my point. these are cookie cutter plans. exxon mobil, chevron, and shell are as unprepared as bp was, and that is a serious problem. %+ . >> i have listened to the opening statement of chairman markey and chairman waxman. i want to say that in terms of doing the investigation, i commend the majority staff that mr. stupak holds, and we're getting the facts assemble and putting them out and an open and transparent fashion so that the american people can understand exactly wwat happened. it is no question that british petroleum, the owner and chief operator of the rig that had the accident, is responsible for the accident. and as mr. waxman has pointe

welcome until it stopped, -- the wreck the bp well -- the srecked e wrecked bp well.ost is not just a source of income, but a way of life. there are now more than 20,000 working around the clock to contain the oil. more than 1700 vessels are aiding in the response and will ensure that any and all responsible means of containing this speller pursued. the economic response continues as well. we have ordered bp to pay economic injury claims and we will make sure that they deliver. the small business administration has stepped in to help business by approving loans and loan deferrals for existing loan payments. we have station to doctors and scientists across the region for looking -- to look for people's health. we will absolutely continue to hold bp and any other responsible parties accountable for financial losses borne by people in the region. but our responsibility does not end there. we have an obligation to investigate what went wrong and to determine what reforms are needed so that we never have to experience a crisis like this again. if the laws on our books are

bp said they did not think the rig would sink. it did. they said they could handle an exxon valdez-size spill every day. they couud not. bp said the spill was 1,000 barrels per day. it was not. and they knew it. now the other companies here today will contend that this was an isolated incident. they will say a similar disaster could never happen to them. and yet it s this kind of blind faith -- which is ironically the name of an actual rig in the gulf -- that has led to this kind of disaster. in preparation for this hearing,,this committee reviewed the oil spill safety response plans for all of thh companies here today. we found was that these five companies have response lans that are virtually identical. the plans cite identical identical ineffective equipment. in some cases, they use the -- they use the exact same words. we found that all of these companies, not just bp, made the exact same assurances. that covers of the five response plans are identical -- are different colors, but the content is 90% identical. like bp, three other co

bp has been asked to prepare a new contingency plan. kate amara, wbal-tv 11 news. >> 38 pelicans have been released back into the wild. 192 brown pelicans have been taken from the louisiana coast coated with oil. 80% of those rescued can be saved and reintroduced into the wild. the hope is that the texas habitat will be a safe haven from them from the spill. millions of process raw sewage seeped away into the biscayne bay saturday morning. people were warned to stay out of the water. test results should confirm the severity of the contamination. >> kids are notoriously picky eaters. marketing and commercials can be influencing their tastes. a study found that children overwhelmingly would choose a product if packaging featured a licensed cartoon character, like the explorer.xplora that brings us to our watercooler question of the day. do you think limits should be placed on cartoon characters to market junk food? e-mail your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. again, that is watercooler@wbaltv.com. that study does not surprise me. ate w

as a bp chairman has said, and these are critical test for bp and bp must complete them in order to rebuild trust in the company as a member of the business community in the united states, in the united kingdom, and around the world. bp remains a strong company. prices --ts share although its share prices have fallen sharply since april, the company has the financial resources to put right the damage. it has exceptionally strong cash flow and it will continue to be a major employer and vital investor here and indian states. in many ways, bp is effectively an anglo-american company with 39% of its shares owned in the u.s. against 40% in the united kingdom. there has been much speculation in the press about the impact on u.k. pension funds and whether the company will pay a quarterly dividend. this is highly a matter for the bp directors who will weigh all factors and make a recommendation to their shareholdees that is in their best interests, which also includes the best interest of many u.k. pension funds. many citizens have real and legitimate worries about their pensions. but i would like

so, bp brought all they said they would? >> the resources identified in their plan were brought to bear. >> is there anything now bp is not doing that you would like to see them doing? >> we would like to be better at claims -- timeliness. if you show up and have a w-2 for more evidence of unemployment, they are starting to make partial claim payments. we need to get that every month so they can look forward to the check coming in. we have somebody on my staff actually meeting with the bp today. there is a second larger issue that the local leaders identified to the present at the last couple of weeks. businesses putting claims in for their inability to operate -- seafood manufacturing, so forth. those claims are processed in a different way and require different documentation and information about the business themselves. that appears that it may be cumbersome right now, so we are actually having a meeting at british petroleum this week when claims for businesses. in that regard, they don't have a history of doing that type

bp is not looking at any of them. you would think as big a company as they are, they could multitask. for the first two weeks, i heard we haveegot to stop the leak, then we will worry about the fisherman. i hope the guy that writes the check to the fisherman is not the uy -- maybe it is. that is absolutely ridiculous. important thing. everything should get attention and be worked on at the same time. but knows we have enough people on the payroll to do that, but they say 24,000 people. i know i am out of time, and i will just leave you with this. thomas paine said a century ago, lead, follow, or get out of the way. so tell them to get out of our way of they are not going to help us, because right now, they are the main problem. thank you. >> thank you for your testimony. >> key state agencies were directed to be involved in cleanup efforts. the governor met with paris leaders to assist them in impacting their parishes and to address the economic issues facing the parishes and their citizens. it said it -- the departme

bp is responsible. and bp is responsible for all theamage and flow from the bp oil spill and these are some of the consequences from that oil spill. >> thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i have listened through the testimony. waiting to ask my question and no one else did until all of the issues i had in mind were just covered. i won't take my full-time. but simply, calling your attention to the comments made by the outside experts that you turn to specifically the national academy of engineer iing and a group ofhem have signed a statement saying we were chosen because of our extensive petroleum industry expertise and perspective. and they quote the report and say we broadly agree wh the detailed recommendations of the report and compliment the department for its efforts. however we do not agree with the six month blanket moratorium on floating drilling. they quote the report as they reviewed it and then quote the port as it was changed. and i am not questioning that in anyway. simply quot

he's also been arguing that he's going to hold bp accountable. we'll wait to see whether in fact that will happen. >> woodruff: is it a matter of whether he's held agencies and bp accountable? is that the question? >> that's part of the question. i think the american people want to know whether these agencies are working. we've been talking a lot about the mineral management service, the agency that is charged with regulating oil rigs and the rather cozy relationship the regulator has had with the regulated. i think kathleen is right. the president saying that he's holding his agencies accountable and he's holding himself accountable is right. but also he's got to do and i think he's starting to get there, do a better job of making sure that the american people understand everything that he's doing. up until last week, i think people thought that the president and his administration was just sitting on their hands and letting this environmental disaster happen. and he's getting ahead of it, i think, to letting people know that he's been, you know

every business in the region who has suffered losses because of bp's activities must know bp

i don't think it will bankrupt bp. bp, in an average year, their net profits would be $5 billion or $6 billion a year. the other thing you have tt remember is how oil companies report their profits is different. they make an awful lot of money countries and in the united states they get oil depletion allowances. i don't think it is going to bankrupt them. i don't think the federal government, unfortunately, would allow it to back up to them, because they provide oil, and oil bonds our universe -- oil runs out universe. the second question -- i have forgotten the second questn. host: it was related to how their stock at gone up yesterday. guest: in 1994, when we started the exxon vaadez trial, the exxon stock was down. on september 16 of 1994, when we got a $5 billion verdict against exxon, the stock went up, and the stock has gone up since then, because $5 billion, despite what the supreme court says, was nothing to exxon. the stock is not arett consistently since then. i should have bought -- the stock has gone up ett

that is not the case with bp. we care about the small people. >> [unintelligible] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> coming up, "washington journal" live with your phone calls and we will bring you live coverage of the u.s. house. they will be working on a small- business lending bill. in about 45 minutes, we will look at the war in afghanistan with congressman joe wilson. we will discuss the gulf oil spill with congresswoman kathy castor and assistant labor secretary david michaels on protecting the safety of those working in the cleanup effort. working in the cleanup effort.

what bp should be doing as well.we will fight this spill with everything we have got for as long as it takes." the " on the front page of "the times picayune." "65,000 barrels of oil may be flowing, meaning that 29 gallons of oil are being released for second. for that 733 milllon gallons have been spilled to date." the also note on the front page of the newspaper that he will ask the spilled panel to speak -- to speed up the investigation because the moratorium on deepwater drilling will last for six months. the president also address that last night. omaha, neb., republican line. what do you think? caller: i did not like the speech. i do not think it went into an of detail as far as what will be in place so that bp can pay off those people. what they need to get. and president bush, he was very late in katrina. but the minute he got the 82nd airborneein there, i felt better about it. i felt that there was command and structure there. i do not feel that that is the case here. this is not about democrat, republican,

it will have to be bp. we would like to see -- it is hard to understand bp's responne gutted by the coast guard and pushed by the federal it seems to be so strange, lacking. -pthe oil is appearing close to here and we would like to see a whole fleet out there hitting phe edges of it before it hits, but they keep telling us that there are skimmers ut there. we do not see many. we are expecting to see an overwhelming response. we want to see bp i do like this is their own backyard and we're not sure that ww are seeing that. host: yet we do see a new advertising campaign with the ceo tony nayward saying that they will get this right, essentially. do you dobp? >> did you believe bp? guest: they clearly understand it is a mess. the problem is, going back to the story last week with bp's plan -- they essentially did not even think that the oil would give to the beaches because they claimed their plan was so effective -- i have come nowhere near that. -- they have come nowhere near that. the numbers were wrong, th

on royalties, is bp committed to paying royalties? >> i'm not sure on of the royalty issue. >> on the claims process, we are trying to create claims for every state to facilitate them and the state getting together with the bp claims process and move ahead. there is a novel idea being approached in alabama which is training national guardsmen to assist folks in filing claims so you have a multiplier effect. that is being discussed today. we will have teams in every state to do that. some people are just sitting back and think it too much trouble. they have to know that these claims are going to get paid and we need to help them understand how to do it. >> over the weekend, the ceo of bp said they were clearly not prepared for a spell of this magnitude. the coast guard is the front- line agency, did you discounted the possibility of a major blowout in the gulf? >> we have always anticipated that what happened. in april of 2002, we've actually ran exercised about 90 miles to the west of where this happened. we envisioned a total loss of

bankrupthk itill bp. bp, in an average year, their be $5illionwould or $6 billion a year. the other thing you have tt is how oil companies profits isr different. awful lot of money countries and in the united states they get oil depletion allowances. goi toit is them.pt think the federal , unfortunately, would to back up to them, because they provide oil, and r universe -- oil out universe. -- i haveuestion forgotten e second question. host: it was related to how their stock at gone up yesterday. srted in 1 when we trial, theaadez down.stock was on september 16 of 1994, when we got a $5 billion rdict against exxon, the stock went up, and stock has gone up since then, because $5 llion, what the supreme court says, was nothing to exxon. the stock is not aretty consistently since then. -- thed have bought gonep pret since then. i should of bought stock that trial.the cannot bring myself to do it. host: did you change your consumption habits guest: yes. a guy with a lot of cylinders, and i don't anymore. i think the only long-term resolution of this problem i tucked cut down o

bp put our shores at risk. they dumped cheap oil on the asian market a few years ago to jump the price. host: let's hear from jesse on the indeppndent line. caller: good morning. and i had a comment. about what mr. isaacson said. we do not need to point the finger, we need to worry about solving the problem. host: nashville, tenn. jeremy on the independent line. caller: obama said he with clean up global warming. why doesn't he allow the dutch to bring down skimmers and the boomers in the maine. this guy is using this catastrophe like rahm emanuel said, never let a good crisis go to waste and the american people along the gulf coasts are suffering from its. barack obama is an idiot. he is incompetent. everyone that is out of work because they voted him into office deserves what they get. host: this is an article in "the washington post." you can see that a congressman there. according to other newspapers, they are reporting that these lawmakers are saying they did nothing wrong. host: richard on the democratic

this fund will not be controlled by bp. to ensure that all claims are paid out in a timely manner, the account must be administered by an independent third party. of the gulf in the short term,%- it is also clear we need a long-term plan to restore the unique beauty and bouuty of this region. the oil spill represents the latest blow to a place that has suffered multiple economic disasters and decades of environmental degradation that has led to disappearing wetlands and habitats. the region still has not recovered from hurricanes katrina and rita. that is why we must make a commitment that goes beyond responding to the crisis of the moment. i make that commitment tonight. earlier, i asked the secretary of the navy, also a former governor of mississippi and a3 develop a long-term gulf coast restoration plan as soon as possible. the plan will be designed by states, local communities, tribes, fishermen, businesses, conservationists, and other residents. bp will pay for the impact this spill has had on the region. the third par

contractor to bp?ect. >> if you could answer that in the context to the limit on economic damages bhmpb r bp has been so noisy about saying that it would not be bound by that it would go beyond the $75 million in economic damage s damages th been a corporate statement. what do they see? >> they will pay all legitimate claims. we sat through a meeting where they repeated the saying where they will pay all legitimate claims. i have never spoken to somebody from bp. >> i am not asking them to take responsibility but they made it to the memorial event a couple of weeks ago. i heard they were there but we haven't heard from them. >> i am not a marry time attorney. i have learned a lot. it is my understanding there is an agreement between the contractor and bp where by there is some type of indemnity. gordon's family -- >> meaning bp has agreed to indemnify -- >> they agree to indemnify bp. that is just what i have heard. >> limited recovery only to the formula that you describe. >> of course. ultimately det

bp we don't raham -- we don't need bp calling the shots.ortunately the federal government is very slow in this process allowing a major corporation to call the shots. let's bp try to stop the oil leek. let's picture of the federal government protects the united states coastline from demise. we have a lot of great ideas. you would be surprised how many people called this show here and talk about their ideas on how to combat this oil intrusion. one way is to build this sandbur to detect -- protect the coast line. the corps of engineers and coast guard and government has dragged their feet for weeks. we cannot wait one more minute. we need to build these now. the signs is there to build them and hold them in place with visitation -- with vegetation. if it's not done since you will see a bunch of people on the coastline doing it ourselves. there is no time to wait when we see our culture washing into the gulf. to kevin who is a commercial fisherman. how are you? >> how are you doing? >> i am probably doing better than you are. for people listen

\is bp committed to paying federal royalties? >> i am not sure on the royalty issue. >> we are trying to create independent government teams for every state to facilitate them, the state getting together with the claims processor to identify problems. it is a novel idea in alabama. that is training national guardsmen to assist folks in filing claims. you have a multiplier effect. that is being discussed right now. we will have teams in every state that are able to do that. the question is getting into these books. i had some evidence there are folks sitting back because they think it is not going to work. they can come forward and they will get paid. we need to understand -- help them understand that and how to do it. >> tony hayward said bp was not prepared for a spell of this magnitude. what about the coast guard? did you discount the possibility of a major blow up in the gulf? >> no. we had always anticipated that could happen. in april 2002, we ran an exercise on an offshore oil point which was 90 miles to the west of where t

i don't think it will bankrupt bp. bp, in an average year, their net profits would be $5 billion or $6 billion a year. the other thing you have tt remember is how oil companies report their profits is different. they make an awful lot of money countries and in the united states they get oil depletion allowances. i don't think it is going to bankrupt them. i don't think the federal government, unfortunately, would allow it to back up to them, because they provide oil, and oil bonds our universe -- oil runs out universe. the second question -- i have forgotten the second question. host: it was related to how their stock at gone up yesterday. guest: in 1994, when we started the exxon vaadez trial, the exxon stock was down. on september 16 of 1994, when we got a $5 billion verdict against exxon, the stock went up, and the stock has gone up since then, because $5 billion, despite what the supreme court says, was nothing to exxon. the stock is not a pretty consistently since then. i should have bought -- the stock has gone u