there is in shakedown. it is insisting on responsible conduct and a responsible response to something they caused. and i find it outrageous to suggest that if in fact we insisted that bp demonstrate their preparedness to put aside billions of dollars, in this case $20 billion, to care of these people who are drowning. these guys don't have deep pockets, the guy who runs the local marina, the guy who has one shrimp boat or one small business. he can't afford to lose $10,000, $12,000, 15,000, or $30,000 a month. i was proud of the president. they were cooperative. he said i want you to take care of those people now who, if they don't get help now, are going to be under, gone. and i might add this fund is not a ceiling. people can go back to it as many times as they can prove they have been damaged, and they need help. and the cleanup costs are all bp's costs separate, apart and above that $20 billion. what is wrong with that? how is that a shakedown? i just -- i don't know. i find it pretty astounding, the co

in this case a $20 billion shakedown. >> no, this is not a shakedown of the company.s is -- the american government, president obama, ensuring that this company is made accountable. and sending a signal to all other companies that seek to treat ordinary american families in a way that can destroy their entire family's history. >> larry: in fairness many, many republicans also krilt sicritic barton. stephanie miller what did you make of it? >> stunning, larry, even seeing it again you shack yoke your hed say really, really you are going to defend bp on this. like i say, i don't think we have gotten to the levels of criminal liability that are going to be found in this. this was unprecedented, larry. look at "exxon valdez" and how many years it took people to be made whole and in some cases it didn't either because it was cut down by the supreme court. this president accomplished something unprecedented in voluntarily getting a company to do this before we even got into awful this. i would rather have a president, acting tough, smoke them out, dead or alive, mission acc

vice president joe biden weighed in at the white house. >> there's no shakedown. it's insisting on responsible conduct and a responsible response to something they caused. and i find it outrageous to suggest that if in fact we insisted that b.p. demonstrate their preparedness to put aside billions of dollars, in this case $20 billion, to take care of the immediate need of people who are drowning . >> lehrer: later, congressman barton said his remarks had been "misconstrued." >> i want to record to be absolutely clear -r that i think b.p. is responsible for this accident, should be held responsible, and should in every way do everything possible to make good on the consequences that have resulted from this accident. >> i'm going to ask you to rise, raise your right hand, take the oath. >> lehrer: hayward's turn to speak came after 90 minutes of the hearing when he finally rose to be sworn. but he was promptly interrupted by a protestor. >> you need to go to jail! >> lehrer: when the outburst subsided, the b.p. chief set an apologetic tone in his reprepared remarks

is that's why this compensation fund is so important, that's why it is not a shakedown. it is in fact president obama ensuring that a company which has spoiled the waters of our nation is made accountable for the harm which is done to our people. a company which said for the first week that it was only 1,000 barrels of oil per day when we now know that they knew it was at least 1,000 to 14,000 barrels. a company which continues to deny that there were underwater toxic plumes, a company which has not been providing the proper protective gear, a company that says they could -- this is not a shakedown of their country, this is the american government, president obama ensuring that this company is made accountable and sending a signal to all other compani that seek to treat ordinary american families in a way that can destroy their entire family history. this is in my opinion the american government working at its best. this is creating truly the kind of partnership between the public and private sector. that can make sure that innocent victims are not road kill as a result

no, this is not a shakedown. this is the american government, president obama, and sharing this company is made accountable and sending a signal that seek to treat ordinary americans, families, in a way that can destroy their entire family's history. this is, in my opinion, the american government working at its best. this is creating truly the kind of partnership between the public and private sector. this could make sure that innocent victims are not run until -- are nnt road kill. i could not disagree more strongly. this is, in my opinion, one of the most important hearings that this congress will never have because it is sending a signal to any corporation out there including the ones who testified on tuesday that all admitted they had no plans to respond to the harm that could be done in the gulf if one of their ranks had the same kind of catastrophic event that they will be made accountable. thank you, mr. chairman, for holding this hearing. i think you, mr. hayward, because yesterday was the day when the p

guest: it was a shakedown. there was a gun on the table during the negotiations. metaphorically. the idea i think was let's get this money. we know bp will have to come up with it. that put it in a lock box. it is not a crazy idea. there was an enormous amount of waste in response to katrina. leave feeling was this is a terrible tragedy. if we did not spend enough money, everything would be fun. that was the idea. not enough people cared to take a close look at how the money is being spent. in this case, we hope that the overwhelming majority of the money going to compensate the people affected by it will be private money from bp. and that is not a is -- not as great a concern as people looking out for public money. host: you are talking about bp being strong armed into this. should it go through the court system or corporate responsibility-guest: i doubt bp would step up on its own current i think it is important to obey the law. if it needs to go through the courts, that is how we decide things. it is time-consuming and frustrating. the results produced and not always the ones

a federal prosecutor alleged blagojevich was part of a series of illegal shakedowns. he has pleaded not guilty to trying to profit from his right to pick someone to fill president obama's former senate seat. blagojevich arrivedate the courthouse in chicago smiling and joking with journalists. he told them the government has lied to the media and the public about the case. general motors announced it's recalling a million-and-a-half vehicles worldwide because of the potential for fires. the recall affects several pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles and passenger cars from the 2006 to 2009 model years. gp plans to disable a heated washer fluid system module that could lead to fires. nearly all of the vehicles affected were sold in the u.s. it was a mixed day on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average gained 123 points to close at 9940. the nasdaq fell three points to close above 2170. those are some of the day's major stories. now back to judy. >> woodruff: it's been almost three months since the president signed a new health care reform law. today he was

, in this case a $20 billion shakedown, with e attorney general of the united states who is legitimatelynducting a criminal investigion, and has every right to do so on behalf of the american people. it amounts to a $20 billion slush fund. it is unprecedentein our nation's history and has no legal standing and, i think, sets a terrible precedent for our nation. host: here he is with a scrum of photographers all around taking his picture. and here is "the wall street journal." the "washington post" have no picture, but a lead story as well. and inside the money section. and before we get to calls, here is the open for wall street journal" editorial today. there was in particular no reason for bp to compound it error and agreed to spend another $100 million to compensate theil workers sidelined by the nation's policy choice. bp had no liability for its costs and a concession further separated and its compensation from for their proper order. and finally the "new york times" editorial from this morning. your turn to weigh in. cranberry, texas is our first call. -- grandburm,y, texas is the

in this case a $20 billion shakedown. >> joe barton later apologized after pressure from house republicanleaders. but he has been called to step down from the committee. do you agree? >> that is for republicans to decide. it is a political gift for us, but dangerous for the american people. host: your thoughts? guest: this makes me very tired of washington. this game of gotcha and the way someone says something, and maybe he should not have said, but then people have to pretend to be terribly offended when they are actually delighted. a gaffe -- people" meal lot as saying it is when a politician tells the truth. it is not that he said anything wrong as a surly, it is that he said something you can pretend to be terribly offended about -- not that he said anything wrong necessarily. we have important issues to settle. many viewers have called her with them. i hope that most americans care more about those then who said what, and i wish that people would develop a thicker skin and just shrugged this off host: from the independent line in kansas city, kansas. caller: whattupsets me the most

, in this case a $20 billion shakedown, with the attorney general of the united states who is legitimately conducting a criminal investigation, and has every right to do so on behalf of the american people. it amounts to a $20 billion slush fund. it is unprecedented in our nation's history and has no legal standing and, i think, sets a terrible precedent for our nation. host: here he is with a scrum of photographers all around taking his picture. and here is "the wall street journal." the "washington post" have no picture, but a lead story as well. and inside the money section. and before we get to calls, here is the open for wall street journal" editorial today. there was in particular no reason for bp to compound it error and agreed to spend another $100 million to compensate the oil workers sidelined by the nation's policy choice. bp had no liability for its costs and a concession further separated and its compensation from for their proper order. and finally the "new york times" editorial from this morning. your turn to weigh in. cranberry, texas is our first call. -- grandburm,y, texa

by energy committee member joe barton, who called president obama's meeting with bp executives a "shakedown," in reference to the agreement by bp to set up a $20 billion fund for damages from the gulf oil spill. he also talked about a measure introduced by democrats that would require greater disclosure by outside groups spending money on political campaigns. this is 10 minutes. >> we are squarely focused on stopping this week, cleaning up the mess, and finding out what went wrong. i don't think president obama should exploit this crisis by imposing a national energy tax on families and small businesses. both parties should be working together to craft responsible solutions to this disaster. there is nothing irresponsible about a national energy tax that would raise -- there is nothing responsible about a national energy tax that would raise taxes and ship jobs overseas. this bill was left dead for reason. remember, what obama is chief of staff said, "you never want a serious crisis to go to waste." when health care costs were exploding, president obama said the passage of government takeov

>> as a congressman barton said, the $20 billion of the side for those to be repaid was a shakedown, governor palin said. and there are those led are saying that this was a shade down and -- and there are those that are saying that this was a shake down and they are defending barton's comments. if she does not want to own congressman barton's commons, that does not surprise me. >> [unintelligible] >> i did not talk to her about the street from sarah palin. the street from sarah palin. -- lee tweakthe tweet from sara. >> i wonder if you can speak to the criticism about bob feinberg, who is a political appointee. >> ken feinberg is a leader on issues like this. he showed his abilities with the victims of 9/11 and the president is confident that he is the right guy to make sure that the people in the gulf are taking care of. >> you said that the president did not say ow that went. do you have a record of the conversation and how it did go? >> no, i do not. hawkthe president has made his standpoint clear on immigration. >> there is no record of this conversation? >> there hobbins no tran

british petroleum after they circumvented the permitting process, infiltrated the government, did a shakedownpeople themselves when it came to cash. the stores are and less as to how they have operated, -- the stories are and less as to how they have operated. now this guy is going to be possibly a chairman of the committee that did not deal directly with this? i find it amazing that republican leadership does not have the character and the insight to care about the middle-class to make a change here. they are horrible in the image business. jay on the go to democratic line in west chester, pennsylvania. caller: i have one comment and one question. first off, thanks to c-span for giving americans a voice. there are so many different factors when it comes to this decline of our country, and i put that in quotes. one is a taboo subject that not many people touch on, and that its unions in the country. the prices that they add, $30 an hour for a man to push a broom and that is the only job he will then there are so many others, so many other runs to that ladder. guest: 'm shaking my head because

we aren't able to snap those people off those mountains and lock them up or put them through the shakedown and find out who they are affiliated with. and we can listen in on the radio but can't understand it because it is a scrambled chatter. and they supply them and bring them food and drink and other things that they need as well as weapons and i have been there to see these locations and optical equipment. mr. speaker, we've got to take the spotters off the top of these lookout mountains and cannot have the drug smugglers that control our transportation routes, however difficult it is and there are ways to do this. our special forces know how. a lot of our law enforcement officers know how. they need a mission. last year, i was able to get an appropriations amendment that directed $1 million to take the spotters off of the look outs in arizona and that was killed and died, mr. speaker. so, mr. speaker, we have to wake up and defend this country and shut off the country, build the wall and stop the bleeding, take the spotters off the look out mountains shut off the magnet on jobs, get ba

for anyone to suggest that this was a shakedown, it is a misinterpretation and distortio% to the american people. what do they want the government to do? to be responsive and make sure that we work on their behalf and to make sure that people whose lights are being turned off can pay their bills. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. ms. jackson lee: good news. we can now get claims and help people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. further request for one minutes? the chair lays before the house the following personal request. the clerk: leaves of absence requested for ms. moore of wisconsin for today and mr. childers of mississippi for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests are granted. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house, revise and extend their remarks, and include therein extrane