Republicans Apologize to BP for Gulf Oil Spill Liability

Congressman Joe Barton, the top Republican on the committee that is overseeing the Gulf oil spill and its aftermath, delivered a personal apology to BP last week, saying the $20 billion relief fund that President Obama directed BP to provide to the victims of the oil disaster was a "tragedy in the first proportion." Barton (R-TX) responded to testimony by BP CEO Tony Hayward before the Energy and Commerce Committee by saying, "I apologize. ... I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong it is subject to some sort of political pressure. ... Again, I apologize." Barton is the House´s top recipient of oil industry campaign contributions.

"I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday," Barton told Hayward at the hearing. Barton was condemning a $20 billion escrow account funded by BP to help pay damages from the spill. President Obama and his administration negotiated the relief fund with BP. Barton called the fund a "shakedown" of the company by the Obama administration.

Other Republicans echoed this apology. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said that BP shouldn't agree to be "fleeced." The Republican Study Committee, with its 114 members in the U.S. House of Representatives, called the Gulf relief fund a "shakedown" of BP.

According to David Plouffe, a long-time political consultant, the fund is a victory for the people of the Gulf. "It's a key step toward making them whole again." Plouffe said. "BP has a responsibility to those whose lives and livelihoods have been devastated by the disaster. And BP oil executives don't deserve an apology -- the people of the Gulf do."

Plouffe added, "Rep. Barton and Republicans like him don't understand that the real tragedy is what's happening to the people in the Gulf Coast. They're the ones who deserve his apology -- not BP. ... If Republicans win control of the House, Rep. Barton could be chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee -- overseeing regulation of the oil and gas industry."

Plouffe continued, "Notably, companies like Halliburton -- the folks responsible for cementing the Deepwater Horizon rig -- are directing their political committees to deliver thousands of dollars to GOP candidates this cycle. Barton himself has received more than $100,000 from the oil and gas industry this election cycle."

In an email sent out after Barton´s apology to BP, Plouffe called on Rep. Barton to apologize to the people of the Gulf, adding, "He should step down as the highest-ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee."

The Gulf oil spill catastrophe is the worst oil spill in history, decimating hundreds of miles of Gulf marshes and other sensitive coastal areas. The devastation has wreaked havoc on fishing and tourism industries in the region, including the Florida coast.