|
 |
 |
|
Feinberg ordered by Obama to get BP claims paid 'quickly'
Ken Feinberg, newly tapped to oversee the oil spill compensation fund, said on Sunday that he’s under strict orders to “get these claims paid, get them paid quickly.”
The man in charge of the $20 billion escrow account appeared in an exclusive interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press” and encouraged individuals affected by the Gulf Coast crisis to file claims as soon as possible.
The former prosecutor, who oversaw the compensation fund for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was tapped last week by President Barack Obama and BP executives to serve a similar role as head of the BP oil spill victim compensation fund.
“I must make sure that this $20 billion fund provides for prompt payment, full compensation. It's an independent program. I'm not beholden to the administration or BP,” Feinberg explained of his new responsibilities administering the escrow account that BP executives agreed to set up while at a White House meeting on Wednesday.
The following day, a top-ranking GOP lawmaker called the creation of the fund a “shakedown,” a comment that set off a firestorm of controversy and a retraction by Energy and Commerce ranking Republican Rep. Joe Barton (Texas).
Feinberg, however, disagreed with that characterization.
“I don't think it's a shakedown,” Feinberg said, adding that BP should be credited for setting up such a fund because in prior experience running other compensation programs, the companies had to start from scratch.
“Here, there is a program in place. Now, it's not efficient as it should be. It's not working as well as it should be. But BP's paid $100 million worth of claims so far. We can do better and we can do quicker. But I don't think it helps to politicize this program,” Feinberg said.
He also praised Republicans and Democrats for offering him “great advice” and feedback on how to manage the fund.
“This is input that is bipartisan. As in these other programs I have done, I think it is pretty important to try and keep it bipartisan,” Feinberg said.
Mississippi’s Gov. Haley Barbour (R), also a guest on “Meet The Press,” has been among those offering Feinberg advice.
“I thought appointing Ken Feinberg, who's got a great reputation that's well deserved, is good for BP and good for the government," Barbour said. "Get BP out of that, but BP has got to pay and everybody has to understand that BP is the responsible party. We expect them to pay for everything.”
Barbour also distanced himself from comments made by fellow Republican Barton but discussed his initial concerns with the $20 billion escrow account.
“My fear was if you took $20 billion from them all at once, put it in an escrow account they wouldn't have the working capital to generate the revenue to pay us,” Barbour explained.
Since then Barbour said he learned that “I think the way this worked out was dividing it up into $5 billion a year instead of one $20 billion lump sum, I think actually is a fair, good deal for everybody, including BP.
"The agreement they worked out not to do all the $20 billion put in an escrow account at once means that we are much more likely to get everything paid by BP who, by the way, is supposed to pay everything.”
Democratic Gulf Coast Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.), also appearing on “Meet The Press,” added that contrary to nationwide polling, residents in the oil-spill-devastated area want BP to stay in business.
“We want them (BP) to stay in business and pay these claims,” Landrieu said in response to a national poll Gallup poll from earlier last week that showed 59 percent of respondents in favor of BP paying for everything, even if it means they go out of business.
“If you polled it in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, that's the last company our people want to see go out of business because we are the ones at the other end of the line,” Landrieu explained.
The Pelican State senator also praised the selection of Feinberg as overseer of the compensation fund, noting that he has a tricky job in discerning the impact of the crisis on business several years in the future, due to unknown potential harm caused by the oil on the ecosystem.
Feinberg, who also serves as the “pay czar,” a term coined when Obama tapped him last year to oversee the compensation to executives of companies that have received federal bailout dollars, said he intended to focus on getting payments sent out to Gulf Coast claimants immediately.
“The president of the United States has instructed me: get these claims paid, get them paid quickly,” Feinberg said. "Time is the enemy."
