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White House 'strongly' supporting House spill bill
The bill meets the administration’s goals to improve offshore drilling safety; “guaranteeing that those who are responsible for damages from an oil spill as a result of offshore drilling fully compensate those who have borne the cost of those damages;” as well as eliminating “the conflicts of interest that have put industry profits ahead of the safety of workers and the natural environment, as was recently demonstrated in the Gulf of Mexico,” according to the Statement of Administration Policy released Thursday on the eve of the expected House debate.
This includes backing language in the measure retroactively removing the liability cap for oil and gas producers responsible for an oil spill. “The Administration strongly supports the repeal of the limit on economic damages liability for offshore drilling, which has served as an implicit subsidy for the oil and gas industry for two decades,” according to the SAP.
Oil-patch Democrats have said the language would price smaller, independent producers out of the offshore oil drilling business because they would not be able to afford insurance.
