WH: BP will have to pay to compensate for economic effects of oil spill

Cost, containment and economic damages to the Gulf coast will be paid for by British Petroleum, a White House spokesman said today. 

The tab for any economic damages incurred -- such as fisherman unable to use the Gulf waters -- will be picked up by BP, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Monday. 

"BP is the responsible party," he said. "If local fishermen can't fish that's an economic loss that BP is gonna have to pay."

Under the law, BP is responsible for all damages not just cost and containment and they can be forced to pay economic damages, Gibbs said. 

"The economic damages that are incurred are part of the cost of this incident, absolutely," he said.

Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez (N.J.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.) and Bill Nelson (Fla.) intend to introduce a bill Monday increasing the economic liability cap for offshore oil spills from $75 million to $10 billion in response the the Gulf of Mexico disaster, according to a release. 

While the oil rig wasn't BP's equipment "our responsibility is the oil, and the responsibility is ours to clean it up and that's what we're doing," BP CEO Tony Heyward said Monday morning on NBC's "Today Show." 

Heyward wasn't asked about the overall economic impact of the spill. 

The White House is helping set up a system between the oil company and Gulf coast business owners and to ensure they are reimbursed for their losses, he said.