Liability cap for oil spills need significant increase, Dems say

Raising the liability damages cap to $5 billion won't be enough, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said Thursday after his first attempt to pass legislation to increase the amount oil companies would have top pay for economic damages. 

"We will have a robust figure at the end of the day," he told reporters this afternoon. 

Menendez is co-author -- along with Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) -- of legislation to raise the liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. Their attempt to gain quick passage of the measure failed today when Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) objected.  

The cost so far is about $450 million including the "cost of spill response, containment, relief well drilling, commitments to the Gulf coast states, settlements and federal costs," British Petroleum said today in a release on its website. 

Several attempts by BP to stop the flow of oil from the ruptured well have failed. 

There appears to be broad support to raise the cap with remaining questions on how much. 

Murkowski, who backs raising the amount from $75 million, said $10 billion could be a burden on smaller and independent oil companies because they won't be able to afford the bond and insurance, giving large oil companies an advantage. 

The White House backs a raise in the cap but haven't said by how much they'd want it increased. Administration officials have said there isn't a cap on economic damages if British Petroleum is found negligent in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Officials also have said several times that they expect BP to pay for all damages related to the spill -- containment, clean up and any negative economic effects on coastal businesses. 

It's likely that BP was negligent or "gross negligent," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Tuesday. 

Sens. David Vitter (R-La.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) have put together a bill that would make BP liable for up to $20 billion in damages, they said today. 

A House panel's investigation into the spill revealed several deficiencies with the deepwater well's "blowout preventer," which should have stopped the flow of oil still pouring into the Gulf.