Corporate Governance

President Obama on Monday nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court and cited her work on the Citizens United v. FEC case as qualifying her for the role. 

"Despite long odds of success, with legal analysts believing the government was unlikely to prevail in this case, Elena still chose it as her very first case to argue before the court," Obama said. "I think that says a great deal not just abut Elena's tenacity but about her commitment to serving the American people. I think it says a great deal about her commitment to protecting our fundamental rights." 

Kagan argued against the position that was ultimately taken by the court, which was corporations should be entitled to certain rights that give them the ability to invest large amounts of money into political campaigns. 

The Senate Finance Committee wil hold its third hearing on a proposed fee on large financial institutions being pushed by the Obama administration. 

The committee will consider the effects of various options for structuring a proposed bank tax. 

The hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, will feature several witnesses including, Nancy McLernon, president and CEO of the Organization for International Investment; Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency; Douglas Elliott, economic studies fellow at The Brookings Institution; and David John, senior research fellow, The Heritage Foundation. 

So far the panel has heard from Neil Barofsky, special inspector of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who testified earlier this week. 

A proposal to raise the liability cap for oil spills to $10 billion could be attached to a tax extenders bill, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D) said Wednesday. 

"We started talking about it today as putting it as a part of the very necessary tax extenders bill that we're going to pass to keep some of those tax cuts in place for middle-income people," Nelson said today during an MSNBC interview. 

"That's a must-pass bill. This fits within the jurisdiction of the subject matter of the bill, so I think we're going to try to put it on there."

Nelson said he specifically asked British Petroleum executives on Tuesday if they are planning to pay for all costs of the massive oil spill beyond clean up and containment and they said "we'll work on that."

"They admitted that they will exceed the existing law cap," Nelson said. 

Lawmakers are pressing to raise the damages liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion and forcing BP to pay for the economic damages along the gulf coast. The White House supports the idea of raising the cap, although they don't know by how much. Several spokesmen have said the oil company will be held accountable for all costs associated with spill. 

Several Democrats introduced legislation on Monday to raise the cap and have said it has growing bipartisan support. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) accused the GOP of obstruction on a Wall Street reform bill.

An auto safety bill would remove the cap and increase five-fold, civil penalties for automakers that intentionally fail to report vehicle defects or provide misleading information. 

The Senate bill introduced Tuesday would increase the civil penalty for automakers from $5,000 a vehicle to $25,000 and remove the cap on civil fines, which are $16.4 million now, the amount Toyota agreed to pay for not telling authorities about sticking pedals. 

A House measure introduced last week didn't include a similar provision. That bill is scheduled for a Thursday hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 was introduced today by Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). 

A Senate hearing is expected soon, Rockefeller said. 

The measure also would authorize $60 million more than the fiscal 2010 level of $140 million for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -- increasing each year between fiscal 2011-2013 from $200 million to $240 million then to $280 million.  

The Obama administration hasn't decided how much to increase damages liability caps in a 20-year-old law covering oil spills. 

In the past couple of days, Congress and the White House either introduced legislation or voiced support to raise the cap from $75 million in the wake of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 

"We will work with Congress to change the caps," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Tuesday. Although it's expected to increase significantly, Gibbs said administration officials are looking at various cap levels but haven't picked a number yet.

Lawmakers want to raise the cap to $10 billion to ensure that British Petroleum pays the cost for containment, cleanup and the economic effects on coastal-based businesses. 

Three Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez (N.J.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.) and Bill Nelson (Fla.) introduced a bill Monday to raise the cap to $10 billion.

The White House backs raising the damages cap for oil spills and intends to "aggressively pursue" British Petroleum for the costs associated with the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a senior White House official said Tuesday. 

"So let's be clear about a few things. BP is responsible for -- and will be held accountable for -- all of the very significant clean-up and containment costs," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said today on his blog. 

BP must also be held responsible for the damages and the Obama administration "strongly supports" efforts on Capitol Hill to raise the liability cap significantly above $75 million, which is under the Oil Pollution Act. 

Three Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez (N.J.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.) and Bill Nelson (Fla.) have introduced a stand-alone bill that would raise the cap to $10 billion. The White House is suggesting raising the caps within the context of a comprehensive energy bill that would "help move us to a clean energy future." 

Changing the law "so that its cap does not limit our ability to collect damages would increase our chances of collecting adequate compensation," Pfeiffer wrote. 

There is no cap for damages if BP is found grossly negligent, engaged in willful misconduct or has is found in violation of federal regulations. The White House is looking into what fines or damages could be applicable to the spill and BP under other federal and state laws.

"This crisis is very much unfolding so it will take time to determine what caused this spill and the extent of the damage that can be claimed under this one law," Pfeiffer wrote. 

Support appears to be growing for a bill that would raise damage liability cap to ensure oil companies pay for the cost of not only cost and containment but economic impact. 

One bill sponsor, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said today he is getting support for his proposal to up the caps from $75 million to $10 billion. The measure also would lift the $500 million cap on environmental damage claims. 

"The original response has been very good and we're putting it out there for a bipartisan effort," he said. "We're getting advice from offices on both sides of the aisle."

Republican Sen. John Cornyn (Texas) indicated today indicated that Senate Republicans may back the idea, saying, "we ought to have a discussion on that."  

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. 

StopTheChamber.com, an organization that monitors the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, on Friday blasted the Chamber for its opposition to the Disclose Act, a bill introduced in the House and Senate that requires greater disclosure on how campaign funds are spent.

"Corporate robber barons, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have said that they will spend more than $100 million to elect Congress members this year who will do their bidding," said StopTheChamber spokesman and attorney Kevin Zeese in prepared remarks. "This corruption of elections is opposed by the vast majority of Americans. The Disclose Act will start to address this attack."

Shortly after yesterday's introduction of the bill, the Chamber criticized the measure for stifling free speech and helping Democrats in the upcoming elections. 

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