Reid: BP’s ‘greed’ caused oil spill
The “greed” of BP executives led directly to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) charged Monday.
Reid linked the oil spill to the mistakes of Wall Street during a floor speech on financial reform.
“Wall Street isn’t the only place where a reckless pursuit of profits has proved destructive,” he said. “In the weeks since the Deepwater Horizon explosion, as much as 20 million gallons of oil have spewed into the Gulf of Mexico.”
He continued: “Their greed led to 11 horrific and unnecessary deaths. It has harmed an enormous tourism industry, threatened business at countless fisheries and disrupted life for many along the Gulf Coast. As the pollution grows worse, those consequences will only compound.”
Reid urged his fellow senators to raise the cap on liability payments for oil spills, which currently stands at $75 million. The proposal has bipartisan support, but was stalled last week when Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) objected.
The Senate head also took a shot at the Bush administration.
“Interior Secretary Salazar and the President deserve credit for their continued efforts to clean up the previous administration’s efforts to put oil company profits before people,” he said.
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