After almost 60 days of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and a critical White House meeting Wednesday, Tony Hayward, the embattled chief executive of BP, headed to Capitol Hill on Thursday for what many expected to be a public flogging.
But instead, he got an apology.
The first Republican to speak, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), turned the heat on the White House, calling the BP escrow fund for cleanup a “shakedown” and a “$20 billion slush fund.”
Barton, who has had a close relationship with the oil industry, accused the White House of putting undue pressure on BP by having Attorney General Eric Holder threaten a criminal prosecution.
“I’m ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday,” Barton said in his opening statement. “I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown — in this case a $20 billion shakedown.”
Barton’s statement created an immediate uproar throughout Washington, as Democrats and even the top House Republican distanced themselves from the “shakedown” comment. Florida Republican Jeff Miller condemned Barton’s statements and called on him to resign as the top GOP member on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
When House Republican leader John Boehner was asked whether he disagreed with Barton's categorization of the government's response, he said, “I do.”
"I have said from the beginning that BP ought to be held responsible for every dime of this tragedy. And they ought to be held accountable to stop the leak and get it cleaned up as soon as possible," Boehner said. "BP agreed to fund the cost of this cleanup, and I'm glad they're being held accountable."
Democrats are quickly turning Barton’s comments into the story of the day, even though Hayward is supposed to be the star witness.
First, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said it is “not a slush fund and not a shakedown; rather, it was the government of the United States working to protect the most vulnerable citizens that we have in our country right now, the residents of the Gulf.”
The White House quickly released a statement calling for Democrats and Republicans to “repudiate [Barton's] comments.”
“What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern for big corporations that caused this disaster than the fishermen, small-business owners and communities whose lives have been devastated by the destruction. Congressman Barton may think that a fund to compensate these
Americans is a ‘tragedy,’ but most Americans know that the real tragedy is what the men and women of the Gulf Coast are going through right now,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs in a news release.
The Democratic National Committee put out a similar statement, and liberal groups blasted out press releases highlighting Barton’s contributions from the oil industry.
Vice President Joe Biden, who briefed reporters at the White House Thursday, said he found Barton’s statement “incredibly out of touch” and “outrageous.”
Back to topAfter almost 60 days of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and a critical White House meeting Wednesday, Tony Hayward, the embattled chief executive of BP, headed to Capitol Hill on Thursday for what many expected to be a public flogging.
But instead, he got an apology.
The first Republican to speak, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), turned the heat on the White House, calling the BP escrow fund for cleanup a “shakedown” and a “$20 billion slush fund.”
Barton, who has had a close relationship with the oil industry, accused the White House of putting undue pressure on BP by having Attorney General Eric Holder threaten a criminal prosecution.
“I’m ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday,” Barton said in his opening statement. “I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown — in this case a $20 billion shakedown.”
Barton’s statement created an immediate uproar throughout Washington, as Democrats and even the top House Republican distanced themselves from the “shakedown” comment. Florida Republican Jeff Miller condemned Barton’s statements and called on him to resign as the top GOP member on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
When House Republican leader John Boehner was asked whether he disagreed with Barton's categorization of the government's response, he said, “I do.”
"I have said from the beginning that BP ought to be held responsible for every dime of this tragedy. And they ought to be held accountable to stop the leak and get it cleaned up as soon as possible," Boehner said. "BP agreed to fund the cost of this cleanup, and I'm glad they're being held accountable."
Democrats are quickly turning Barton’s comments into the story of the day, even though Hayward is supposed to be the star witness.
First, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said it is “not a slush fund and not a shakedown; rather, it was the government of the United States working to protect the most vulnerable citizens that we have in our country right now, the residents of the Gulf.”
The White House quickly released a statement calling for Democrats and Republicans to “repudiate [Barton's] comments.”
“What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern for big corporations that caused this disaster than the fishermen, small-business owners and communities whose lives have been devastated by the destruction. Congressman Barton may think that a fund to compensate these
Americans is a ‘tragedy,’ but most Americans know that the real tragedy is what the men and women of the Gulf Coast are going through right now,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs in a news release.
The Democratic National Committee put out a similar statement, and liberal groups blasted out press releases highlighting Barton’s contributions from the oil industry.
Vice President Joe Biden, who briefed reporters at the White House Thursday, said he found Barton’s statement “incredibly out of touch” and “outrageous.”
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