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The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee convened Thursday for a hearing on "The Role Of BP In The Deepwater Horizon Explosion And Oil Spill," a satisfying occurance for outraged Americans who have watched millions of gallons of oil flow unchecked into the Gulf of Mexico for eight weeks and counting.
The headlining act during the hearing was BP's CEO Tony Hayward, an executive that has appeared in the media many times during this ordeal, often uttering phrases some considered damaging to the stoic public relations front the company has worked so hard to maintain.
Although several protestors, bearing large images of befouled wildlife and shouting accusations at Hayward, had to be quieted before the meeting even started, that didn't stop lawmakers engaging in more than an hour of criticism of BP's actions before Hayward got his turn to talk.
This public rebuke was broken only by Republican Joe Barton of Texas, who seemed to think that although they facilitated the worst environmental disaster in American history, BP has endured enough.
"I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation that does something that is legitimately wrong is subject to a shakedown," said Rep. Barton.
The "shakedown," Barton said, was President Obama's insistence that BP set up a $20 billion fund for claims filed by Gulf Coast victims; a fund that would be paid out without the oil giant's supervision.
Barton, by the way, has received $317,000 from the oil and gas industry donations since 2007. Most of the members on the committee have received a total of $1 million-plus since the start of last year -- $1.316505 million since Jan. 2009. Eleven took no money (CBS News).
NOTE: Barton has since been forced to apologize for his...um...apology to BP.
Democrats on the committee chose to save their sarcasm for Hayward himself, who displayed alternating expressions of sorrow and complete confusion. Well coached by BP lawyers, Hayward deflected all the questions about allegations that the company cut corners and ignored safety measures to save money- something that many have said led to the April explosion of the Deepwater Horizon.
"Your answer 65 times that 'you don't know' doesn't leave us with confidence," snapped Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vermont.
One of the only straight answers Hayward promptly provided during the hearing led Rep. Mike Doyle, D-, Pa. to consider changing his career choice:
"My compensation last year was recorded, I think, at $6 million dollars," said Hayward.
"Those of you at the top don't seem to have a clue about what was going on on this rig. I'm sitting here thinking I could be the CEO of an oil company. It pays a little bit better than being a member of Congress," Doyle replied.
The only encouraging conclusion to come out of the hearing is the fact that BP's complete mishandling of the Gulf oil spill crisis is that it may support President Obama's demand that the MMS play a stronger role in regulating the actions of the oil industry, which in past years has been allowed to buy off inspectors and virtually regulate itself.
BP's CEO Plays Dumb During Congressional Hearings
The headlining act during the hearing was BP's CEO Tony Hayward, an executive that has appeared in the media many times during this ordeal, often uttering phrases some considered damaging to the stoic public relations front the company has worked so hard to maintain.
Although several protestors, bearing large images of befouled wildlife and shouting accusations at Hayward, had to be quieted before the meeting even started, that didn't stop lawmakers engaging in more than an hour of criticism of BP's actions before Hayward got his turn to talk.
This public rebuke was broken only by Republican Joe Barton of Texas, who seemed to think that although they facilitated the worst environmental disaster in American history, BP has endured enough.
"I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation that does something that is legitimately wrong is subject to a shakedown," said Rep. Barton.
The "shakedown," Barton said, was President Obama's insistence that BP set up a $20 billion fund for claims filed by Gulf Coast victims; a fund that would be paid out without the oil giant's supervision.
Barton, by the way, has received $317,000 from the oil and gas industry donations since 2007. Most of the members on the committee have received a total of $1 million-plus since the start of last year -- $1.316505 million since Jan. 2009. Eleven took no money (CBS News).
NOTE: Barton has since been forced to apologize for his...um...apology to BP.
Democrats on the committee chose to save their sarcasm for Hayward himself, who displayed alternating expressions of sorrow and complete confusion. Well coached by BP lawyers, Hayward deflected all the questions about allegations that the company cut corners and ignored safety measures to save money- something that many have said led to the April explosion of the Deepwater Horizon.
"Your answer 65 times that 'you don't know' doesn't leave us with confidence," snapped Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vermont.
One of the only straight answers Hayward promptly provided during the hearing led Rep. Mike Doyle, D-, Pa. to consider changing his career choice:
"My compensation last year was recorded, I think, at $6 million dollars," said Hayward.
"Those of you at the top don't seem to have a clue about what was going on on this rig. I'm sitting here thinking I could be the CEO of an oil company. It pays a little bit better than being a member of Congress," Doyle replied.
The only encouraging conclusion to come out of the hearing is the fact that BP's complete mishandling of the Gulf oil spill crisis is that it may support President Obama's demand that the MMS play a stronger role in regulating the actions of the oil industry, which in past years has been allowed to buy off inspectors and virtually regulate itself.
BP's CEO Plays Dumb During Congressional Hearings
So according to that logic, anything that started under Bush has nothing to do with Obama? Interesting theory. There will come a point that people stop making excuses for the current admin.
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