Obama administration officials have created a BP escrow fund for BP executives to put $20 billion in to pay damage claims from the oil spill. The BP escrow fund is money the company sets aside for paying oil spill damages. It can be used to pay claims of lost income, businesses, and other damages by human victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The real problem, though, is the question of if the BP escrow fund will really help.
Cap of liability not created with BP escrow
Cleaning up the BP oil spill and restoring lost income could cost as much as $ 100 billion. On the Today Show, David Axelrod assured reporters that “this is not a get-out-of-the-situation-free card.” The Obama administration has already said that if the $ 20 billion BP escrow fund is not enough to pay damages, BP will be responsible for a lot more.
Fineburg tapped to administer BP escrow fund
Presently, Kenneth Fineburg is the “pay czar” for the federal government’s TARP bailout. The escrow fund for victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks was also administered by Kenneth Fineburg.
BP escrow fund addresses complaints
The BP escrow fund is, in part, a response to difficulties with BP’s claims process. BP has paid some claims, but by no means all of them. Oil spill victims, when submitting claims to BP, have been told they have to provide three years of tax returns.
Will the BP escrow fund distract from cleanup?
There are some commentators, though, who are concerned that the BP escrow fund will not be helpful. Financial reports show that BP earned $ 5.6 billion in profit in 2009. However, Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi has spoken out against the BP escrow fund. She worries that when BP pays money to the escrow fund, they will consider it case closed.
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