BP Has Paid About 12 Percent of Oil Spill Claims

Updated at 5:47 p.m. ET

The House Judiciary Committee says data it has collected shows that BP has paid less than 12 percent of claims submitted by people and businesses arising from the Gulf oil spill.

BP says it has paid a higher percentage of claims to those harmed by the Gulf spill than the data indicates.

Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf

The committee said in a statement Friday that only $71 million out of an estimated $600 million had been paid as of Tuesday. By dollar value, the House tally equals less than 12 percent of what's been claimed.

But, as of Friday, BP spokesman Scott Dean said the dollar value of payouts was $95 million.

Dean also said in an e-mail that the company has paid about half of the 60,000 claims made so far. In other words, the company has cut 30,000 checks.

In addition, the panel said that BP didn't make any payments in the first two weeks following the explosion and oil spill.

Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers said he's concerned that BP "is stiffing too many victims and shortchanging others."

The committee said BP hasn't made a single payment for bodily injury or diminished home property value.

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A Bad Day for Joe Barton and Tony Hayward

[user000049586849302948602]

...or put differently, BP is stonewalling on 88% of claims.

[RobAla]

Regarding the "independent" overseer of the $20 billion in BP funds: There is nothing independent about Ben Feinberg; he is an Obama insider. This is like BP handing $20 billion for President Obama to oversee. This is no independent oversight.

Note:
On June 10, 2009, Feinberg was appointed by the U.S. Treasury Department to oversee the compensation of top executives at companies which have received federal bailout assistance.[6] As part of his policies, he has suggested to many bank executives that they emphasize long-term stock compensation rather than cash payments.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, in a statement about Feinberg's rulings on executive pay, said, "We all share an interest in seeing these companies return taxpayer dollars as soon as possible, and Ken today has helped bring that day a little bit closer."

Banks and GM have been paying back the taxpayers. but Fienberg has failed to have Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac (federal government linked mortgage groups) pay back the bailouts. This to me, is like having the fox guard the hen house.

[user000049586849302948602]

Prevaricator.

[RobAla]

President Bush was 4 days late regarding Katrina, but he did place a waiver on the Jones Act in order to allow foreign countries to help in the tragedy.

06/19/10: The Daily Caller reported:
Crucial offers to help clean up BP?s oil spill ?have come from Belgian, Dutch, and Norwegian firms that ? possess some of the world?s most advanced oil skimming ships.? But the Obama administration wouldn?t accept the help, because doing so would require it to do something past presidents have routinely done: waive rules imposed by the Jones Act, a law backed by unions.
The law itself permits the president to waive these requirements, and such waivers were ?granted, promptly, by the Bush administration,? in the aftermath of hurricanes and other emergencies. But Obama has refused to do so, notes David Warren in the Ottawa Citizen:
??The BP clean-up effort in the Gulf of Mexico is hampered by the Jones Act. This is a piece of 1920s protectionist legislation, that requires all vessels working in U.S. waters to be American-built, and American-crewed. So ? the U.S. Coast Guard ? can?t accept, and therefore don?t ask for, the assistance of high-tech European vessels specifically designed for the task in hand.?

It is reported that after 53 days, President Obama finally waved the Jones Act. If all of this is true:
1) Why did it take the President 53 days?
2) Why haven?t more news agencies made this an issue?
3) Could those vessels protected our coast from this damage to the environment?

[user000049586849302948602]

You have already been shown to be a liar above. Get another user name and try again another day.

[larrryshrine]

The conservatives want government to leave big business alone, because they know businesses will do the right thing. We don't need any governmental oversight. Right.