BURAS, La./LONDON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama will press BP executives this week to set up an escrow account to pay damage claims by individuals and businesses hurt by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.
The move comes as Obama, who will address the nation about the spill tomorrow night, faces questions on his handling of the disaster, which was in its 55th day. Millions of gallons of oil have poured into the Gulf since an April 20 offshore rig blast killed 11 workers and blew out the well.
Obama also will call for an independent panel to administer the payments when he meets Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg and other BP officials at the White House on Wednesday.
“We want to make sure that money is escrowed for the legitimate claims,” White House adviser David Axelrod told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” adding that the money would be independently administered to ensure it is disbursed in a timely fashion.
Today Obama will make his fourth trip to the Gulf, visiting Alabama, Mississippi and Florida for the first time since the well blew out. He will stay overnight there for the first time during the crisis and then return to Washington on Tuesday and address the nation at 8 p.m./0000 GMT.
“He wants to lay out the steps we’re going to take from here to get through this crisis,” Axelrod said.
The New York Times was strongly critical of Obama’s leadership on the oil spill in an editorial yesterday.
“Americans need to know that Mr. Obama, whose coolness can seem like detachment, is engaged,” the Times wrote, noting the spill raised questions about his “competence and leadership.”
Some Republican opponents questioned the logic of the president making a televised prime-time speech to the country before meeting with top BP executives on Wednesday.
“That’s a little surprising to me,” Republican Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi told CBS’s “Face the Nation” about the timing of Obama’s speech. “If I were, as governor, trying to make sure somebody does something, I would meet with them before I went on television.”
The Obama administration has delayed plans to increase offshore drilling as a result of the spill. The crisis has put Obama on the defensive and distracted his team from the domestic agenda — a new energy policy, reform of Wall Street and bolstering a struggling American economy.
Mark Tayamen, a Louisiana shrimper idled by the spill, said there is little Obama can say to make him feel better.
“This is our livelihood. It’s where we have fun and teach our kids and grandchildren. There ain’t nothing out there now,” he said in Venice, preparing to take his boat out to rescue oiled birds and animals, thanks to a contract from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
