WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers accused BP Plc Chief Executive Tony Hayward of evasion and ducking responsibility for the worst oil spill in U.S. history at a hearing yesterday that was rocked by a Republican member of the panel apologizing to the company.
In his first appearance before Congress since the start of the 59-day-old crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, a tired-looking Hayward sat alone at the witness table, repeatedly declining to go into details of the spill pending the results of investigations.
Incensed lawmakers took turns during more than three hours of questioning to lambast the British energy giant.
“Under your leadership BP has taken the most extreme risks,” Democratic lawmaker Henry Waxman told Hayward, who sat impassively during the barrage. “BP cut corner after corner to save a million dollars here and a few hours or days there.”
But BP got unexpected support when Republican congressman Joe Barton of Texas, a major recipient of oil and gas industry campaign contributions, apologized to Hayward for BP having been pressured by the White House into setting up a $20 billion escrow account for spill damages.
“It is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown, a $20 billion shakedown,” Barton said.
Republican leaders quickly denounced Barton, who withdrew his apology to BP and said he was sorry for using “shakedown.”
Democrats, scrambling for ammunition against Republicans before November’s congressional elections, jumped on the gaffe, which Vice President Joe Biden called “outrageous.”
Even though Barton was quickly discredited, he is not alone in thinking the government might have overstepped its bounds by telling BP what to do with its money.
“They are responsible, they should be held responsible and they should pay. But you shouldn’t make them set aside money of shareholders, in many cases, taxpayers, simply so that you can claim a political victory,” said Christopher Zook, chairman and chief investment officer of CAZ Investments in Houston.
