Unanimous-Consent Request--S. 3305

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from New Jersey because I, too, come to the floor to strongly support the Big Oil Bailout Provision Act and to ask some simple questions of the Senators who are objecting to this bill being passed. For whom are you fighting? Whom are you trying to help? Are you here to protect and shield the big oil companies or to fight for families and taxpayers?

I know where I stand. I came to the Senate to fight for families and small business owners in my home State of Washington, and those are the people I work for every single day--moms and dads who are working hard, paying their taxes, doing their best but who have watched, over the last 2 years, as Wall Street executives and big banks derailed our economy and then held out their hands for a bailout from the rest of us, men and women who have seen their friends, family, and neighbors lose their jobs, who have driven by neighborhood shops they have known for decades that are now sitting empty and boarded up. They have seen all this, and they have also seen Wall Street and big banks go right back to their ``bonus as usual'' mentality, acting as though nothing ever happened, handing out millions of taxpayer dollars to their executives, and shamelessly sending lobbyists to Washington, DC, to try and water down reform.

Families in Washington State and across the country have seen all this and they are angry about it and they have good reason to be. Those families need to know that now we are fighting for them in the Senate. The debate we are having today demonstrates clearly who is standing for them and who is not.

Here are the facts: On April 20, 2010, there was a massive blowout and explosion on a BP oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven workers are missing, presumed dead; 17 more injured. The explosion, as we know, caused a gushing spill that has poured hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf and threatens to spill millions more. It has created an environmental and economic tragedy the magnitude of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. It is threatening entire communities and businesses. The oil and chemical dispersants being sprayed into the gulf have the potential now to kill underwater wildlife and create underwater dead zones for years and years to come. Those are the facts.

The questions are: Who should be responsible for this cleanup? Who should bear the burden for big oil's mistakes? Should it be the taxpayers, the families and small business owners who are already being asked to bear so much today or should it be BP, the company that is responsible for this spill and that made $6.1 billion in profits in the first 3 months of this year alone?

I cosponsored the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act because, to me, the answer is pretty clear.

I believe BP needs to be held accountable for the environmental and economic damage of this spill. I am going to continue to fight to make sure our taxpayers do not end up losing a single dime to pay for the mess this big oil company created.

To me, this is an issue of fundamental fairness. If an oil company causes a spill, they should be the ones to pay to clean it up, not the taxpayers. The bill raises the cap on oil company liability from the current limit of only $75 million--that is a pittance considering this spill's potential damage--to $10 billion.

So taxpayers will not be left holding the bag for big oil's mistakes. This is straightforward common sense, and it is fair. It hits particularly close for families in the Northwest--my area--who saw firsthand the devastation caused by the Exxon Valdez disaster and the long and arduous battle over cleanup costs.

Mr. President, I was disappointed when this bill was blocked by Republicans last week. We are going to keep fighting because we want this bill to pass. I am going to keep fighting for our families and taxpayers in Washington State and across the country.

The bottom line is, if oil companies are going to make billions in profits when times are good, they should not be allowed to leave taxpayers hanging when times are tough. The Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act writes this commonsense policy into law. I urge every Senator to side with the taxpayers and support this important legislation.

I yield the floor.

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