Frank Lautenberg: “first, I commend my colleague from New Jersey for developing this approach to make sure these companies pay for the…”

“first, I commend my colleague from New Jersey for developing this approach to make sure these companies pay for the damage they have done. We are going to see today, as we saw the other day, a response from the other side. I hope they have the courage, the guts, to stand and say they are with the ordinary American taxpayers or maybe they will say: We like the other guys better--big oil. Will the Senate stand with the fishing industries and the hard-working men and women who make a living providing sustenance to our Nation or will it continue its stand with big oil? They need all the help. You heard from our colleague from Maryland about their earnings, incredible earnings. BP, in a quarter, had its earnings increased by $3.2 billion--earnings, not revenue. So the choice is an easy one: You can stand with the guys who got so much that they are gouging the public or do you want to stand with the working people? Will the Senate stand with the coastal communities whose families are left jobless, homeless, and hopeless or will it stand steadfast with the big oil companies, as it has done? Last week, we got an answer. Senators Menendez and Nelson and I asked our colleagues to join with us to end big oil bailouts by raising the liability cap for oil companies from a trifling $75 million to $10 billion. Our colleagues stayed true to the big oil companies. They wanted to make sure they blocked any attempt to pass a bill that would raise their liability.”