Bob Menendez: “Look, I regret that my distinguished colleague from Oklahoma has decided to object. I would simply say that if you are…”

“Look, I regret that my distinguished colleague from Oklahoma has decided to object. I would simply say that if you are an ``independent,''--and some of these independent companies are valued at $40 billion--does that mean that because you are not the BPs of the world, you should have less liability? If this spill in the gulf was done not by a BP or an ExxonMobil or any of those but by some other entity, should there be less liability for them; therefore, they can take the risk and go ahead and drill, and if it works out, they get all the profits, but if they spill, their liability would be limited under the guise they were going to create a monopoly for the big five? I am for creating that liability across the entire range. If you are involved in a dangerous activity, one that can create enormous environmental and economic damage, then you should face the liability for such whether you are BP or you are some intermediate entity. So I don't quite understand the nature of suggesting that we are going to try to give the big companies some form of monopoly.…”