On the recordJune 15, 2010
as we close in now on 2 months since the deep water explosion that set off the gulf oilspill, the toll of this disaster is continuing to mount--from the oil-soaked pelicans we see on the front cover of each newspaper everyday, to the tar balls that dot a previously pristine coastline, to the closed fishing grounds and half-empty hotels. The human impact is felt in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, throughout the gulf coast region. This disaster has reached into our economy, our environment, and the way we see our energy future. But there is one place it also threatens to reach and that is into our pocketbooks. When it comes to BP's promises to cover all the costs associated with this disaster, I am sorry but I am not ready to take them for their word. That is because as a Senator from the Pacific Northwest, Washington State, I have seen firsthand what happens when big oil is allowed to make promises and not required to take action. When the Exxon Valdez oilspill happened in 1989--I remember it so well--that company assured the public that the economic and environmental damage would be paid for. Then I remember them fighting tooth and nail all the way to the Supreme Court, to deny fishermen and families from my home State the compensation they were due. So I am not impressed by BP's promises and I am not ready to take the word of a company with a track record of pursuing profit over safety.
