US House Approves Oil Spill Reform Bill

31 July 2010

Demonstrator John Moore holds a sign during a protest in Berkeley, California on 30 Jul 2010 to mark the 100th day anniversary of BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

House members voted 209 to 193 in favor of the Democrat-backed legislation late Friday, siding largely along party lines.

The bill, which now goes to the Senate, would remove a $75 million limit on liability for oil spill damages and put a new tax on the industry to fund nationwide conservation projects.

Chellie Pingree, a Democratic Party congresswoman from Maine, said the legislation will have a number of positive consequences.

"In addition to cleaning up the mess, repairing the damage and cracking down on big oil companies, we also have to get serious about ending our dependence on oil and creating new sources of clean energy," she said. "If we had a clean energy economy powered by wind and solar and tidal power we probably would not be here having this discussion today."

Republican Congressman Pete Sessions of Texas argued against the legislation, saying it will stifle job growth and hurt the economy.

"The Obama moratorium on deep water oil drilling has already cost tens of thousands of jobs," said Sessions. "And this bill will eliminate even more American energy jobs, making it harder and more expensive to produce both energy on and offshore. Additionally, this legislation will only further enhance our economic troubles in the Gulf region and throughout the nation."