Billing BP

For those of us who lived through the 1969 Platform A disaster, the pictures of oil-soaked wildlife, polluted beaches, and economic pain on the Gulf Coast bring back terrible memories.

Obviously, the immediate task is to plug the leaks, clean up the oil, and help our fellow citizens on the Gulf put their lives back together. We also must ensure that BP — and not the taxpayers — pays for its failure. The President has committed to holding the company accountable and the government has sent BP its first bill. But we have to do more. That’s why I’m supporting legislation to retroactively get rid of the outdated $75-million oil company liability cap for damages resulting from spills.

But we also have the opportunity to learn from this tragedy: