Posted by Jack
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A U.S. House panel on Thursday voted to remove a cap on damages that BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) and other oil companies must pay for spills like the one in the Gulf of Mexico, as part of the first broad legislative effort to respond to the ongoing disaster.
By voice vote, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a bill to discard the current $75 million cap on claims for damage caused by offshore production facilities that goes beyond the cost of cleanup. The measure also would raise to $1.5 billion the minimum amount of insurance that facilities must hold, and make BP and other oil companies responsible for a new class of damages–those related to health problems associated with spill disasters.
The Democratic-controlled Congress is increasingly in favor of eliminating a cap on damages after a spill that has lasted for 2 1/2 months so far. A Senate panel on Wednesday cleared a narrow bill to toss out liability caps, in spite of complaints from Republicans that only the largest oil companies would be able to operate offshore with unlimited exposure to liability. The path to law remains unclear, as the Senate plans to tie up the liability-cap measure with a broader energy package and as numerous House panels claim jurisdiction over spill legislation.
Still, Rep. Jim Oberstar (D., Minn.), the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said that while “the bill has a ways to go before it reaches the House,” he expects that to happen in “the last part of July.”