BP has agreed to finance a $20 billion fund to pay the claims of people whose jobs and way of life have been damaged by the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, AP quoted President Barack Obama as saying today. Obama said the $20 billion will provide substantial assurance that legitimate claims made by people and businesses in the Gulf will be honored. The president also revealed in a statement at the White House that the British oil giant agreed to create a $100 million fund to compensate oil industry workers whose livelihoods have been disrupted by the environmental catastrophe. Obama said the $20 billion is not a cap, adding that the people of the Gulf have his commitment that BP will meet all of its obligations to them. He made his remarks after meeting with BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg. The independent fund will be directed by lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw payments to families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the president said. There will be a three-member panel to adjudicate claims that are turned down. «This is about accountability. At the end of the day, that's what every American wants and expects,» Obama said after a meeting that stretched more than four hours, with Obama darting in and out of the room. The meeting took place a day after Obama's first and, some say disappointing, Oval Office address to the nation Tuesday night when he laid out what his administration has done and will do to overcome the country's worst environmental crisis.
