With the Senate divided about how to hold oil companies liable for future oil spills, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La, is offering a compromise she hopes will break the logjam. Landrieu's proposal wouldn't affect the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, given that the company has voluntarily said it won't be limited by the current liability cap of $75 million. But instead of the unlimited cap on liability proposed in a new Senate Democratic bill to toughen regulations on the oil industry, Landrieu offered something of a hybrid proposal. Her plan would raise the current cap from $75 million to $250 million and require companies to pay into an insurance policy covering damages of as much as an additional $10 billion. It would base premiums on the size of a company's drilling operations, meaning larger firms would pay more. All spill-related costs above $10.25 billion, under Landrieu's proposal, would be borne by the company or companies responsible for the spill. Landrieu spokesman Aaron Saunders said the senator is looking to meet the demands of some fellow Senate Democrats for unlimited liability without pushing smaller firms out of the drilling business. The Senate bill, unveiled Tuesday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., appears short of ...
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