Do Republicans really want to run on the $20 Billion BP escrow as being a "shakedown"?

[mmonk]

Do they really want to act like poor BP is being picked on and that this disaster is an anomally to an otherwise good corporate player? Well let's take a little look at BP's recent past, shall we?

On October 25th, 2007, there was this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7062669.stm">BP fined $373m by US government

The fines include $50m relating to a Texas refinery explosion in 2005 that killed 15 people and injured 170 more.

That sum is the highest fine of its kind levied under the Clean Air Act.

The largest fine - $303m - relates to a price manipulation scam between April 2003 and February 2004, over which four ex-BP workers have been indicted.

"The tragic explosion at the Texas city refinery, and the pipeline leaks in Alaska, were sad reminders that our environmental laws exist both to protect the lives and safety of the public, and also to preserve our natural resources," said Acting Attorney General Peter Keisler.

Concerning the same Texas facility and events:

http://publiccitizenenergy.org/2010/05/05/cost-of-doing-business-bps-550-million-in-fines-2-criminal-convictions/">Cost of Doing Business: BP’s $730 million in fines/settlements + 2 criminal convictions

• BP paid the two largest fines in OSHA history – $87.43 million and $21.36 million – for willful negligence that led to the deaths of 15 workers and injured 170 others in a March 2005 refinery explosion in Texas.
o In September 2005, OSHA cited BP for 296 “Egregious Willful Violations” and other violations associated with the explosion, fining BP $21.36 million and entering into a settlement agreement under which BP agreed to corrective actions to eliminate hazards similar to those that caused the explosion. In October 2009, OSHA determined that BP was in non-compliance with the settlement agreement, finding 270 “notifications of failure to abate” and 439 new willful violations, resulting in the $87.43 million fine. The U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board concluded in 2007 that “The Texas City disaster was caused by organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP Corporation. Warning signs of a possible disaster were present for several years, but company officials did not intervene effectively to prevent it.” This followed an August 2004 OSHA fine against BP for $63,000 for violations at the same facility. In December 2009, a Texas jury returned a $100 million award against BP on behalf of workers injured in 2007 at the texas city refinery while making repairs after the 2005 blast.

And fines in this follow up to a 2006 inspections and 2007 settlement from http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=17223">OSHA

OREGON, Ohio -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited BP North American Inc. and BP-Husky Refining LLC's refinery in Oregon, Ohio, with 42 alleged willful violations, including 39 on a per-instance basis, and 20 alleged serious violations for exposing workers to a variety of hazards including failure to provide adequate pressure relief for process units. Proposed penalties total $3,042,000.

"OSHA has found that BP often ignored or severely delayed fixing known hazards in its refineries," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "There is no excuse for taking chances with people's lives. BP must fix the hazards now."

OSHA began its inspection at the refinery located near Toledo, Ohio, in September 2009 as part of the agency's Refinery National Emphasis Program and as a follow-up to a 2006 inspection and a 2007 settlement agreement between OSHA and BP at this location. Although the 2009 inspection found that BP had complied with the settlement agreement, OSHA found numerous violations at the plant not previously covered by the agreement.

The inspection revealed that workers were exposed to serious injury and death in the event of a release of flammable and explosive materials in the refinery because of numerous conditions constituting violations of OSHA's process safety management standard. OSHA has issued willful citations for numerous failures to provide adequate pressure relief for process units, failures to provide safeguards to prevent the hazardous accumulation of fuel in process heaters, and exposing workers to injury and death from collapse of or damage, in the event of a fire, to nine buildings in the refinery. Additional willful citations allege various other violations of OSHA's standard addressing process safety management. These citations carry proposed penalties totaling $2,940,000.

or how about this from 2001 from OSHA

OSHA CITES BP AMOCO POLYMERS AND PROPOSES $141,000 IN PENALTIES FOLLOWING INVESTIGATION OF TRIPLE FATALITY



AUGUSTA, Ga. - - Exposing employees to explosion hazards has led to $141,000 in proposed penalties against BP Amoco Polymers, Inc., by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The alleged willful and serious citations for violation of safety standards resulted from an inspection of a March 13 explosion and fire that killed three workers at the company's Clanton Road plant.

OSHA cited BP Amoco for two alleged willful violations with proposed penalties of $125,000 for exposing employees to the release of hazardous energy.

The accident occurred as three workers began removing bolts from a drum in preparation for maintenance and cleaning. Unknown to the men, the drum was overfilled with a polymer salt mixture which continued to react and clogged lines into and out of the vessel, eventually producing an elevated pressure condition inside the drum. Failure to initiate proper lockout/tagout procedures before attempting to remove the bolts from the cover plate contributed to this accident.

In 1990, before operations began at the unit, Amoco studies indicated the need for an effective indicator to measure the amount of mixture in the drum as a protection against hazards caused by overfilling the vessel. An effective device was never installed.

So Rep. Michele Bachmann, should BP be "chumps" and put up with this "redistribution of wealth fund"? How about another apology to the saints of industry, BP, on behalf of the American people Rep. Joe Barton? Come on Rand Paul, shed some tears for BP and the assault on their freedom from "big government".

You go with that.

[mrcheerful]

1. Yes they do because shake down brings back Capone and Chicago politics of

the 1920's and 30's. They hope by using the term shake down it will make Obama look like he is trying to extort money illegally.

[mmonk]

2. I know why but do they really want to? I say let them go with that

as the facts about BP roll in.

[cliffordu]

3. Yep. Maybe the entire gulf will turn blue as a result.

I can hardly wait.

[cliffordu]

4. duplicated screed....

My bad.,

[Ilsa]

5. I'm hoping that they'll run on "We're the party that killed the Gulf of Mexico! nt

[mmonk]

6. Drill baby drill is ok to do again IMO.

They can all wear BP lapel pins.