Rep. Joe Barton to BP: ‘I apologize’

Rep. Barton. Photo: YouTube

BP’s CEO Tony Hayward is on the Hill Thursday afternoon to answer questions about the oil spill in the Gulf. Democrats had warned that he would be “spliced and diced” over the company’s role. But when Texas Rep. Joe Barton — the ranking Republican on the Energy Committee — was given the floor, he took the opportunity to criticize the Obama administration’s response to the spill by apologizing to Hayward.

I’m ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy in the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown. In this case a $20 billion shakedown.

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I apologize. I do not to live in a country where anytime a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, is subject to some sort of political pressure that is again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize.

The “slush fund” Barton references is the escrow account established by BP to pay for both cleanup costs on the coast, as well as mitigating claims from victims damaged by the disaster. Barton is not the only member of the Republican caucus attacking the escrow account. Earlier in the week, Rep. Michele Bachmann called the escrow account a “redistribution-of-wealth fund” and said it was “one more gateway for more government control, more money to government,” even though the fund is operated by an independent third-party.

Barton’s view of BP as the victim may be influenced by his massive fundraising from the oil and gas sectors. Over his career, Barton has received more than $1.4 million in contributions from the industry, with over $100,000 in this cycle alone.

Watch Barton’s full opening remarks from today’s hearing:

The White House jumped on Barton quickly after his remarks, releasing the following statement:

What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern for big corporations that caused this disaster than the fishermen, small business owners and communities whose lives have been devastated by the destruction. Congressman Barton may think that a fund to compensate these Americans is a ‘tragedy’, but most Americans know that the real tragedy is what the men and women of the Gulf Coast are going through right now. Members from both parties should repudiate his comments.

Update: As commenter Adam notes, Barton’s top donor — giving nearly $150,000 in individual and PAC contributions — is Andarko Petroleum, a 25% partner with BP on the Macondo Prospect, site of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf.