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WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach (FL-24) has voted to allow the Coast Guard to obtain advances from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to underwrite federal response activities to the BP/Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Under current law, the Coast Guard can only draw up to $100 million from the fund to finance emergency response efforts after an accident and that money is about to run out.
"The Coast Guard's efforts are absolutely critical for containment and clean-up of the oil spill and we cannot allow their work to be interrupted," said Kosmas, after her late Thursday vote. "This fiscally responsible legislation will provide the Coast Guard with needed funds while making sure those responsible for causing this disaster are the ones paying the bill."
The trust fund, created by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, is funded by an 8-cent per barrel tax paid by oil companies and is designed to pay for cleanup and economic damages not covered by the responsible parties. Currently, the trust fund has a balance of roughly $1.6 billion.
The law also limits the fund payout for a single spill to $1 billion. On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously passed the legislation, which complies with PAYGO budget rules.
Last month, Congresswoman Kosmas joined her House colleagues in introducing legislation that would ensure oil companies are held accountable for paying economic damages resulting from spills.
The Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act would increase the cap on oil company liability to $10 billion from $75 million, ensuring that taxpayers are protected from paying damages and BP is held accountable for the economic damages resulting from the Gulf Coast spill.