The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 set a $75 million liability cap beyond direct cleanup costs for any offshore oil spill. OPA also created a $1 billion Liability Trust Fund paid for by a 5-cent-per-barrel tax on the oil industry, later increased to 8-cents-per-barrel. Politico’s David Rogers reported May 10th that “payments from the fund — which covers not only damage claims but also restoring natural habitat, for example — are capped at $1 billion per incident. And while BP, as the responsible party, is charged with paying the full cost of the cleanup and oil removal, … Continue Reading

The banner over Roger’s, a Senior Congressional Correspondent at POLITICO, front-page piece for February 1, 2010 reads, “War Squeeze Obama Budget,” puts an erroneous political spin on the news surrounding the release of the President’s proposed federal budget. It may not be David Rogers’ fault. Editors pick headlines. Still, article’s skews the truth about proposed federal spending for the upcoming year.

Suggesting that defense spending on war-related costs for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are the principle factors driving a growing federal budget and exploding national debt … Continue Reading