President Obama Meets With BP
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: OK, so we told you at the White House when they were holding that briefing that they would be peppered -- Robert Gibbs, I know you see Admiral Thad Allen -- with questions about BP and the meeting. Let's listen in now.</s>ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- we have to reduce the cycle time, our ability to respond. We have to put leadership close tore the states and the ability to make decisions out there and put assets on target as soon as we can quicker.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Following up on the $100 million, you had been saying before -- it sounds like they're being put into a different category with a limited amount of money. Are they not going to be treated as well as they would have if they would have applied just like everybody else for the $20 billion?</s>CAROL BROWNER, OFFICE OF ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: I think there were some concerns about under the law their ability to participate in the other funding. We wanted to make sure there were mechanisms to address their needs. And so the $100 million voluntary contribution by BP and the work that we're doing in Congress we think is a significant step towards meeting their needs.</s>GIBBS: I would say this. You heard the president say this in the Gulf probably more than a week ago and reiterated in his speech last night, that he understands the economic impact of the deepwater drilling moratorium, understanding that we do not yet know what caused the accident. And because of that, the president believes it was important to pause additional deepwater drilling, but has asked the national commission that will look into the regulatory framework that we must have going forward to ensure drilling is safe that they can and should look at the framework around deepwater drilling first and report back to him as soon as they can. They do not have to wait for any set period of time.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it sounds like they're now kind of in a second class, having to rely on the separate funding. You say going to Congress. That's taxpayer money. Instead of -- it sounds like taxpayers are going to be paying for some portion of this.</s>BROWNER: It's for the unemployment insurance portion. That's what we're asking Congress -- some of the workers apparently would qualify under existing laws. Some might not. So we're seeking to make sure that all of them qualify, and now there's this additional fund that's been created.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Knowing Feinberg, he's got to set standards and there's a lot of bureaucracy and setting up an operation here. How quickly will he actually start handing money out to people?</s>BROWNER: It's important to understand, people can continue to file claims. This will be a seamless transition. As Feinberg's operation comes up, they will be shifted over. But there are areas of claims processed today. We all realize it's not working the way we want it to work. That's why we reached this agreement.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they're getting a drop in the bucket compared to what --</s>BROWNER: That's why we did this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When will they be getting the --</s>GIBBS: We set this up as quickly as he can and humanly possible. I think picking him and somebody who has done this before understands, as you said, the bureaucracy and the standards that have to take place. I do think it is important to reiterate what Carol said, which is if you were to file a game yesterday or today, you still fall within a 90-day window to have that claim adjudicated. That will continue to be the case. We believe that this will be handed off in a seamless way and that we now have additional backstops to ensure that claims are not just heard independently but the appeals process beyond Ken Feinberg to a three-judge panel and ultimately retaining their right under federal law if they're unsatisfied with even what the three-judge panel rules, that they can visit federal court.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are people with mortgage payments, boat payment, families to feed. If they don't get the money in a week or two, they could be looking at --</s>GIBBS: Again, we are moving as expeditiously and as quickly as we humanly can.</s>BROWNER: And there are claims being honored. And we can get the numbers. They are reported on a regular basis.</s>GIBBS: I think BP did a claims call yesterday.</s>BROWNER: We have the numbers. So we can get you the numbers of the number of claims that have been responded to. But it's important for people to go into that process if they have a claim today, they will be moved over as this system is stood up. It's also important to understand that under -- if the federal government adjudicates the claims, that we make a one-time payment. Under this, people will be able to apply over and over again as is necessary. So it won't be just a one-time payment.</s>GIBBS: In other words, if you're a fisherman in Grand Isle, you don't have to estimate, because I'm not sure anybody knows how long the Gulf is going to be closed. You don't have to extrapolate 12 or 24 months in advance and come up with the paperwork. You can file a claim now. If you're still not able to fish sufficiently two months from now because there's still restrictions on fishing in certain parts of the gulf, you can re-file until you're made whole. That's a different process than if the -- as Carol said, if the federal government ran it, it's a one-time deal.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But if I'm a fisherman and my boat payment is due in two or three weeks, am I going to get it, or is that just out of the question?</s>GIBBS: You will have your claim heard under the current process and seamlessly moved over to a new independent process that we think gives the certainty of the funding as well as the independence of a third party.</s>ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMAND: This is the overall summary. We can give you a more detailed breakdown if you wish. As of this morning, there were 66 -- over 66,000 claims filed, disbursed was over $81 million. And checks cut, 26,000. So those are the overall order of magnitude numbers.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Define dissatisfied claimants. Is that people that receive money and in hindsight feel like it wasn't fair? Define dissatisfied claimants.</s>BROWNER: Let's define how the current system works and how it will work. Right now, if you file a claim under the current system and you are dissatisfied with that claim, you have the right to go to the federal trust fund, the oil spill liability trust fund, or to go to court. What this sets up is you can file a claim, Mr. Feinberg will determine whether or not your claim should be paid, how much should be paid. At that moment, you can take it. Two months later, if you're still not working, you can come back --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: BP is legally bound to pay that?</s>BROWNER: They're legally bound to pay it. If you don't like what Mr. Feinberg decides, you can go to a three-person panel and have that reviewed. At the end of that panel, you can take that. If you still don't like that -- if you're dissatisfied, what you do -- if you don't like what Feinberg does, you go to the three-person panel. If you don't like what the three-person panel does, you then have a choice. You can go to the federal trust fund, the oil spill liability trust fund, or you can into go into court.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't take the money and be dissatisfied and then --</s>BROWNER: But the big thing here is you will get a much more -- you'll get a quicker answer, and you can file over and over again, because that is a real --</s>GIBBS: It's also important to understand the 90-day process, the three-person review panel is within the 90-day process.</s>BROWNER: It all has to be done.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you guys agree -- can you share with us the details of -- what is the procedure to go back to BP and say, $20 billion isn't enough? Is there a specific procedure you guys agreed upon if you need to go back and say, we need more money. Is there a specific procedure you guys agreed upon?</s>BROWNER: BP retains all of its liability. Nothing in that has changed. So if there wasn't money available, let's say, you can go right back -- you could go straight to BP and say I have this claim. So all of the rights of the claimants have been preserved. Right now, this new escrow account, this new claims facility will stand in its place. But if for some reason there wasn't money in that, you have all of your rights to go right back at BP and ask for the payment.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's the -- OK, last night's speech --</s>BROWNER: The only people who have limited their rights here is BP. I think that's really, really important to understand.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you accept the money, you have limited --</s>BROWNER: That was true under the existing situation. We're giving you a better scenario now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night's speech, the president talked about energy legislation, specifically talked about pricing carbon, cap and trade, et cetera., Is it -- what is the president's -- does he -- will he accept a bill out of the U.S. Senate that doesn't have this? Can you just walk us through that?</s>GIBBS: Let me just say this. You've heard the president for three and a half years now talk about his approach to comprehensive energy reform. I don't think he's -- I don't think that's been unclear. He reiterated a call last night and said that the greatest price we pay is the price of inaction. This morning the president spoke with Senator Kerry and with Senator Lugar, each of whom have energy legislation that the Senate is likely to take up in the next several weeks. We announced that next Wednesday we'll have a bipartisan group of senators to the White House to discuss the process that the Senate will use moving forward. I think it is safe to say that the president's direction on energy is very similar to the direction that is in the Kerry-Lieberman bill and that the president feels strongly that including a component to deal with climate is important in comprehensive energy reform. Now, let me just say this. There are a number of proposals. That's why Senator Lugar and Senator Kerry both got calls. There have been ideas about increasing energy efficiency standards in buildings much as Carol has worked tirelessly to with cars and trucks. The president met with business executives of the White House last week, which one of their questions was why more money isn't spent on R&D; when they're spending a ton of money on R&D.; There are a lot of ways to get to this. The president's going to have a meeting next week here to work through that process going forward.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comparisons to the public option -- something the president supported the public option but he got 90 percent of what he wanted and he'd rather sign that.</s>GIBBS: I don't know why at this point it would be pertinent to get into hypotheticals. I think the president -- go back to what he said at Pittsburgh a week and a half ago. Go back to what he said in 2006 as a U.S. senator. I think his position on how to approach our energy policy comprehensively is fairly well known. Yes, sir?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two questions. One is, what is BP getting as a result of this agreement? Are they getting any agreement that they won't be found negligent at all? And then, you said BP would fund the fund with U.S. assets. So is it not cash --</s>BROWNER: They will make payments over a four-year period of $5 billion a year. But they will provide assurance for those commitments by setting aside $20 billion in U.S. assets. It's like an insurance policy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over?</s>BROWNER: It's not 20 and 20. They've committed to $20 billion. But we will have -- I want to use the right legal word here -- that they will provide assurance by setting aside assets. So as the fund grows up -- as the fund grows in size, the assets could be reduced. It's an insurance policy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is BP getting out of this agreement?</s>GIBBS: Ask BP. They may have -- I think they'd have a better way of reading out what they did and why they did this. I think the president's objectives in this were clear. This provides certainty and peace of mind for those in the Gulf. If there was any wonder or concern that they would not be made whole for the disaster they didn't cause, that assurance we have today. And I think -- Carol mentioned this briefly -- that story that the president spoke of with the chair at the end of their meeting in the Oval Office was that when the president asked the chairman, when they're talking about what's happening in the Gulf, when they're talking and discussing these parameters with the board and with other executives, it's the people that he's met in his four trips. The people in Grand Isle, the people in Pensacola, the people in Dauphin Island, who for four generations have fished on these waters to make a living, who have invested their hard-earned money and their sweat in building their business, those are the people that the president has been focused on throughout this process, and he believes that that's what BP should be focused on as they're discussing things.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Robert, on that point, is there a danger President Obama is over-promising when he says, we'll make you whole and make the Gulf coast even better than it was before? People's lives have been changed, and it looks like it's going to get worse a long time before it gets better.</s>GIBBS: And the responsible party has committed today through an escrow account that starts at $20 billion to make them whole. Mark, if you're a fisherman or you're a shrimper and your livelihood has been changed because in what would traditionally be the heart of the season where you made almost all your income, you'll be compensated for that. We've set in place a process that provides independence from the company that caused that disaster with the assurance that the funding will be there. That's important. In terms of Gulf coast restoration, the president was concerned about the region environmentally long before this disaster. And whether it was manmade or natural disaster, Katrina coming to mind, that has seen the wetlands and the marsh erode and become degraded for many, many years, this president believes that we have an obligation to return that valuable eco system and environment to a place better than it was before this accident happened. BP, as Carol said, is liable for the environmental degradation through natural resource damage assessments. Those will be assessed and that bill will be provided to BP. And I believe the basis of that will help restore the environmental vitality of that region.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are we right in assuming based on what President Obama said today that no ass-kicking was required at today's sessions?</s>GIBBS: Again, I think the president was clear about what he thought BP was responsible for and obligated to do. We came with that in mind and left importantly with an agreement that is substantive, providing the assuring providing the independence, providing the funding that I'm sure people in the Gulf went to bed last night wondering whether that was going to be possible.</s>LEMON: And that is Press Secretary Robert Gibbs there. It's a real who's who at the press briefing today. Earlier you saw Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, and Carol Browner is there, the Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy is there as well. And you saw Admiral Thad Allen at this. They're kind of belaboring the point a little bit to find out exactly what all this $20 billion is going to go to folks down south who have legitimate claims, as they say. But the president did talk about it. Again they're belaboring the point a little but I think it's important to get to specific on it because the president said this fund will not supersede individuals' or states' rights to present claims in court. So they're talking about how the money is going to be disbursed and if this, in some way supersedes them filing other claims. Is this the last of is this the last once they file? Lots to be worked out here, but it appears according to the folks in the press briefing that is not going to going happen. What did this last, some ten minutes-- five, ten minutes we had it here. Wonder how much oil has been gushing out? You see it there, live no one knows for sure, but a whole heck of a lot while they're getting their acts together. Almost 100 Gulf coast residents will tell the Senate how the oil is affecting them firsthand. What are they asking for? We're talking to one of them, next.