Obama Huddles With BP Bosses ($20 Billion Update)

Following up on his Tuesday address to the nation about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, President Barack Obama was preparing Wednesday for some “constructive discussion,” as the beleaguered BP put it, at a White House meeting — and probably some knuckle-rapping, too, but the company didn’t really highlight that potential aspect of its bigwigs’ big day at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. –KA

Update: BP will put $20 billion into a damage claims account to be administered by pay czar Kenneth Feinberg.

BBC:

It will be Mr Obama’s first face-to-face meeting with them since the oil leak began.

“I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company’s recklessness,” Mr Obama said in his address from the White House’s Oval Office.

“And this fund will not be controlled by BP. In order to ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent third party.”

In response to the speech, BP said in a statement that it shared Mr Obama’s goal of cleaning up the oil spill and helping the people affected by it.

Read more