A law passed in response to the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska makes BP responsible for cleanup costs. But the law sets a $75 million (€57.6 million) limit on other kinds of damages.
Economic losses to the Gulf Coast are likely to exceed that. In response, several Democratic senators introduced legislation Monday to raise the liability limit to $10 billion (€7.7 billion), though it was not clear that it could be made to apply retroactively.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday the administration's commitment was for BP to pay for all costs associated with the spill.
Obama
