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Public to BP: Pay Up, Clean Up

The public wants BP to take responsibility for cleanup efforts and compensation for victims of the spill, observes Ruy Teixeira.

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Tony Hayward, CEO of BP, appeared before a House committee last week and mostly refused to answer questions. He did, however, receive an apology from conservative representative Joe Barton of Texas, who characterized the new $20 billion compensation fund for those hurt by the oil spill as “a shakedown” of BP and “a tragedy.”

But that’s not the way the public feels about this new fund. They approve of it by an overwhelming 82-18 margin in a new CNN poll.

Nor does the public seem very conflicted about how compensation funds and cleanup efforts may interfere with BP’s profitability—a concern that has been raised by many conservatives. In the same poll, 92 percent think BP’s top priority should be cleaning up the oil spill and paying for the damage it has caused rather than protecting the interests of its investors and employees by continuing to make profits.

Those are some pretty clear sentiments. Time for BP to pay up, clean up, and quit complaining.

Ruy Teixeira is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. To learn more about his public opinion analysis go to the Media and Progressive Values page and the Progressive Studies program page of our website.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.

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Ruy Teixeira

Former Senior Fellow

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