By Amanda Paulson, Staff writer / June 22, 2010
Immigration debate in Fremont, Neb., has made it the latest town to decide to take immigration enforcement into its own hands.
On Monday, 57 percent of voters in the 25,000-person town in eastern Nebraska helped pass a law that would bar businesses from hiring illegal immigrants or landlords from renting to them.
In doing so, it joins Hazelton, Pa.; Riverside, N.J.; Valley Park, Mo.; and at least a few dozen other towns that have passed laws targeting undocumented immigrants. The ordinances have generally faced lawsuits, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Nebraska has already declared its intention to fight the Fremont bill.
“An ordinance of this kind is a true indication of the frustration some communities
feel, and I don’t belittle that feeling,” says Laurel Marsh, executive director of ACLU
Nebraska. “That being said, I believe it violates the supremacy clause of the United States.”
Ms. Marsh argues that two main problems exist with the law: that setting immigration policy is solely a federal function, and that the 14th Amendment guarantees due process to all people in the US, not just citizens.
And so far, many cities – including ones like Hazelton and Farmers Branch, Tex., which have tried to restrict landlords' abilities to rent to illegal immigrants – have had laws struck down by federal courts, though they remain on appeal.
Legal costs
The cost of fighting such lawsuits has also caused some communities – like Riverside, N.J. – to drop the measures, and was a major argument of those inFremont who opposed the referendum.
"In a community of 25,000, it's going to be hard to take on the whole country, and it will be costly to do so," Fremont City Councilman Scott Getzschman told the Associated Press.
But such laws continue to crop up in communities around the country – a measure, say many, of the frustration that many Americans feel with the lack of federal immigration enforcement and with the burdens illegal immigration places on their towns.
“The feds aren’t doing their job,” says Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates restricting immigration. “It’s a sign of the public frustration, and you’re going to see more and more of this sort of thing.”
Those on the other side of the immigration debate agree with that basic assessment, and say that they hope that measures like Fremont’s, as well as the law passed in Arizona last month, will spur Congress to again take up the issue.
Page: 1 2 CSMonitor.com
----http://davidsradiotv2000.blogspot.com
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
BP to create $20 billion claims fund, suspend dividend
June 16, 2010, 3:46PM
By JENNIFER A. DLOUHY HOUSTON CHRONICLE
WASHINGTON -- Under pressure from President Barack Obama, BP agreed today to set aside $20 billion in a spill recovery escrow account to compensate Gulf Coast fishermen and others who have lost wages and work because of the massive spill from a BP deep-water well.
The company also said it will suspend its quarterly dividend payments to shareholders for the rest of this year and will divert some of that cash to the escrow account, which would be managed by an independent administrator and be funded over three and a half years.
BP also agreed to set aside $100 million to compensate oil industry workers whose jobs disappear because of the government's moratorium on deep-water drilling and a delay of exploration in shallower depths while regulators develop new safety regulations.
BP's concessions are a win for Obama, who has struggled to show he is in control of the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. The agreements — hammered out in a three-hour meeting with BP executives at the White House - give the president a concrete example of administration efforts to help coastal residents.
Obama called the claims fund "an important step toward making the people of the Gulf Coast whole again."
The escrow account could soothe complaints in coastal communities and Congress that the claims process has been flawed -- a sentiment that has shaken confidence in BP executive's repeated assurances that the company will pay all "legitimate" economic damages.
"We have always met our obligations and responsibilities," said BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, speaking outside the White House. He said the escrow account and revised claim process should assure Americans that "we will look after the people affected, and we will repair the damage to this region."
The spill response fund will be administered by Kenneth Feinberg, a veteran claims administrator who oversaw compensation for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Obama stressed that the fund would not prevent anyone from pursuing claims in court and does not place a cap on BP's responsibility.
BP will fund the account with initial payments this year of $3 billion in the third quarter and $2 billion in the fourth quarter, followed by quarterly payments of $1.25 billion until the total reaches $20 billion.
BP pledged to set aside $20 billion in U.S. assets as collateral, which will decline as the reserves in the fund build.
Although it will take time to establish the fund and rules governing payouts, White House energy adviser Carol Browner promised a seamless transition from the existing claims process.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the decision "a good first step toward compensating victims."
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., called the fund the "very least BP must do to start making the coastal communities devastated by its recklessness whole again."
But other lawmakers fretted that the $20 billion could be misused. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, said he views the account as a "privately funded, government slush fund that the administration is going to divvy out as they see fit."
BP's decision to suspend its prized quarterly dividends is a blow to pension funds and investment portfolios in the U.S. and overseas that count on the revenue.
The White House meeting was the first time Obama has spoken with BP's corporate chiefs since oil began gushing from the Macondo after an April 20 blowout that also destroyed the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and killed 11 workers.
Obama said he told the executives about the anxiety among fishermen and shrimpers who are watching their businesses and way of life disappear as the crude encroaches on the coast.
He insisted that the executives keep those people in mind when making decisions about spill recovery and cleanup.
"That's going to be the standard by which I measure BP's responses," Obama said after the meeting. "Throughout this process, as we work to make sure that the Gulf is made whole once again the standard I'm going to be applying is whether or not those individuals I met with, their family members (and) those communities that are vulnerable are uppermost in the minds of all concerned."
jennifer.dlouhy@chron.com
By JENNIFER A. DLOUHY HOUSTON CHRONICLE
WASHINGTON -- Under pressure from President Barack Obama, BP agreed today to set aside $20 billion in a spill recovery escrow account to compensate Gulf Coast fishermen and others who have lost wages and work because of the massive spill from a BP deep-water well.
The company also said it will suspend its quarterly dividend payments to shareholders for the rest of this year and will divert some of that cash to the escrow account, which would be managed by an independent administrator and be funded over three and a half years.
BP also agreed to set aside $100 million to compensate oil industry workers whose jobs disappear because of the government's moratorium on deep-water drilling and a delay of exploration in shallower depths while regulators develop new safety regulations.
BP's concessions are a win for Obama, who has struggled to show he is in control of the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. The agreements — hammered out in a three-hour meeting with BP executives at the White House - give the president a concrete example of administration efforts to help coastal residents.
Obama called the claims fund "an important step toward making the people of the Gulf Coast whole again."
The escrow account could soothe complaints in coastal communities and Congress that the claims process has been flawed -- a sentiment that has shaken confidence in BP executive's repeated assurances that the company will pay all "legitimate" economic damages.
"We have always met our obligations and responsibilities," said BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, speaking outside the White House. He said the escrow account and revised claim process should assure Americans that "we will look after the people affected, and we will repair the damage to this region."
The spill response fund will be administered by Kenneth Feinberg, a veteran claims administrator who oversaw compensation for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Obama stressed that the fund would not prevent anyone from pursuing claims in court and does not place a cap on BP's responsibility.
BP will fund the account with initial payments this year of $3 billion in the third quarter and $2 billion in the fourth quarter, followed by quarterly payments of $1.25 billion until the total reaches $20 billion.
BP pledged to set aside $20 billion in U.S. assets as collateral, which will decline as the reserves in the fund build.
Although it will take time to establish the fund and rules governing payouts, White House energy adviser Carol Browner promised a seamless transition from the existing claims process.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the decision "a good first step toward compensating victims."
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., called the fund the "very least BP must do to start making the coastal communities devastated by its recklessness whole again."
But other lawmakers fretted that the $20 billion could be misused. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, said he views the account as a "privately funded, government slush fund that the administration is going to divvy out as they see fit."
BP's decision to suspend its prized quarterly dividends is a blow to pension funds and investment portfolios in the U.S. and overseas that count on the revenue.
The White House meeting was the first time Obama has spoken with BP's corporate chiefs since oil began gushing from the Macondo after an April 20 blowout that also destroyed the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and killed 11 workers.
Obama said he told the executives about the anxiety among fishermen and shrimpers who are watching their businesses and way of life disappear as the crude encroaches on the coast.
He insisted that the executives keep those people in mind when making decisions about spill recovery and cleanup.
"That's going to be the standard by which I measure BP's responses," Obama said after the meeting. "Throughout this process, as we work to make sure that the Gulf is made whole once again the standard I'm going to be applying is whether or not those individuals I met with, their family members (and) those communities that are vulnerable are uppermost in the minds of all concerned."
jennifer.dlouhy@chron.com
Saturday, June 5, 2010
UPDATE 1-BP will pay legitimate claims "as long as it takes"
June 5 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) has no specific pre-allocated budget amount to pay damage claims resulting from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but will pay all those "hurt, harmed or damaged" until all legitimate claims are satisfied, a BP executive said on Saturday.
BP America Vice President of Resources Darryl Willis said the company over the past 30 days had written damages claims checks totaling more than $46 million across the U.S. Gulf region, and he expected that to rise through June to "$84 million plus."
Asked during a conference call how much the British-based energy giant had set aside for economic damage claims, Willis said there was no pre-allocated budget for that.
"We will make these payments for as long as it takes and for as many people who have been hurt, harmed or damaged by this spill," he said, speaking from Orange Beach, Alabama.
"There is no budget, we'll do this until it's finished. We'll stay with it until people are able to return to their normal way of life on the Gulf Coast," Willis added.
BP, whose share price has lost about one-third of its value since the crisis began, has said it has already spent $1 billion on the disaster, which includes the growing cleanup bill.
Willis said 90 percent of the damages or income loss claims paid out so far had gone to individuals -- "primarily fishermen, shrimpers, oyster fishermen and crabbers."
The rest had gone to smaller businesses, and the company was also moving to respond to claims by medium- and large-sized businesses, he added.
"So far, we have not denied any claims," Willis said.
BP faces a U.S. criminal probe, several lawsuits, dwindling investor confidence and growing questions about its credit-worthiness, but Chief Executive Tony Hayward says it has plenty of money to meet its obligations. (Reporting by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Peter Cooney)
BP America Vice President of Resources Darryl Willis said the company over the past 30 days had written damages claims checks totaling more than $46 million across the U.S. Gulf region, and he expected that to rise through June to "$84 million plus."
Asked during a conference call how much the British-based energy giant had set aside for economic damage claims, Willis said there was no pre-allocated budget for that.
"We will make these payments for as long as it takes and for as many people who have been hurt, harmed or damaged by this spill," he said, speaking from Orange Beach, Alabama.
"There is no budget, we'll do this until it's finished. We'll stay with it until people are able to return to their normal way of life on the Gulf Coast," Willis added.
BP, whose share price has lost about one-third of its value since the crisis began, has said it has already spent $1 billion on the disaster, which includes the growing cleanup bill.
Willis said 90 percent of the damages or income loss claims paid out so far had gone to individuals -- "primarily fishermen, shrimpers, oyster fishermen and crabbers."
The rest had gone to smaller businesses, and the company was also moving to respond to claims by medium- and large-sized businesses, he added.
"So far, we have not denied any claims," Willis said.
BP faces a U.S. criminal probe, several lawsuits, dwindling investor confidence and growing questions about its credit-worthiness, but Chief Executive Tony Hayward says it has plenty of money to meet its obligations. (Reporting by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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