Obama Announces BP Deal

President Obama announced on Wednesday that BP has agreed to create a $20 billion escrow fund, calling the move “an important step toward making the people of the Gulf Coast whole again." The fund will be administered independently by Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw the 9/11 victim compensation fund. “This is about accountability,” Obama said. He also announced that BP will establish a $100 million fund to compensate oil-rig workers who have lost their jobs because of the six-month moratorium on offshore drilling. BP's board chairman also announced that the company will suspend paying out dividends to its shareholders for the rest of the year.