Bingaman Defends BP Effort to Stop Gulf Oil Leak

Sen. Jeff Bingaman toured the Gulf Coast oil spill disaster Monday and came away with a dramatically different impression than some others watching the mess unfold.

Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said BP has mounted an “aggressive response” to the spill.

“The truth is that everything that people have thought of to suggest be done (to contain the spill and stop the leak) is being done,” Bingaman told me Monday night. “Overall, I think this has been an aggressive response to a terrible incident, a terrible oil spill.”

That stands in stark contrast to the view of Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, who toured the disaster area on the same trip Monday.

“I can tell you after seeing it and after listening … to the men and women whose lives have been affected, that I have come away with a new feeling about BP,” Durbin told reporters after the tour. “BP in my mind no longer stands for British Petroleum. It stands for ‘beyond patience.’

“People have been waiting 34 days for British Petroleum to cap this well and stop the damage happening across the Gulf of Mexico,” Durbin added. “Excuses don’t count anymore. You caused this mess, now stop the damage and clean up the mess.”

Bingaman, whose committee has held several hearing on the BP spill – including one happening today – said BP is doing all it can to stop the leak.

“I think they are taking the best advice they can get from the scientific community about what steps to take and how quickly to take them,” Bingaman said. “For example, they put off this (well) kill attempt until Wednesday because they need to do additional monitoring of the well pressure in different locations to maximize the chances that it would work. I don’t think they put it off because they didn’t want to fool with it for a couple of more days. They are working around the clock to get this done.”

Senior White House Advisor David Axelrod basically agreed.

The BP well has now been gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico for more than a month. The leak has become not only an environmental disaster, but a political disaster for the Obama administration, which has been criticized widely for a slow response. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, has been especially critical.

Bingaman said it’s too soon to tell how bad the environmental damage will be, but he tried to sound optimistic. 

“If they can stop the leakage of oil this week, I think they’ll be able to contain the damage pretty well,” Bingaman said. “But if they can’t, then it’s unknown.”

In case you’re curious, Bingaman has received $14,000 from “those associated with BP” during the past two decades, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington group that tracks money in politics. That might be a lot of money to you and me, but it’s hardly a gusher of campaign contributions for a powerful U.S. senator.