Congressman Blunt Supports $12.5 Billion Big Oil Bailout May 14th 2010
Local paper catches Congressman Blunt saying he’ll leave Missouri taxpayers on the hook for $268 million, but Blunt continues to duck the issue
Yesterday, the Kansas City Star reported that Robin Carnahan and Congressman Blunt “disagree over paying for the [BP offshore oil spill] cleanup.” Since Carnahan has repeatedly stated that she believes BP should clean up their own mess, the news was an unpleasant reminder that Blunt wants to stick Missouri taxpayers with the estimated $268 million clean-up bill. [Kansas City Star, 5/13/10; Christian Science Monitor, 5/3/10; IRS, 2007]
After the Kansas City Star broke the news, Blunt’s spokesperson again refused to say whether or not Blunt would support a big oil bailout, instead simply saying he believes “anyone who is found to be at fault should pay every penny they are responsible for.” [Politico, 5/13/10]
“Now Missourians have a price tag for Congressman Blunt’s loyalty to his big oil friends - $268 million,” said Linden Zakula, Press Secretary for Robin Carnahan. “It is time to end the bailouts and hold Congressman Blunt accountable for his 13 years of reckless spending in Washington.”
Last week Robin Carnahan challenged Blunt, Senator Chuck Purgason and the other US Senate candidates to join her in saying “no bailouts for big oil.”
While Congressman Blunt did find time to pose for the cameras at a VIP Gala in Washington, he refused to accept Carnahan’s challenge and protect Missouri families from the more than $250 million giveaway to Big Oil. Instead, he had his campaign spokesperson issue the following carefully crafted statement:
“The committee (that Blunt) serves on in Congress is vigorously pursuing the facts on the first deep-water drilling problem since 1969 and what federal agencies were doing when it happened.”
Robin Carnahan has been an outspoken opponent of taxpayer bailouts for corporate special interests and a fierce defender of consumers. Robin fought hard to stand up to big institutions and has helped return more than $10 billion to wronged investors. Recently, Robin made it clear that BP needs to be held responsible for the cost of the clean up in the Gulf Coast region so that Missouri taxpayers don’t get stuck with the bill:
“But we can’t let these folks, whether it’s on Wall Street or these big oil companies make these mistakes, fail to keep us safe, and then expect us to pay for the clean-up,” said Robin. [KMBZ 05/05/10]
