Moratorium fund control uncertain Baton Rouge, LA
WASHINGTON — Will they or won’t they?
Confusion reigned Tuesday over whether rig workers and related businesses affected by the Obama administration’s six-month drilling moratorium will be able to file compensation claims on a $20 billion fund set up for the Gulf oil victims.
The man who is dishing out the money established by BP to compensate those impacted by the Gulf oil leak said on Monday that he had permission to pay those affected by the moratorium.
On Tuesday, however, Washington attorney Ken Feinberg issued a statement saying it is unclear who will process moratorium claims because he has not been given control over a separate $100 million set aside for rig workers.
“Until it is determined who will hold the $100 million it is unclear who will oversee and process the individual moratorium claims,” Feinberg stated. “The fund is separate from the $20 billion. It is not certain who will hold this fund.”
While the issue is being sorted out, moratorium claims should not be made against the $20 billion, Feinberg said. The Washington attorney told CNN on Monday that he was put in charge of handling moratorium claims.
“I now have discovered — I didn’t know this until yesterday — that the moratorium claims will fall under my jurisdiction,” Feinberg said Monday in an interview with CNN.
When first appointed, Feinberg had said he did not believe he would oversee the $100 million.
Feinberg may be able to clear up the matter when he appears before the House Small Business Committee this morning in his first appearance before the U.S. Congress.
The White House has said that rig workers and businesses affected by the moratorium could tap into either fund.
“Any individual or business who has a claim may submit it to the $100 million foundation or the $20 billion fund,” White House Spokeswoman Moira Mack said.
“Rig workers impacted by the moratorium will absolutely not be precluded from presenting claims,” Mack said.
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Advocates for the industry have contended that the $100 million fund for direct payments to rig workers is far from enough. Over the six-month period of the moratorium, rig workers’ pay alone would equal about $330 million, they say.And for every rig worker, four jobs are affected in businesses that support the rigs, advocates say.