$20 billion oil fund to begin payments in August
Headline News
The $20 billion that BP has set aside to pay for losses caused by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will start making payments in early August.
Ken Feinberg, who is in charge of paying individuals and businesses for lost income, told a meeting of government officials in Louisiana on Thursday that he expected a seamless transition from BP management to his administration.
"My goal is to improve that system," Feinberg said. "I'm determined to come up with a system that is more beneficial to the people using it."
BP currently has 35 offices in the Gulf Coast area accepting claims. The oil company will turn the entire operation over to Feinberg and not be involved in any of the claims against the $20 billion fund, except to supply more money if it's needed, Feinberg said.
The offices will be open for three years, and claims can be filed at any time, he said. Once filed, they must be paid within 90 days, Feinberg said.
The fund has not been tapped yet, but Feinberg said by the end of the first week of August his group would be ready to make payments.
There are still some issues to settle, Feinberg said. One of them is how much transparency the fund should have. Data from the program will be available, but there is still debate on providing names of people applying.
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