Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Berman voted for legislation permitting the Coast Guard to access more oil company funds from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to continue a strong federal response to the BP oil spill.   

The legislation completely lifts the cap on the amount of oil company money the Fund can pay out for Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency cleanup efforts for the Deepwater Horizon spill.  In addition, the bill increases the tax oil companies must pay into the Fund, from 8 cents per barrel to 41 cents per barrel of oil production. 

"As a result of this legislation and ongoing oversight efforts in Congress, taxpayers can be assured that BP and other responsible parties will foot the bill for all spill containment and clean up costs," Rep. Berman said.

The bill, S. 3473, passed the House by a vote of 410 to 0 and now heads to President Obama for his signature.