"President Obama put his weight today behind legislative efforts to lift liability caps for oil spills.

The administration is sending a wide-ranging spill-response package to Capitol Hill that includes raising the $75 million cap on economic damages. It would also seek to accelerate assistance to people left unemployed by the spill, expand eligibility for food stamps and raise an 8-cent-per-barrel oil tax by 1 cent.

The cap on natural resource damages would be raised from $500 million to $750 million. Some lawmakers have said the cap on economic damages, such as lost wages or canceled hotel bookings, should be raised to $10 billion. But the administration did not offer its recommendation as to what the cap should be."

Mike Soraghan reports for Greenwire May 12, 2010. [2]