BP paid for officials’ trips, meals

Source: The Hill

A review by The Hill of gift reports on file at the Office of Government Ethics shows oil and gas companies picked up the tab for tours by federal officials of offshore oil rigs in the Gulf along with oil facilities in Alaska.



Companies and industry trade groups took care of food and lodging for officials and also paid for them to attend business conferences. The records cover gift reports filed by employees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Interior Department and the Homeland Security Department, which all have dealings with oil and gas companies.



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Since the oil spill, Obama has taken a hard line against the federal agencies overseeing oil drilling in the Gulf. His administration has proposed splintering MMS into three different agencies. In a press conference last week, Obama said the agency “had been plagued by corruption for years.”



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Overall, the review of gift reports shows oil and gas companies along with their respective trade associations picked up the tab on 62 different occasions from 2004 to 2009 for Bush administration officials from EPA, Interior and Homeland Security. (That data includes a gap; the Office of Government Ethics could not provide gift reports for several smaller agencies within the Interior Department from April 2008 to September 2008.)





Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/101161-bp-paid-for-agency-officials-trips-meals

elected officials.

Big Business has the best government for Big Business that Big Business's money can buy.

We pay taxes and many of us also donate to campaigns. Where the fuck is the fantastic return on our dollars?

If you really think BP, and not the taxpayer, will ultimately bear most of the cost of this FUBAR, I sure hope you wear a helmet 24/7.

So, the next time someone tells you it's unfair to tax the rich disproportionately, throw up on their shoes, k?

For the Gipper.

...that government doesn't work and we should lay off the poor corporations. :sarcasm:

In the end, it should make no difference. I used to have vendors take me out for dinners etc. It was nice, but everybody knew it would make no difference as far as our business went.

Of course if you are on the receiving end of this, you have to make sure you don't accept more than you can without risking compromising your standards.