Menendez Fumes After Murkowski Blocks Big Oil Bill

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was not a happy camper Thursday, mocking Alaska Republican Lisa Mukowski -- who earlier objected to advancing his bill to raise the liability cap on spills caused by oil companies - for wanting to "study" the bill more before allowing a vote on it.

[This bill] is pretty simple," he said, waving a piece of paper. "It has a very fundamental premise: Big oil should be responsible for the payment of its pollution."

The Big Oil Bailout Prevention Liability Act of 2010 proposes raising the liability cap for oil companies from $75 million to $10 billion. Menendez wrote the legislation in response to the Deepwater Horizon spill a few weeks back.

BP, which operated the rig that exploded, causing millions of barrels of oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, has accepted full responsibility for both the damage and cleanup costs associated with the spill. However, under current law, the company's liability for damages such as lost wages and economic suffering is capped at $75 million. BP officials say the company has spent almost $350 million so far to clean up the Gulf, and its CEO has pledged to honor all "legitimate" claims.

However, Murkowski said she was hesitant to support the legislation out of fear that it would discourage smaller companies from developing offshore.

Menendez said Thursday that he would continue looking for ways to advance the legislation.