White House Confident That BP Will Accept Escrow Fund Without Legal Battle

As President Obama made his tour of the Gulf region on Monday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton told reporters aboard Air Force One that BP would move forward in creating an escrow account to ensure, "that all the people who are affected by BP's oil spill are made whole."

Burton declined to detail how much money would be made available in the account and said that it would be administered by a third party. (The White House and BP are currently talking about who the third party will be).

Senate Democrats have sent a letter to BP asking that it set aside $20 billion. Fifty-five of the 59 Democrats signed the letter.

Asked about that figure, Burton said, "Obviously, we've got a meeting on Wednesday (with BP officials) where we're going to talk about some of these issues. This will be an account with billions of dollars. It will be evergreen. But it's something that we're in discussions with BP right now."

"We're confident that we have the legal authority to compel BP to make sure that the folks that they have affected here are made whole," Burton said. " And we're also confident that we're going to be able to move forward on that. The signs from BP aren't that there is going to be a protracted legal battle over this or anything like that."

More details are expected on Tuesday evening, when Obama delivers an address on the BP oil spill response in the Oval Office. The speech is scheduled for 8 p.m. eastern time and will be carried live by the major broadcast networks.

Meanwhile, the White House on Monday evening announced the members of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Commission, chaired by former Sen. Bob Graham and former EPA Administrator William K. Reilly.

They are:
- Frances G. Beineck, President of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)