Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said that BP has taken a step in the right direction by creating a fund to compensate workers and business owners whose livelihoods have been hurt by the disastrous spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

After meeting with BP executives, President Obama announced that the company will set up a $20 billion account that will be managed by an independent third party.

"I hope the creation of this account provides a small measure of relief to Gulf Coast residents whose jobs have been affected by this disaster," Bingaman said.  "Our next step is to ensure that the compensation process runs smoothly."