David Vitter committee. In response to the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill at an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico threatening the coast of Louisiana, Vitter introduced legislation along with Jeff Sessions of Alabama to increase the liability cap of an oil company from $75 million to its most recent annual profits (or $150 million if greater). In the case of BP, the owner of the oil lease, its liability would be $20 billion. Vitter later introduced an amendment that would remove the cap entirely for this particular spill. Competing Democratic proposals would have raised the liability to $10
Health consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill health surveys from individuals residing along the Gulf Coast whom experienced adverse health effects after exposure to the 2010 oil spill. The goal of the survey is to track the occurrence of adverse health effects in the area amongst people that were exposed to the oil spill or dispersants from subsequent clean-up efforts. In April 2011, a review article in the New England Journal of Medicine discussed the health consequences of the spill. According to the review, at high doses some crude-oil components cause respiratory, hepatic (liver), renal (urinary system), endocrine (hormonal system), neurologic, hematologic (vascular system), and other systemic