JACKSON, Miss., June 19 (UPI) -- The Washington lawyer in charge of the $20 billion BP oil-spill escrow fund says he'll have to earn the trust of blue-collar Gulf Coast residents.
Kenneth Feinberg and his associates have started arranging town hall meetings and other outreach efforts to the fishermen and business people along the gulf who are seeking restitution for damages caused by the deep-water well blowout that has closed fisheries and derailed the summer tourist season.
"This program cannot be run from Washington, D.C.," Feinberg told a news conference in Jackson, Miss. "You have to come down here to the states affected by this spill and hear firsthand what's being done, what needs to be done, to provide prompt, fair, impartial compensation for people with a legitimate claim."
The Washington Post said Saturday that Feinberg, 64, is a classic Beltway power attorney; however, he also has experience handling claims from the families of people killed on Sept. 11, 2001 and the shooting spree at Virginia Tech University.
Feinberg, who will be in Houston Monday to meet with BP executives, said the bottom line is convincing people that the reimbursement program is truly independent and that he will not be taking his marching orders from either the oil company or from the White House.
"It is my program," Feinberg said. "My imprimatur on it, not the administration or BP."
