MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript
Interview
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Joining me now is Louisiana Congressman Charlie Melancon.
Congressman, great to have you with us tonight.
REP. CHARLIE MELANCON (D), LOUISIANA: Thank you, Ed. It"s good to be with you.
SCHULTZ: What do you make of the money? It"s a start. It"s not a cap.
Is this a big step forward in, your opinion?
MELANCON: I think it is. You know, a lot of people were asking early on, why hadn"t the president met with the head of BP? And my comment was that"s not for me to decide or to say. But it"s obvious that he must have had a strategy, because coming away with a beginning sum of $20 billion, and particularly for the laid-off workers--and I sent a letter this afternoon to the president--I mean, the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, saying they need to fully reimburse these employees for their full loss of wages. They can"t pay it on $260 a week unemployment benefits.
SCHULTZ: Congressman, do you accept the apology of the chairman of
BP?
MELANCON: I"ve always been a person that will accept apologies, but I hope that BP will continue to step up and do what is right by the people.
I believe that the president, setting up this escrow fund and put Mr. Feinberg in front of it, will give us at least credibility from the standpoint of getting the claims. And I"m hearing numerous complaints that claims are not being handled well and that they"re not being paid in full.
So, this is a step forward. I"m also excited because he put Ray Mabus in charge down there. And being a state with the estuaries, America"s wetlands that are there, and having a master plan passed by our state already, will give us the ability to show Mr. Mabus where we need to go and what he needs to be conscious of as we go forward.
SCHULTZ: Congressman, you"re going to be face-to-face with Tony Hayward tomorrow. This is a man, the CEO of British Petroleum, who you have asked for his resignation.
Will you do that tomorrow in the wake of these most recent developments, the president"s speech, the $20 billion and the apology?
Do you still think Tony Hayward needs to go?
MELANCON: I still think that Mr. Hayward should go. His past actions, unfortunately, were a little crass, I guess is as polite as I can say it, when telling people he would like to have his life back after three people lost their lives and an entire ecosystem and an entire area of the region of the country"s future is in jeopardy.
So--but that"s not necessarily on my list to ask tomorrow. I get five minutes, so I want to try and get some information and make sure that I know what"s going on. And I haven"t exactly figured out what I want to ask him tomorrow.
SCHULTZ: Congressman, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
MELANCON: Thanks, Ed. Good to be with you.
SCHULTZ: You bet.
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