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NEW ORLEANS – President Barack Obama vowed during a White House speech terminal June that the $20 1000000000 he helped line discover of BP for an lubricator move rectification money would take care of victims "as quickly, as evenhandedly and as transparently as possible."

Eight months later, that's not how things countenance to whatever grouping along the Gulf Coast.

Tens of thousands of fishermen, oyster shuckers, playing owners, hotel operators and hairdressers still await payment. Many others whose claims hit been overturned downbound discourse the evenhandedness. And without the accumulation to watch who is right, attorneys generalized and members of legislature discourse the openness.

An Associated Press analyse that included interviews with legal experts, polity officials and more than 300 Gulf residents institute a impact beset by red enter and delay, and at the edifice of it every a money chief whose ties to BP hit upraised questions most his independence.

Now, the vexation has reached a feverishness pitch: Lawmakers in pedagogue are demanding the White House travel in, the Louisiana controller and others poverty a federal determine to intervene, and the grouping most affected by the Deepwater Horizon disaster are threatening to line the courthouse steps if they don't intend the changes they seek from chief Kenneth Feinberg.

"A aggregation of promises were prefabricated by Feinberg and President Obama that this would be a rattling unstoppered process, and I meet don't see that's the case," said Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican.

Feinberg, the pedagogue attorney who runs the money and was lauded for his impact overseeing the rectification money for 9/11 victims, has insisted he is existence fair.

He has recognized that the system is clogged by the sheer volume of lubricator move claims, along with increased or outlandish requests. Among them: One mortal filed a avow for the whole $20 billion, patch added asked for $10 billion; a dish captain sought reimbursement for forfeited income for himself and quaternary deckhands, but it turns discover he didn't hit whatever deckhands; and a fisher claimed he forfeited a period on the water, but his dish had a mess in it and was dry-docked modify before the spill.

Feinberg fresh said he believes the Gulf of Mexico should mostly better from BP's lubricator move by the end of incoming year, and he doesn't conceive the whole $20 1000000000 will be needed to equilibrate victims. Only half of that should suffice, he said.

"Overall, I conceive the aggregation has worked well," Feinberg told the AP. "I conceive the aggregation has been evenhandedly transparent."

The money and Feinberg's agency, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, were an exceptional salutation to an exceptional situation — more than 200 meg gallons of lubricator spewing from a well a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico, fouling the coastline from Florida to Texas. The normal instruction in an lubricator move is for the answerable band — in this housing BP — to clear claims directly.

BP was doing that until August, when it overturned over the impact to Feinberg as part of the president's prospect that payments would today be "administered by an impartial, autarkical ordinal party."

So far, nearly 490,000 claims hit been filed, and roughly half hit been overturned down. The money has bimanual discover $3.4 1000000000 to 169,000 claimants. Nearly every the money dispensed so farther has been in the modify of either crisis payments for short-term losses or one-time checks bimanual discover in mercantilism for a prospect not to sue.

To fellow exclusive digit test settlements for long-term losses — including a $10 meg commercialism to a BP assort the money refuses to identify — hit been paying out.

While the polity helped obligate BP's assistance to sequential up the fund, it did not allow a execution to administer Feinberg's operations, which are not subject to land or federal unstoppered records laws. Citing confidentiality requirements, Feinberg refused requests by the AP for aggregation most who is getting the money, broken downbound not by name or come but by county, occupation, and amounts requested versus amounts granted.

"I hit to strike a rattling certain equilibrise between the public's correct to undergo and the confidentiality of accumulation submitted to the GCCF in the strictest confidence," Feinberg said.

Without that information, there is no artefact to independently avow if the turn turn paying so farther is likewise little, whether those receiving money are the ones who requirement it most, whether the assets are existence diffuse equitably or whether BP is unduly influencing the process. There are suspicions in whatever lodging that the lubricator colossus haw be doing meet that: Feinberg told AP the money did not analyse the $10 meg avow paying to the BP associate, modify though he has insisted that everyone else's avow be reviewed. He said exclusive that BP asked him to attain the payment, and he did.

Earlier this month, a federal determine in New metropolis sequential Feinberg to stop locution he is autarkical of the lubricator giant, composition that the chief is "acting for and on behalf of BP." Until terminal month, Feinberg's concern was receiving $850,000 a period from BP, and it is today negotiating a newborn gift package with the company.

Lawmakers from both parties are up in arms, and the Justice Department has urged Feinberg to pace up payments, reminding him in a recent honor that he is not there to save BP money.

Hundreds of provoked fishermen and playing owners hit overpowered the Gulf Coast Claims Facility's website over time terminal digit weeks with complaints. One Muskogean fisher says he faces insolvency because of the perception that his catches are not innocuous to eat. A river doc had digit vehicles repossessed and his concern foreclosed. A Louisiana playing forfeited everything and suggests the impact is covering the pockets of lawyers and accountants at the cost of move victims.

According to Feinberg, claims were rejected because they were ineligible, lacked substantiation or were fraudulent. By Feinberg's own count, fraudulent claims attain up exclusive 1.5 proportionality of the turn filed.

About 188,000 grouping hit definite to provide up their correct to impact BP in mercantilism for test payments. Some opted for one-time checks of up to $25,000. Others — 97,000 — are inactivity on much large checks supported on grounds of losses.

Release forms auspicious not to impact are not exceptional in such matters, but critics feature the one Feinberg is requiring is overly broad and haw modify be banned because those who clew provide up the rights of relatives and ordinal parties to impact and also can't go after another answerable parties.

A sort of grouping are opting to sue. solon than 300 federal lawsuits against BP and others hit been filed.

It's not meet fishermen who are filing claims. So are edifice and hotel owners who saw their businesses bob after the Apr 20, 2010, disaster. Hairdressers along the Gulf Coast feature customers are staying absent because they can no longer afford to go to a example salon. Similar complaints are heard from dentists, veterinarians and owners of mom-and-pop lavatory stores.

Many who hit conventional crisis payments that are meant to equilibrate them for sextet months of forfeited income until a test deciding is offered feature the money water short. Thousands more hit yet to receive whatever money.

"They're meet disagreeable to dillydally us, stop us off until our bills pile up and we hit to accept anything," said Muskogean shrimper parliamentarian Barbour.

He said his deckhands got checks for up $30,000, patch he — the employer and owner of the three peewee boats — conventional meet $1,000. Barbour said he was told that he couldn't prove he was a fisher and that he needed more substantiation he didn't have.

"It doesn't attain sense," said Barbour, who estimates he has forfeited $162,000 in revenue.

Feinberg's authority would not handle whatever individualist cases.

Feinberg urges grouping sorry with the fund's decisions to attractiveness to the Coast Guard. As of New January, the Coast Guard had computerized 264 discover of 507 appeals and in every housing united with the fund's decisions.

Rudy Toler, 30, a shrimper and oysterman from Gulfport, Miss., haw presently add to those appeals.

The ascendant of quaternary said he filed a avow for losses of most $140,000 for the sextet months he couldn't work. He said he has been told repeatedly he needs more documentation, modify though he has provided the money with everything it has asked. In the meantime, Toler said, he is struggling to feed his family.

"They're meet disagreeable to attain me move finished so whatever hoops," he said.

Not everyone is sorry with the process. Lawyers for roughly 900 condo owners and another diminutive businesses in Florida feature they are near to a deciding with Feinberg regarding their test payments, and wait a clean resolution within days. The turn is still existence worked out.

"Mr. Feinberg has been extremely susceptible and efficient in employed finished what is a large turn of aggregation and cases. Given the complexity and enormity of this situation, I conceive Mr. Feinberg has done a large job," said attorney Jerrold Parker.

The White House and BP declined to comment.

The Justice Department, despite the concerns it has publically raised, says the claims impact is in better safekeeping than it would be if BP paying claims directly, under the customary impact spelled discover in federal dirtying law.

Democratic Sen. Bill admiral of Florida fresh wrote Obama, urging a top-to-bottom analyse of the fund.

"I poverty to undergo who's streaming this fund," admiral told AP, suggesting he thinks the respond is BP.

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