A bill to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to double liability limits for single-hull tankers and tank barges for 2009, and for other purposes.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 940.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 01 · Reported to Senate with amendment(s) · Aug 22, 2008
Amends the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to increase the liability limits for damages resulting from the discharge of oil into U.S. navigable waters or the exclusive economic zone by a single-hull vessel (including a single-hull vessel fitted with double sides only or a double bottom): (1) from $3,000 per ton to $6,000 per ton for 2009; and (2) to the maximum amount allowable, consistent with the substantive due process requirements of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, for 2010, and beyond.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 940.
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer under authority of the order of the Senate of 08/01/2008 with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 110-445. Additional views filed.
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer under authority of the order of the Senate of 08/01/2008 with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 110-445. Additional views filed.
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Bill text & related measures
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze S.2700 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine S.2700 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine S.2700 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine S.2700 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.