Republicans for the second time blocked legislation that would increase oil companies’ liability for oil spill damages, setting off criticism from Democrats seeking to make BP pay for the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) on Tuesday blocked a bill Democrats have put forward to raise the liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. He said on the Senate floor he agrees the cap should be raised, but the Senate should ‘wait and see where the cap should be.’ ‘If you have it too high you are going to be singling out BP and the other four largest majors and the nationalized companies, such as China and Venezuela, and shutting out the independent producers,’ he said. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) blocked the legislation last week. President Obama released a statement saying he is disappointed by the Republicans’ objections. ‘This maneuver threatens to leave taxpayers, rather than the oil companies, on the hook for future disasters like the BP oil spill,’ he said. ‘I urge the Senate Republicans to stop playing special interest politics and join in a bipartisan effort to protect taxpayers and demand accountability from the oil […]