Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Congressional Panel Questions BP Executive VOA News 17 June 2010 BP CEO Tony Hayward testifies before the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing on the role of BP in the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and oil spill on Capitol Hill in Washington, 17 Jun 2010 Photo: AP BP CEO Tony Hayward testifies before the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing on the role of BP in the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and oil spill on Capitol Hill in Washington, 17 Jun 2010 The chief executive of oil company BP says he feels a "great deal of responsibility" for the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and that it is too early to tell what caused the disaster. Members of a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives questioned BP executive Tony Hayward on Thursday about procedures used by the oil company in the drilling and construction of the oil well that is now leaking thousands of barrels a day into the Gulf of Mexico. Lawmakers, including the panel's chairman, Bart Stupak, accused the company of taking dangerous shortcuts to save time and money. But Hayward repeatedly said he was not involved in the decision-making process, or that he was waiting for the results of BP's own investigation into the disaster, which began April 20 when an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana exploded. Representative Henry Waxman accused Hayward of not cooperating with the committee, which Hayward denied. Hayward apologized to the American people for the devastating oil spill and said the disaster should never have happened. He said BP is doing everything it can to secure the broken well and contain the flow of oil, which is estimated to be as much as 60,000 barrels each day.  Republican Joe Barton apologized to Hayward for what the lawmaker called a "$20-billion shakedown" by the White House.  He was referring to the $20-billion compensation fund that was announced Wednesday after BP officials met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House. But the White House rejected Barton's comments, saying it is "shameful" the congressman seems to be more concerned about big corporations than those affected by the oil spill. The April 20 explosion of the oil rig off the Louisiana coast killed 11 workers. President Obama has described the spill as the worst environmental disaster the country has ever faced. In his testimony, Hayward pledged BP will cover all clean-up costs and legitimate claims for losses and damages. Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.. .