Bipartisan support is growing for an oil-spill liability compromise from moderate, oil-state Senate Democrats.

A day after Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he was open to considering the measure, a top Republican said she too may be willing to support the measure from Sens. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

"It's very, very similar to mine, so I kind of like it," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the top Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The moderates' proposal is being offered as an alternative to language that would eliminate the liability cap for companies involved in oil spills, which Reid included in his energy package that was pulled from floor consideration last week because of lack of support.

Republicans and many oil-state Democrats have blasted that language, saying it would shut out all but the largest energy companies from operating offshore.

Begich had promised to offer up his draft measure this week, but it has not been unveiled yet.

His proposal would take a layered approach to ensure smaller operators can continue working offshore. Companies large and small would buy into shared insurance pools that would pay for a spill response after a company -- or the company's insurance -- paid an initial minimum amount. After the $20 billion shared pool is exhausted, a company's individual escrow account would kick in, Begich told reporters yesterday.

"The way we've designed it is to take care of all the independents, in other words they will have a different kind of pooling -- the larger companies will have a different pooling -- there'll be a minimum liability, but everyone's responsible at a certain point," Begich said. "Taxpayers will not pay."

Begich said he and Landrieu have been working with Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) on the language.

"We're all in agreement that we don't want the taxpayers to pick up the tab, we want the polluters to pay ... for the cleanup, but we want to do it in a way that lays the groundwork for the industry to grow and operate, and not to ... pull the rug out from underneath it," Landrieu said.

Menendez, the primary author of the unlimited liability language in Reid's bill, has said he supports the underlying principles of Begich's proposal.

"Look, the bottom line is we agree on the same principals: unlimited liability, taxpayers don't get on the hook for anything and those who are harmed have access to damages within the context of unlimited liability," Menendez said. "So how the industry, you know, spreads its risk among itself is something that I'm not opposed to" (E&E Daily, Aug. 5).

Begich said he is determined to have the Senate consider his proposal. "I'm an optimistic man," he said.

For that reason, he plans to introduce the liability measure separately from other oil spill-response or energy measures. He also plans to introduce legislation that deals with revenue sharing, but he will introduce that as a stand-alone bill, he said.

"I'm trying to keep them separate so we can get to agreement on one, so we can move to the next," Begich said. "And revenue sharing will be the next one I'll move to."

He is not opposed to having his proposal folded into a broader energy package, though.

Menendez suggested at a briefing yesterday afternoon that a liability measure could be moved separately if support continued to stall on a broader energy and oil spill-response package.

"I hope we can get something on energy done," Menendez said. "I hope if not we'll have a stand=alone vote on unlimited liability on the spill."

But Landrieu says she would not vote for a liability-only bill. "No, the liability piece is only one piece we have to get right," she said.

Reporter Robin Bravender contributed.