Sen. Schumer and Sen Wyden want $BP to withhold Dividend Payments

By Josh Mitchell   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES  WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Two Democratic U.S. senators called on BP PLC (BP,BP.LN) on Wednesday to withhold payments to shareholders until the full cost ofcleaning up the Gulf oil spill is determined.  Sens. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) said they were concerned by news reports in London that the company planned to tell shareholders it would move forward with plans to pay shareholder dividends. Ina letter to Tony Hayward, chief executive of the U.K. oil giant, the senator surge an indefinite delay in dividend payments to ensure the company can meetits cleanup obligations.  "We find it unfathomable that BP would pay out a dividend to shareholdersbefore the total cost of BP's oil spill clean-up is estimated," the senators wrote.  They added that while they understand the need to reassure shareholders about the company's long-term financial health, "we are concerned that such action tomove money off of the company's books and into investors' pockets will make itmuch more difficult to repay the U.S. government and American communities thatare working around the clock to stem the damage caused by this devastating oil spill."  The senators, citing an analyst's estimate, said cleanup costs could total$37 billion if the leak isn't fixed until August.