Meanwhile, Newsweek reports Chevron is urging the Bush administration to yank special trade preferences for Ecuador if the country’s government doesn’t quash a lawsuit against the oil company. Chevron has been sued for dumping billions of gallons of toxic oil waste into Ecuador’s rain forest. Activists have described the disaster as an Amazon Chernobyl. Earlier this year, a court-appointed expert recommended Chevron be required to pay up to $16 billion to clean up the rain forest. Now, Chevron is lobbying the Bush administration to pressure Ecuador to quash the case. Chevron’s lobbying team includes former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, former Democratic Senator John Breaux and Wayne Berman, a top fundraiser for John McCain. One lobbyist told Newsweek, “We can’t let little countries screw around with big companies like this — companies that have made big investments around the world.”