BP Complaints

EMERGENCY.louisiana.gov

EMERGENCY.louisiana.gov

This morning the President hosted Congressional leaders from both parties to talk through the months ahead and make sure they are as productive as possible.  As the President made clear in remarks afterwards, the top priorities have to be the BP oil spill and putting people back to work:

Obviously the top of our list was our continued response to the crisis in the Gulf and what’s happening with the oil spill.  We gave them an update on all the measures that are being taken, the single largest national response in United States history to an environmental disaster.  But we had a frank conversation about the fact that the laws that have been in place have not been adequate for a crisis of this magnitude.  The Oil Pollution Act was passed at a time when people didn’t envision drilling four miles under the sea for oil.

And so it’s going to be important that, based on facts, based on experts, based on a thorough examination of what went wrong here and where things have gone right, but also where things have gone wrong, that we update the laws to make sure that the people in the Gulf, the fishermen, the hotel owners, families who are dependent for their livelihoods in the Gulf, that they are all made whole and that we are in a much better position to respond to any such crisis in the future.

So that was a prominent part of the discussion, and I was pleased to see bipartisan agreement that we have to deal with that in an aggressive, forward-leaning way.

Even as we deal with that crisis, we’ve still got an economy that’s on the mend, but there are a lot of people out there who are still out of work.  There are a lot of families who are still struggling to pay the bills.  And so a major part of our discussion was how could we continue to build on the progress that’s been made in the economy and, in particular, how can we make sure that that has an impact on job growth and the day-to-day improvements that people are seeing in their own lives.

The President talked about the urgency of passing extensions for unemployment insurance and other measures to help families stay above water while they’re looking for work, which will in turn make sure the recovery continues with some stability.  He also expressed confidence that a strong package to help small businesses grow and hire is coming together.

Also on the agenda is finishing financial reform, a supplemental to fund our troops, and continued work on ways to reduce the deficit, an area the President was particularly hopeful of finding bipartisan solutions on.

The President closed speaking passionately about the need for a new energy policy for the long term to begin now:
In that same category of thinking about the next generation, I want to close by just talking about my personal belief that we have to move on an energy agenda that is forward-looking, that creates jobs, that assures that we are leaders in solar and wind and biodiesel, but recognizes that we are going to be reliant on fossil fuels for many years to come, that we are going to still be using oil and we’re still going to be using other fossil fuels, but that we have to start planning now and putting the infrastructure in place now, putting the research and development in place now so that we end up being leaders in our energy future.

I’m actually going to have a group of CEOs this afternoon who’ve come in from a wide range of different industries — people from Bill Gates of Microsoft to the former chairman of DuPont who have come up with a series of recommendations about how we need to move much more aggressively on the energy agenda.

And although obviously our immediate task is to deal with a crisis that is affecting millions of people down in the Gulf, we can’t keep our eye off the importance of having an energy policy that meets the needs of the next generation and ensures that the United States is the leader when it comes to energy policy.  We are not yet that leader, and that’s what I want us to do.

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This morning the President met with Members of Cabinet to discuss the administration’s ongoing response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and receive a briefing from National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen. He spoke to the press afterwards and reiterated his commitment to protecting small business owners and workers in the Gulf Coast region:

Now, there are a number of other issues that were raised during this meeting that I just want to touch on.  Number one, when I was down in the Gulf on Friday, meeting with fishermen and small business owners, what is clear is that the economic impact of this disaster is going to be substantial and it is going to be ongoing.  And as I said on Friday — and I want to repeat — I do not want to see BP nickel-and-diming these businesses that are having a very tough time. 

Now, we’ve got the SBA in there helping to provide bridge loans, and we’ve got the Department of Commerce helping businesses to prepare and document the damages that they’re experiencing.  But what we also need is BP being quick and responsive to the needs of these local communities.  We have individuals who have been assigned specifically to ride herd on BP, to make sure that that’s happening.  We want the people who are in charge of BP’s claims process to be meeting with us on a regular basis.  But we are going to insist that that money flows quickly, in a timely basis, so that you don’t have a shrimp processor or a fisherman who’s going out of business before BP finally makes up its mind as to whether or not it’s going to pay out. 

And that’s going to be one of our top priorities, because we know that no matter how successful we are over the next few weeks in some of the containment efforts, the damages are still going to be there. 
 

At the conclusion of his remarks, the President stated that that he is confident that the Gulf Coast ecosystems and people affected by the crisis will make a full recovery:

Let me just make one final point, and I think this was something that was emphasized by everybody here, and it’s something that I want to say to the American people.  This will be contained.  It may take some time, and it’s going to take a whole lot of effort.  There is going to be damage done to the Gulf Coast and there is going to be economic damages that we’ve got to make sure BP is responsible for and compensates people for.

But the one thing I’m absolutely confident about is that as we have before, we will get through this crisis.  And one of the things that I want to make sure we understand is that not only are we going to control the damages to the Gulf Coast, but we want to actually use this as an opportunity to reexamine and work with states and local communities to restore the coast in ways that actually enhance the livelihoods and the quality of life for people in that area.

It’s going to take some time.  It’s not going to be easy.  But this is a resilient ecosystem.  These are resilient people down on the Gulf Coast.  I had a chance to talk to them, and they’ve gone through all kinds of stuff over the last 50, 100 years.  And they bounce back, and they’re going to bounce back this time.  And they’re going to need help from the entire country.  They’re going to need constant vigilant attention from this administration.  That’s what they’re going to get.  

President Barack Obama meets with members of his Cabinet to discuss the ongoing response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, June 7, 2010, in the Cabinet Room of the White House. From left, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner, the President, National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Energy Secretary Steven Chu. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

White House.gov Blog Feed

Take charge of Gulf oil spill? Just do it, Mr. President.
Sure, Obama’s opponents want him to ‘own’ the Gulf oil spill problem. But he runs greater risks by not taking charge.
Read more on The Christian Science Monitor

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Angry President Obama flies in as oil hits Florida
President Obama, at the mercy of events and unproven technologies, flew to Louisiana yesterday for the third time since the Deepwater Horizon blowout to console those living along the state’s polluted coast and find out whether BP may finally be winning the race to cap the well.
Read more on Times Online

EMERGENCY.louisiana.gov.

EMERGENCY.louisiana.gov.

Senator Sessions, a senior member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today questions Lamar McKay, President and Chairman of BP America, Steven Newman, President and CEO of Transocean Limited, and Tim Probert, President of Global Business Lines; Chief Health, Safety and Environmental Office, Halliburton.

This could be the worst environmental disaster in US history. Government officials have voiced desperation and are furious as their fears become far more tangible, with oil from the BP spill showing up on shore as tar balls, oil sheens and gooey slicks. They have really gone ahead and done it now, this massive manmade disaster could last for quite some time! Do they even really understand the long-term damage this will do to our Earth? The only planet that humans can really live on right now and even into the future. Human beings are making these great disasters happen and there are consequences for every action. God is watching and the earth was made by God and is a part of the LORD God. Luke 21:35- For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36- Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

President visits Gulf
President Barack Obama picks up a tar ball as LaFourche Parish president Charlotte Randolph, center, and U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, National Incident commander for the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, look on during a tour Friday of areas affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill in Port Fourchon, La. “I’m here to tell you that you are not alone, you will not be abandoned, you will not be …
Read more on Temple Daily Telegram