16 June 2010
Obama Vows to Fight Oil Spill “With Everything We’ve Got”
Washington — President Obama told Americans his administration will fight the Gulf of Mexico oil spill “with everything we’ve got for as long as it takes,” and that he will tell BP executives to set aside money for an independently administered compensation fund for businesses and workers harmed by the spill. Obama also urged Americans to accelerate the country’s transition to a clean energy economy.
Speaking from the White House in a June 15 prime-time television address, Obama said the spill, caused by an April 20 explosion aboard a BP oil rig, is already “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced,” with an estimated 30,000 to 65,000 barrels of oil a day continuing to flow from a ruptured drilling well located more than a mile below the ocean surface.
“Because there has never been a leak this size at this depth, stopping it has tested the limits of human technology,” Obama said. BP has been directed to mobilize additional equipment and technology, which Obama said should capture up to 90 percent of the leaking oil. But the leak, Obama said, is not expected to be completely plugged until the company finishes drilling a relief well later in the summer.
The president likened the disaster to “an epidemic … that we will be fighting for months and even years,” but told Americans: “We will fight this spill with everything we’ve got for as long as it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever’s necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy.”
Obama called for BP to set aside funding to compensate workers and business owners who have been harmed by the spill. The fund, he said, would be administered by an independent third party. After the president met with BP executives at the White House June 16, he announced that the company had agreed to a $20 billion escrow account for damage claims. The fund will be administered by Kenneth Feinberg, a lawyer who oversaw compensation for victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Obama said June 16 that the $20 billion “is not a cap,” and that it will not supersede the rights of individuals or states to present claims in court. The company will remain liable for the environmental disaster it caused, and the president announced that BP had voluntarily agreed to establish a $100 million fund to compensate oil workers who are being affected by the closure of other deep-water oil rigs in the Gulf.
“I’m absolutely confident BP will be able to meet its obligations to the Gulf Coast and to the American people. BP is a strong and viable company and it is in all our interests that it remains so. This is about accountability. At the end of the day, that’s what every American wants and expects,” the president said June 16.
The larger lesson of the Gulf oil spill, Obama said in his June 15 address, is that there is an increased risk from drilling for oil as fewer land and shallow wells are available. There also should be increased awareness that oil is a finite resource, he said.
“For decades, we’ve talked and talked about the need to end America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires. Time and again, the path forward has been blocked — not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor,” he said June 15.
The Gulf tragedy “is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now,” he said. “Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny.”
The transition to a clean energy economy will take time, but if it is accelerated, it “has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs,” he said, urging Americans to rally together for sustainable and independent energy sources.
“We can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy — because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security and our environment are far greater,” Obama said.
INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE OFFERS CONTINUE
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley issued a media note June 14 listing 17 countries that had offered assistance as containment and cleanup efforts continue in the Gulf. On June 15, that number grew to 18 nations, as Qatar offered containment boom, he said in the daily press briefing, adding that the International Maritime Organization has also identified sources of boom in Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Kenya, Norway, Spain and Tunisia.
“So far we have accepted four offers of assistance from Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, and Canada,” Crowley said June 15, and BP has also been obtaining equipment and technical efforts from around the world.
Crowley said most of the offers to the United States are to sell supplies, and in some cases the Obama administration has held the outstanding offers in abeyance due to its need to first check on whether domestic sources are available, as well as to compare the price of the material to rates on the open market.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
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