WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has signed into law a
bill that makes more money available to the Coast Guard to pay for
its response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The new law removes the $100 million limit that the Coast Guard
can spend on the BP spill from a government trust fund used to pay
cleanup costs.
The Coast Guard could have run out of money to fight the spill
if the spending cap was not lifted. Obama signed the bill Tuesday
as he prepared to address the nation on the Gulf spill.
The Obama administration has said it will require BP PLC to pay
for all cleanup expenses. Officials sent BP a $69 million bill
earlier this month.
BP operated the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in the
Gulf on April 20.
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