Text of President Barack Obama's Oval Office address Tuesday on
the Gulf oil spill, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions:
Good evening. As we speak, our nation faces a multitude of
challenges. At home, our top priority is to recover and rebuild
from a recession that has touched the lives of nearly every
American. Abroad, our brave men and women in uniform are taking the
fight to al-Qaida wherever it exists.
And tonight, I've returned from a trip to the Gulf Coast to
speak with you about the battle we're waging against an oil spill
that is assaulting our shores and our citizens.
On April 20, an explosion ripped through BP Deepwater Horizon
drilling rig, about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven
workers lost their lives. Seventeen others were injured. And soon,
nearly a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, oil began spewing
into the water.
Because there's never been a leak this size at this depth,
stopping it has tested the limits of human technology. That's why,
just after the rig sank, I assembled a team of our nation's best
scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge, a team led by
Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and our nation's
secretary of energy. Scientists at our national labs and experts
from academia and other oil companies have also provided ideas and
advice.
As a result of these efforts, we've directed BP to mobilize
additional equipment and technology. And in the coming weeks and
days, these efforts should capture up to 90 percent of the oil
leaking out of the well. This is until the company finishes
drilling a relief well later in the summer that's expected to stop
the leak completely.
Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster
America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane,
it's not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes
or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the
Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be
fighting for months and even years.
But make no mistake: We will fight this spill with everything
we've got for as long 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.
Tonight, I'd like to lay out for you what our battle plan is
going forward: what we're doing to clean up the oil, what we're
doing to help our neighbors in the Gulf and what we're doing to
make sure that a catastrophe like this never happens again.
First, the cleanup.
From the very beginning of this crisis, the federal government
has been in charge of the largest environmental cleanup effort in
our nation's history, an effort led by Admiral Thad Allen, who has
almost 40 years of experience responding to disasters. We now have
nearly 30,000 personnel who are working across four states to
contain and clean up the oil.
Thousands of ships and other vessels are responding in the Gulf.
And I've authorized the deployment of over 17,000 National Guard
members along the coast. These servicemen and women are ready to
help stop the oil from coming ashore, they're ready to help clean
the beaches, train response workers or even help with processing
claims, and I urge the governors in the affected states to activate
these troops as soon as possible.
Because of our efforts, millions of gallons of oil have already
been removed from the water through burning, skimming and other
collection methods. Over 5.5 million feet of boom has been laid
across the water to block and absorb the approaching oil. We've
approved the construction of new barrier islands in Louisiana to
try to stop the oil before it reaches the shore, and we're working
with Alabama, Mississippi and Florida to implement creative
approaches to their unique coastlines.
As the cleanup continues, we will offer whatever additional
resources and assistance our coastal states may need.
Now, a mobilization of this speed and magnitude will never be
perfect, and new challenges will always arise. I saw and heard
evidence of that during this trip. So if something isn't working,
we want to hear about it. If there are problems in the operation,
we will fix them.
But we have to recognize that, despite our best efforts, oil has
already caused damage to our coastline and its wildlife. And sadly,
no matter how effective our response is, there will be more oil and
more damage before this siege is done.
That's why the second thing we're focused on is the recovery and
restoration of the Gulf Coast.
You know, for generations, men and women who call this region
home have made their living from the water. That living is now in
jeopardy. I've talked to shrimpers and fishermen who don't know how
they're going to support their families this year. I've seen empty
docks and restaurants with fewer customers, even in areas where the
beaches are not yet affected.
I've talked to owners of shops and hotels who wonder when the
tourists might start coming back. The sadness and the anger they
feel is not just about the money they've lost; it's about a
wrenching anxiety that their way of life may be lost.
I refuse to let that happen. Tomorrow, I will meet with the
chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever
resources are required to compensate the workers and business
owners who have been harmed as a result of his company's
recklessness.
And this fund will not be controlled by BP. In order to ensure
that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely
manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent
third party.
Beyond compensating the people of the Gulf in the short term,
it's also clear we need a long-term plan to restore the unique
beauty and bounty of this region. The oil spill represents just the
latest blow to a place that's already suffered multiple economic
disasters and decades of environmental degradation that has led to
disappearing wetlands and habitats.
And the region still hasn't recovered from Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita. That's why we must make a commitment to the Gulf Coast
that goes beyond responding to the crisis of the moment.
I make that commitment tonight.
Earlier, I asked Ray Mabus, the secretary of the Navy, who's
also a former governor of Mississippi and a son of the Gulf Coast,
to develop a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan as soon as
possible. The plan will be designed by states, local communities,
tribes, fishermen, businesses, conservationists and other Gulf
residents. And BP will pay for the impact this spill has had on the
region.
The third part of our response plan is the steps we're taking to
ensure that a disaster like this does not happen again.
A few months ago, I approved a proposal to consider new, limited
offshore drilling under the assurance that it would be absolutely
safe, that the proper technology would be in place and the
necessary precautions would be taken.
That obviously was not the case in the Deepwater Horizon rig,
and I want to know why. The American people deserve to know why.
The families I met with last week who lost their loved ones in the
explosion, these families deserve to know why.
And so I've established a national commission to understand the
causes of this disaster and offer recommendations on what
additional safety and environmental standards we need to put in
place. Already I've issued a six-month moratorium on deepwater
drilling.
I know this creates difficulty for the people who work on these
rigs, but for the sake of their safety and for the sake of the
entire region, we need to know the facts before we allow deepwater
drilling to continue. And while I urge the commission to complete
its work as quickly as possible, I expect them to do that work
thoroughly and impartially.
Now, one place we've already begun to take action is at the
agency in charge of regulating drilling and issuing permits, known
as the Minerals Management Service.
Over the last decade, this agency has become emblematic of a
failed philosophy that views all regulation with hostility, a
philosophy that says corporations should be allowed to play by
their own rules and police themselves.
At this agency, industry insiders were put in charge of industry
oversight. Oil companies showered regulators with gifts and favors
and were essentially allowed to conduct their own safety
inspections and write their own regulations.
And when Ken Salazar became my secretary of the interior, one of
his very first acts was to clean up the worst of the corruption at
this agency. But it's now clear that the problem there ran much
deeper and the pace of reform was just too slow.
And so Secretary Salazar and I are bringing in new leadership at
the agency: Michael Bromwich, who was a tough federal prosecutor
and inspector general. And his charge over the next few months is
to build an organization that acts as the oil industry's watchdog,
not its partner.
So one of the lessons we've learned from this spill is that we
need better regulations, better safety standards and better
enforcement when it comes to offshore drilling. But a larger lesson
is that, no matter how much we improve our regulation of the
industry, drilling for oil these days entails greater risk.
After all, oil is a finite resource. We consume more than 20
percent of the world's oil but have less than 2 percent of the
world's oil reserves. And that's part of the reason oil companies
are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean: because we're
running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water.
For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily
accessible oil were numbered. For decades, we've talked and talked
about the need to end America's centurylong 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.
The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight.
Countries like China are investing in clean-energy jobs and
industries that should be right here in America. Each day, we send
nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil.
And today, as we look to the Gulf, we see an entire way of life
being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude.
We cannot consign our children to this future. The tragedy
unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder
yet that the time to embrace a clean-energy future is now. 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.
This is not some distant vision for America. The transition away
from fossil fuels is going to take some time. But over the last
year- and-a-half, we've already taken unprecedented action to
jump-start the clean-energy industry.
As we speak, old factories are reopening to produce wind
turbines, people are going back to work installing energy-efficient
windows and small businesses are making solar panels. Consumers are
buying more efficient cars and trucks, and families are making
their homes more energy-efficient. Scientists and researchers are
discovering clean-energy technologies that someday will lead to
entire new industries.
Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit
all of us. As we recover from this recession, the transition to
clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create
millions of jobs but only if we accelerate that transition, only if
we seize the moment and only if we rally together and act as one
nation: workers and entrepreneurs, scientists and citizens, the

public and private sectors.
You know, when I was a candidate for this office, I laid out a
set of principles that would move our country toward energy
independence. Last year, the House of Representatives acted on
these principles by passing a strong and comprehensive energy and
climate bill, a bill that finally makes clean energy the profitable
kind of energy for America's businesses.
Now, there are costs associated with this transition, and there
are some who believe that we can't afford those costs right now. I
say 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.
So I am happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either
party - as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil
fuels. Some have suggested raising efficiency standards in our
buildings like we did in our cars and trucks. Some believe we
should set standards to ensure that more of our electricity comes
from wind and solar power. Others wonder why the energy industry
only spends a fraction of what the high-tech industry does on
research and development - and want to rapidly boost our
investments in such research and development.
All of these approaches have merit and deserve a fear hearing in
the months ahead. But the one approach I will not accept is
inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that
this challenge is too big and too difficult to meet. You know, the
same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and
tanks in World War II. The same thing was said about our ability to
harness the science and technology to land a man safely on the
surface of the moon. And yet, time and again, we have refused to
settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom. Instead, what
has defined us as a nation since our founding is our capacity to
shape our destiny - our determination to fight for the America we
want for our children. Even if we're unsure exactly what that looks
like. Even if we don't yet know precisely how we're going to get
there. We know we'll get there.
It is a faith in the future that sustains us as a people. It is
that same faith that sustains our neighbors in the Gulf right now.
Each year, at the beginning of shrimping season, the region's
fishermen take part in a tradition that was brought to America long
ago by fishing immigrants from Europe. It's called, "The Blessing
of the Fleet," and today it's a celebration where clergy from
different religions gather to say a prayer for the safety and
success of the men and women who will soon head out to sea - some
for weeks at a time. The ceremony goes on in good times and in bad.
It took place after Katrina, and it took place a few weeks ago - at
the beginning of the most difficult season these fishermen have
ever faced.
And still, they came and they prayed. For as a priest and former
fisherman once said of the tradition, "the blessing is not that
God has promised to remove all obstacles and dangers. The blessing
is that He is with us always," a blessing that's granted "even in
the midst of the storm."
The oil spill is not the last crisis America will face. This
nation has known hard times before and we will surely know them
again. What sees us through - what has always seen us through - is
our strength, our resilience and our unyielding faith that
something better awaits us if we summon the courage to reach for
it. Tonight, we pray for that courage. We pray for the people of
the Gulf. And we pray that a hand may guide us through the storm
toward a brighter day. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless
the United States of America.


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