Press Release: Remarks of President Barack Obama on Gulf Coast Recovery in Panama City Beach, Florida - As Prepared for Delivery

As Prepared for Delivery—

Good afternoon. It's a privilege to be here in Panama City Beach with the men and women of the United States Coast Guard. I wanted to come here personally and express my gratitude to you for the effort you've waged in response to the BP oil spill. And I know Michelle wanted to do the same. Just last month she was down in Mississippi, where she met with folks from the Coast Guard about the spill. She even christened a new Cutter — the Stratton.

The Coast Guard was the first on the scene, immediately launching a search and rescue operation for the missing. You were the first to recognize that we were potentially looking at a massive spill, even before the rig collapsed and oil began to leak from the seafloor. A day and half later, in a meeting with Thad Allen and others, I instructed the Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies to treat the response as their number one priority. And that is exactly what you have done.

Under the leadership of Admiral Allen, the Coast Guard — along with other federal agencies and state and local governments — has directed the largest response to an environmental disaster in American history. This response has included more than 7,000 vessels and more than 47,000 people on the ground. I know that two cutters — the Aspen and the Juniper — are in port here this week after tours skimming and performing other recovery work. Many have toiled day and night — spending weeks, and months away from their families — to stop the leak, remove the oil, and protect waters and coastlines. So I want thank all those who continue to participate in this effort.

I also want to thank Dr. Stephen Chu and our team of scientists — assembled from across federal agencies, around the country, and all over the world — who have been working non-stop to kill the well once and for all. This has not only been the biggest oil spill in our history — it's also been the most technologically complex. It's pushed the boundaries of our scientific knowhow, as engineers wrestled with a massive, unpredictable leak — and faced setbacks and complications — all in pitch-black waters nearly a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf.

Today, the well is capped. Oil is no longer flowing into the Gulf, and it has not been flowing for a month. But I'm here to tell you that our job is not finished, and we are not going anywhere until it is. That's a message I wanted to come here and deliver directly to the people along the Gulf Coast. Because it's the men and women of this region who have felt the burden of this disaster — who have watched with anger and dismay as their livelihoods and way of life were threatened these past few months. I made a commitment in my visits here that I was going to stand with you not just until the well was closed, and not just until the oil was cleaned up — but until you have fully recovered from the damage that has been done. And that is a commitment my administration is going to keep.

I reiterated this when I met with a few small business owners from the Panama City area just a little while ago, along with Governor Charlie Crist and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. Folks like Captain Gary Jarvis, a charter boat operator from Destin. Gary started fishing as a deckhand back in 1978, and he's been captain for the past three decades, making his living on the water. He's lost fully half of his business because of the spill, though he's been able to use his boat as a vessel of opportunity to make some money the past few months.

I also spoke with Lee Ann Leonard, general manager of By the Sea Resorts. She's seen a big decline in tourism, including hundreds of room cancellations. And I met with Carolyn Holman, who's got two commercial fishing boats and owns the Captain's Table Fish House in Panama City Beach with her husband. I appreciated the chance to sit down with them to hear firsthand what they've been going through, and to make clear that we're going to keep standing by them.

First and foremost, we're going to continue to monitor and remove any oil that reaches the surface, and clean up any oil that hits the shore. Now, as a result of the massive cleanup operation that has already taken place, a recent report by our top scientists found that the majority of oil has now evaporated or dispersed, or it's been burned, skimmed, or recovered from the wellhead. And the dispersed oil is in the process of degrading. But I won't be satisfied until the environment has been restored, no matter how long it takes.

I also want to point out that as a result of the cleanup effort, beaches all along the Gulf Coast are clean, safe, and open for business. That's one of the reasons Michelle, Sasha, and I are here. The governor and others invited us down to enjoy the beach and the water — to let our fellow Americans know that they should come down here. And not just to support the region, but also because it's a beautiful place to visit.

Second, we're going to continue testing fisheries, and we'll be reopening more areas for fishing as tests show that the waters are safe. Already, more than 26,000 square miles were reopened at the end of July, and another 5,000 were reopened earlier this week. I know that this takes time, and it has been incredibly hard on people who earn their living on the water. Carolyn's boats, for example, have had to find different areas to fish that are further away and require more fuel. But their livelihoods — not to mention the health of people across the country — depends on making sure that folks can trust that the seafood coming from the Gulf is as safe as it's always been.

And as I told Carolyn, we've already been enjoying Gulf seafood at the White House. This week, several players from the Saints spent time teaching our staff their favorite Gulf seafood recipes. Our staff was pretty excited about the 30-foot po' boy sandwich we recently served for lunch. It went quickly.

The third thing we're focused on is claims. When I came down to the Gulf previously, I heard a lot frustration about the way BP was handling claims. So, in June, I met with BP's executives, and in that meeting, they agreed to put aside $20 billion in a special fund to pay damages. And it's being run by an independent overseer, so that people can trust that they'll get a fair shake. Now, we need to make sure claims are processed quickly, because many who've lost their only source of income don't have the leeway to wait months to be compensated. I know the folks I've just met with — Lee Ann, Gary, and Carolyn — all have outstanding claims. So I want to be clear about this: any delays — by BP or by those managing the new fund — are unacceptable, and I will keep pushing to get these claims expedited.

Finally, I've charged the Secretary of the Navy, and lifelong Mississippian, Ray Mabus, to develop a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan as soon as possible. Now, that plan needs to come from the people in the Gulf — which is why he's been meeting with folks from across the region to develop this plan of action. That's how we can ensure that we do everything in our power to restore the environment and reverse the economic damage caused by the spill.

So, with the closure of the well, we mark an important milestone. But this is not the end of the journey. And in completing the work ahead, I'm reminded of what I heard when I went to Louisiana back in June. I spent time with folks on Grand Isle, meeting with fishermen and small business owners — and the town's mayor, David Camardelle. He told me what his friends and neighbors were going through. He talked about how hard things had been. But he also explained the way folks rallied to support one another. He said that people in his community may not have a lot of money, but that didn't matter.

"We help each other," he told me. "That's what we do."

That's what folks do for one another in the Gulf. That's what the Coast Guard has been doing. And that's what we do as Americans. My job is to make sure that we live up to this responsibility: that we keep up our efforts until the environment is cleaned up, polluters are held accountable, businesses and communities are made whole, and the people of the Gulf Coast are back on their feet.

Thank you.