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May 28, 2010

Obama Extends Drilling Moratorium, Defends Response
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The Obama administration, meanwhile, has formally announced its
suspension of oil exploration off the Alaskan coast as well as of lease
sales in Virginia and the Gulf of Mexico. On Thursday, President Obama
also said he would extend the moratorium on new deepwater drilling
permits for six months and halt operations at thirty-three deepwater
wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Obama is heading to the Gulf Coast today in
his second visit to the region since the disaster began. In his first
news conference in ten months, Obama defended his administration’s
response to the spill.

President Obama: "As far as I’m concerned, BP is responsible for this
horrific disaster, and we will hold them fully accountable on behalf of
the United States as well as the people and communities victimized by
this tragedy. We will demand that they pay every dime they owe for the
damage they’ve done and the painful losses that they’ve caused. Those
who think that we were either slow on our response or lacked urgency
don’t know the facts. This has been our highest priority since this
crisis occurred."



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