Obama Plans Speech, Victims Fund For Gulf-Readying Aid Packages For Region

[The Straight Story]

Obama Plans Speech, Victims Fund For Gulf
President Readying Aid Packages For Region

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama demanded that BP set up a compensation fund for the oil-tainted Gulf Coast and prepared for his first Oval Office address to the nation as he tried to wrest control of the environmental disaster threatening to overwhelm his administration.

White House officials announced the steps Sunday as Obama prepared for his fourth visit to the tortured Gulf. They came at a pivotal moment in the catastrophe, with the enormity of the oil spill in sharper focus from more accurate measurements and no end in sight until relief wells are completed in August.

That means the nation must settle in for a long, hot summer of oil and gas spewing relentlessly from the ocean floor, driving residents to anger and despair, ruining precious marshlands, and poisoning pelicans, turtles and other wildlife.

For Obama, it is imperative that he try to help guide the country through the anguishing weeks ahead. After returning Tuesday from a trip to Alabama, Mississippi and Florida he will deliver a prime-time address from the Oval Office. It will be the first time he has used that most presidential of settings as a backdrop, underscoring the urgency of the moment.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/23884989/detail.html

[Patchuli]

1. I'd like to know why I just had to sign a petition on FB

to have the President declare a state of emergency?!

[The Straight Story]

2. I would guess he already signed it or is awaiting for Govs to ask for it

Will see what I can dig up.