Obama Administration Escalates Response to Gulf Oil Spill

Wall Street Journal ^ | April 29, 2010 2:31 PM EDT | JARED A. FAVOLE And ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON

[BAW]

The White House escalated its response Thursday to the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as administration officials said that the disaster could prompt a rethink of President Barack Obama's recently announced proposal to allow expanded offshore oil and gas drilling.

In an afternoon appearance in the Rose Garden, Mr. Obama promised to use "every single available resource" of government to help with the spill.

Federal officials said that the slick is spreading and could make landfall as early as Friday evening. The prospects for slowing the spread of the oil appear dim.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, speaking at a White House briefing, said that the slick "is crossing different regions" and that the federal government would set up a second command center in Mobile, Ala., in addition to an existing command center in Louisiana. The leaking well took 90 days to drill and it could take another 90 days for a relief valve, intended to stop the leak, to be put in, said Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes.

The spill, which could be one of the biggest in U.S. history, threatens to cause significant environmental damage and disruption to business along the Gulf Coast. It also could change the dynamics of an energy-policy debate in the U.S. Capitol.

[MayfairFly]

Thanks. You take care too.