And 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. 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. And she's now hoping that August, September and October can help them rebound from what have been significant losses. I also had a chance to speak to Lee Ann Leonard, general manager of By the Sea Resorts. And he had some terrific suggestions about how, working with scientists from NOAA and other federal agencies, we can do even more to make sure that we are monitoring and maintaining and improving the fishing off the coast of Florida and across the Gulf. And he's extraordinarily knowledgeable about these waters, being both a charter fisherman and a commercial fisherman. 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 in the past few months. 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. A former governor of Mississippi, a son of the Gulf, he has been traveling all across this region, gathering up information and data to make sure that we are following through on our commitments for rebuilding.Īnd I reiterated this just now when I met with a few small business owners from the Panama City area, along with Governor Charlie Crist and not only the mayors of this region, but also some of the business owners who are affected - folks like Captain Gary Jarvis, a charter boat operator from Destin. That's also why my Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, is here. And that is a commitment that my administration is going to keep. And that's why I made a commitment in my visits here that I was going to stand with you not just until the well was closed, not just until the oil was cleaned up, but until you had fully recovered from the damage that's been done. They watched with anger and dismay as their livelihoods and their way of life was threatened these past few months. That's the message that 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. And I'm here to tell you that our job is not finished and we are not going anywhere until it is. It pushed the boundaries of our scientific know-how, as engineers wrestled with a massive and unpredictable leak - and faced setbacks, faced complications, all in pitch-black waters nearly a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf. This has not only been the biggest oil spill in our history it's also been the most technologically complex. Stephen Chu and our team of scientists assembled from across federal agencies, around the country and all over the world, who have been working nonstop to kill the well once and for all. I also want to make mention and thank Dr. So I want to thank all those who continue to participate in this effort. As I said before, many of the folks here have toiled day and night, spending weeks, even months, away from their families to stop the leak, remove the oil, and protect waters and coastline. And I know that two cutters - the Aspen and the Juniper - are here in port this week, after tours skimming and performing other recovery work. The response has included more than 7,000 vessels, and more than 47,000 people on the ground. 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. And that's exactly what all of you have done. And a day and a 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 this response as their number-one priority. And you were the first to recognize that we were potentially looking at a massive spill even before the rig collapsed and the oil began to leak from the seafloor. The Coast Guard was the first on the scene, immediately launching a search-and-rescue operation for the missing. Michelle, just last month, was down in Mississippi, where she met folks from the Coast Guard about the spill, and she had the chance to christen the new cutter - the Stratton. And I know Michelle wanted to do the same, so we're looking forward to having a chance to shake hands with you and thank you personally for this great work that you've been doing day in, day out. I wanted to come here personally and express my gratitude to you for the effort that you've waged in response to the BP oil spill. It is a privilege to be here in Panama City Beach with the men and women of the United States Coast Guard. THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody.
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