The massive BP oil well leak in the Gulf of Mexico has reached the Louisiana coastline as fears grow of a worse disaster than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Five thousand barrels of oil a day continue to spew into the water beneath the site of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded and sank last week. At the White House, President Obama said BP is ultimately responsible for funding the response and cleanup operations, but vowed to increase federal involvement.

President Obama: “I’ve been receiving frequent briefings from members of my cabinet and White House staff, including an update last night on the additional breach and another update this morning. And while BP is ultimately responsible for funding the cost of response and cleanup operations, my administration will continue to use every single available resource at our disposal, including potentially the Department of Defense, to address the incident.”