The President spoke late this morning with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. They discussed how best to work together to achieve comprehensive peace...

Yes, ma’am.

Let me check -- I would need to check with Interior on that, on the $75 million figure. I don't -- I think there are different provisions for different...

That is our commitment, yes.

That's specifically one of the things the President spoke with Thad Allen about and with parish presidents and fishermen yesterday, is setting up a...

Well, again, they’re responsible; we have oversight. I did this a couple times I think yesterday -- look, there are many different things that we’re...

Yes. Actually the guidance I have has the CEO and the American chair.

I don’t -- I can check. I don’t believe the President has spoken with anybody at BP. Obviously, they have -- Secretary Salazar convened a meeting...

Well, I think the speech today -- I think those that have -- those that are involved in the NPT conference and are living up to the obligations would...

Continue to meet with the U.N. Security Council and continue to make progress moving forward on a Security Council resolution.

Yes, ma’am.

Well, I would direct you to BP in terms of what they might say. Look, I think a series of processes that, as you said, could take a matter of days....

Well, I’m not sure the President can alter the pace of drilling in the Atlantic.

Look, we’re -- I mean, in the Gulf, I’m sorry. We're -- I used this phrase yesterday, as Secretary Salazar used this phrase, and that is we are going...

Well, I think the -- I talked a little bit about this on the trip home. You get a real sense of the topography, the geography of what we’re dealing...

Well, I will check on that before we --

No, no, no, the law provides for -- BP is the responsible party, right? So if local fishermen can’t fish, that's an economic loss that BP is going...

Absolutely. That's part of the law. Absolutely. The economic damages that are incurred are part of the cost of this incident. Absolutely.

I have no announcements on that.

Close. (Laughter.)

I couldn’t agree more with your characterization.

You know, I was thinking about this as I was

getting a series of emails, will it be today, will it be tomorrow. I am happy to advise you of when...

Yes, I did rule out last week.

No.

See, I just had a whole week’s worth of duplicative email -- (laughter) -- that's awesome.

Chip, where you got the impression that the President has a ton of free time, I --

What are you guys watching at CBS that I'm not afforded to watch at --

I see. Okay. I'm going to forward that along to him. (Laughter.)

I'm not going to get into the interview process that the President has. I will -- safe to say, Chip, there is a lot on the President’s plate and a...

I anticipate that he is working on the process of the Supreme Court, without getting into the specifics of what those actions might be.

Yesterday, in traveling to the Gulf, John Brennan was with us, briefed the President on the helicopter ride from here to Andrews on Times Square. We...

We are actively participating in the investigation, making sure that local authorities have all the resources necessary to determine who is responsible....

I think that is -- I think the expression largely conveys that while the responsible party is BP, we will do, as the oversight authority in managing...

I think the President accurately conveyed in his remarks yesterday that we are going to do everything humanly possible, and ensure that BP is doing...

Well, again, I’d refer you to what I said. We are going to, every day, evaluate what has to happen, and if it’s not being done, we’ll make sure it...

Well, we still have an active incident. I think the President will be pleased when there’s no more oil leaking from the floor of the ocean. The President...

Well, again, that’s the -- the law mandates, based on the incidents that happened in Alaska in the late ‘80s, to ensure that companies that cause these...

Well, again, we’re -- that’s why I used Secretary Salazar’s colorful phraseology to talk about the role that we’re playing and the role that Thad Allen...

The President is doing everything we can to respond. As you mentioned, we have been there since the very beginning in responding to the reports of...

The commitment the President made yesterday is the responsible party will pay for this and that responsible party is BP.

I will look into the notion of caps. I will look into that.

Jonathan, I think that the President’s charge to Secretary Salazar over the course of the next 30 days is to examine every aspect of what may have gone...

No, the responsible party is BP.

The National Incident Commander is overseeing to ensure that BP does what is necessary.

Yes.

They will -- we discussed this in a number of meetings here last week, that specific actions -- these are the actions that we’re going to take and these...

From the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

Well, I can -- let me put you in touch with the Joint Information Center down there for a more technical analysis. But the President wants something...

Again, I think the -- I think those that are meeting with him -- with the CEO and the president today are -- and again, Secretary Salazar has been in...

Well, look, I think the President -- there’s obviously a lot on the Senate’s docket right now in terms of financial reform. I think the President will...

I will check. I don’t know what we’re going to do on that yet.

I have -- I’d have to have those guys take a look at the amendment.

Major.

Can you --

I would have to ask somebody at the Department of the Interior or Homeland Security if they felt otherwise. Major, our focus has been throughout this...

Maybe I’m just from a different part of the country. Would “hold your feet to the fire,” would that be something more that would be understandable...

I’m glad I didn’t wear my boots today, right? I don’t know, holding your feet to the fire could create some pain, Chip -- again, I -- maybe you guys...

Well, I don’t think this is the -- I don’t think this is the first time that --

Okay, so not the first time, but the first time -- right -- of this magnitude. Look, again, I can’t phrase it any differently than the President has...

Yes, I --

Well, first and foremost -- again, first and foremost, the Coast Guard arrived on the scene I think with four vessels over the course of some period...

I think anybody that has the type of material that they had in a car in Times Square, I would say that that was intended to terrorize, absolutely. ...

I think the likely -- I would say this. The offer is still there. The likelihood that they’ll take that offer and walk through the door seems -- they...

Look, I think the President for quite some time, dating back to his membership in the Senate, is somebody who’s pushed for comprehensive immigration...

Let me point you to Treasury for the response to the latter. The President has gotten updates throughout this process on a number of occasions. Time...

Well, we’ve certainly talked about the notion that -- look, we’re happy with the steps that Greece says they’re going to take and happy with the response....

It’s early in the week, Lester, but I’m ready.

Lester, what would you -- let me ask you this. Can I ask you just -- I just have one question.

Excellent. I’m just going to use one. When the President took eight questions from members of the White House press corps at the Nuclear Security...

What would you call it?

A select few what?

Well, can I ask another question? I do want to -- I’m going to --

I’m going to -- can I take Chip’s thing and just ask one more? What differently do you think the President would have done at the Nuclear Security...

Lester, you’re a happy occupant of the front row today and I hope that you will --

Front rows today -- pardon me. I hope that you’ll take the opportunity to speak with each one of these members individually. Now, I didn’t -- I don’t...

Okay, I just -- I’m trying to figure out -- the President answered eight questions from the White House press corps. Unclear -- I will admit --

Okay, so how many unselected would it have checked your box as to being a White House press conference?

Lester, I don’t -- were you at the event? Did you apply for credentials to come to the event?

No, no, but I asked you, did you apply for credentials to come to the event?

So you were offered the opportunity but declined to do so? I don’t know if you saw the hall that we were in -- it’s a whole lot bigger than where we...

There were a whole lot of people there. Again, I just -- can you give me a number? Is it a number thing that would -- you think if we would have --...

So 47 --

Right, so 47 and 8 is 55. So the President would have taken -- if the President took 55 questions, would that have --

So it’s not 55 -- it’s not eight, it’s not 55, it’s 38?

No, I’m just trying to get an answer to my second question. (Laughter.) I suddenly have found this to be wildly amusing.

And inexplicably, I’m finding this to be equally amusing. I’m just trying to -- just help me out, Lester, because we’ve now established that 55 is...

So we got a 90. That’s -- apparently 55 seems to be quite in the middle.

Okay, will the transcript please -- just you can just put this in parentheses --

Hold on, hold on, hold on, Goyal. I'm -- this is my press conference.

Can you just put in parentheses that it appeared as Lester didn’t answer...

I’m not aware that the President --

I will take a look at that.

Yes, ma’am.

Detroit --

I think the President and the mayor have both mentioned that as you’ve heard for many years, if people see suspicious activity to quickly alert the...

Yes. Yes.

(Laughter.) No. That was some of the updates that John provides the President.

Well, look, obviously that was -- obviously, leaving aside sort of where we’ve gone from the 22nd, obviously a rig of that size, an explosion, 11 people...

Let me get an update on where that is without going off of what may or may not happen.

We discussed --

I don’t think that’s what George meant. But we discussed travel for the next few days; on Friday, thought that moving -- obviously, when he goes there’s...

I saw the article. I have not talked with folks in the administration. Obviously, what was contained in the President’s original -- in the original...

Let me -- on the cofferdam, let me get some information from the Joint Information Center. Look, obviously, this is a response that touches on a lot...

Those submersibles by BP have been in the water, the robotics -- look, they’re doing what they can do safely at the site in order to try to fix the...

I can check on that. I don’t know off the top of my head.

That’s a legal question that I don’t know the answer to.

Yes, I will certainly look into it.

Nothing more than the readout that I have here.

Sam, the President was specific in ordering Secretary Salazar to look at all the possible aspects of what could or did go wrong in this instance, to...

The investigation, Sam, is to determine what happened and to use that information going forward to dictate any changes in our policy -- understanding...

And I would point you to what Secretary Salazar will ultimately report to the President.

Thanks, guys.