When The Elephant Lies, Hand Him The List And Then A Kleenex

Actions taken by the White House and the Federal Government in response to the oil spill in the Gulf.

1) The Small Business Administration has approved loans and allowed many small businesses to defer existing loan payments.

2) At the insistence of the President, BP is paying economic injury claims.

3) More than 20,000 people are in the region, working around the clock

4) 1,400 members National Guard in four states

5) More than 1,300 vessels assisting in the containment and clean-up efforts.

6) The Federal Government has deployed over 3 million feet of boom and more than 100,000 feet of boom is being surged to Louisiana parishes that are facing the greatest risk

7) The Federal Government is moving forward with a section of Gov. Jindal's barrier island proposal.

8) Separating the people who permit the drilling from those who regulate, and ensure the safety of the drilling.

9) No new drilling permits for new wells were go forward until a 30 day safety and environmental review was conducted. Upon the completion of that review, it's initial recommendations include aggressive new opperating standards and operating standards for off-shore drilling companies.

10) Suspending the planned exploration of two locations off the coast of Alaska.

11) Cancellation of the pending lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico and the proposed lease sale off the coast of Virginia.

12) Continuation of the existing moratorium and suspend the issuance of new permits to drill new deepwater wells for six months.

13) Suspend action on 33 deepwater exploratory wells currently being drilled in the Gulf of Mexico.

14) President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the National Commission on the BP oil spill and offshore drilling; its purpose is to study the root causes of this disaster.

15) Nobel Prize winning physicist and Energy Sec. Steven Chu is leading a group of scientists from the US and around the world to help find ways to stop the spill.

16) President Obama designated U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen as the National Incident Commander to oversee BP's operations. He has four decades of experience in disaster response. When BP said they would drill one relief well, the White House demanded they build two.