Obama Meets With Oil Rig Victims’ Family Members – Photos & Video

Posted in BP British Petroleum,Deepwater Horizon,Government,Gulf Coast on June 14, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC – The family members of the 11 victims killed on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20 met with President Barack Obama Thursday, June 10, 2010. Tracy Kleppinger, widow of Karl Kleppinger, Jr., one of the 11 victims killed on The Deepwater Horizon, was among the family members invited to the White House.

Tracy Kleppinger, widow of Karl Kleppinger, Jr., son Aaron and her attorney, Steve Gordon are invited to the White House. Here they are photographed in front of a White House photo gallery.

Obama met with family members individually in the Red Room and State Dining Room, and he was accompanied by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar; Carol Browner, assistant to the president for energy and climate change; Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser; and Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government’s point man in the disaster, Gibbs said.

Tracy Kleppinger at the White House with other wives, Mr. Cannon, Ben Barnes and Ken Caperton

“The president expressed his condolences and told them that he, the first lady and the entire administration are behind them and will be there long after the cameras are gone as they go through their unimaginable grief,” Gibbs relayed.

The president told the family members he could not go forward with new deep water drilling until the proper safety measures are in place, Gibbs said.

After the meeting, the family members converged on Capitol Hill for a news conference with various Senators

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News Source: USA Today