Bush Signs Oil Cleanup, Tanker Bill Spurred by Exxon Spill

President Bush on Saturday signed a bill requiring double-hull construction of oil tankers and authorizing a $1-billion fund to cover cleanup costs and damages not paid by the spiller.

The bill, spurred toward passage by the 11-million-gallon spill by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska, also sets new crew licensing and staffing requirements for oil ships.

Bush complained that the measure contained a “highly objectionable” moratorium on exploration for oil and natural gas off the coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

“Such a moratorium is ill-advised in view of recent events in the Persian Gulf, where I have found it necessary to deploy American soldiers 7,000 miles from home to protect our vital national interests,” the President said.

He said his Administration would seek repeal of the ban.

Saying that gas exploration carries little environmental risk, Bush said: “It is shortsighted to restrict exploration for this relatively clean energy source.”

The President said the $1-billion trust fund will be available to cover cleanup costs and damages not compensated by the spiller. However, he said the spiller’s “financial responsibility requirements are greatly increased.”

In another legislative action Saturday, Bush signed a bill to combat AIDS. The act authorizes up to $881 million in grants next year, and a total of $4.5 billion in grants through 1995, for medical assistance in areas with disproportionately high numbers of AIDS cases. It is named in honor of Ryan White, the late Indiana boy who became a symbol of discrimination against AIDS victims.