President Obama

President Obama said Monday that federal officials are "gathering up facts" to help ensure that embattled oil giant BP fairly compensates people and businesses suffering losses as a result of the growing Gulf oil disaster.

The president made his remarks while visiting Mississippi's Gulf Coast at the start of a pivotal week in the federal response to the spill. He later visited a relief staging facility in Theodore, Alabama, and was scheduled to spend the night in Pensacola, Florida.

Obama was scheduled to visit the Gulf states affected by the spill on Monday and Tuesday, followed by an address to the nation on Tuesday night and a highly anticipated meeting with BP officials on Wednesday. Congress, meanwhile, prepared to grill top oil executives this week, including embattled BP chief Tony Hayward