(CNN) -- 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. Speaking at a Coast Guard staging facility in Theodore, Alabama, Obama said he hopes to hammer out with top BP officials Wednesday a new structure for processing claims so that they "are dealt with justly, fairly, promptly." He said preliminary talks on the restructuring have already begun, but was cautious about how much progress can be made before Wednesday's meeting. He said that cleanup and containment of the spill won't happen overnight. "It's going to take time for things to return to normal."
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NEW: President gets briefing from Coast Guard admiral, urges Gulf Coast tourism
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Obama touring Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and meeting with local residents
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Small-business owner Harry Jemison says everyone is "afraid to fish"
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Following trip, Obama to deliver prime time address
"We are absolutely committed to working with [local and state officials] to do everything in our power to protect the @placeholder way of life so that it's there for our children, our grandchildren and our great grandchildren," he said.