President Obama on Monday stepped up his efforts to limit the economic fallout from the oil spill, announcing steps to assure consumers that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is safe and promoting tourism in the region as BP, under pressure from the White House, agreed to accelerate the cleanup.

On his fourth trip to the region since the rig explosion that set off the leak, Mr. Obama visited Mississippi and Alabama, a day before he was to deliver an address from the Oval Office in his most visible step yet to show that his administration is in command of what he has called the nation's worst environmental disaster.

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