Obama announced a six-month suspension of 33 offshore deepwater drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as suspensions or cancellations of other offshore drilling projects. No new deepwater projects will be approved during the review process. Shallow-water production will continue.

During this time, an independent commission appointed by Obama will review the safety procedures of offshore oil and natural gas production and likely will recommend new safety measures. This review process comes after a report the Interior Department had already issued to Obama.

In light of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, top White House aide David Axelrod said today that the administration will not authorize any additional offshore drilling until the cause of the oil rig explosion and subsequent leak is determined. In a speech, Obama defended his administration's plans, made in March, to expand offshore development.

President Obama announced his administration will expand offshore oil and natural gas development off the East Coast, in parts of the Gulf of Mexico and along parts of the Alaskan coast.

"For decades, we've talked about the risks to our security created by our dependence on foreign oil -- even as that dependence has grown year after year after year," Obama said when announcing the new plans at Andrews Air Force Base.

The Interior Department conditionally approved plans by Shell to drill three exploratory wells next year off Alaska’s northwest coast. In announcing the approval, Secretary Ken Salazar noted that "a key component of reducing our country's dependence on foreign oil is the environmentally-responsible exploration and development of America's renewable and conventional resources."

The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced joint regulations that increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards and create the first-ever federal standard to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. According to the agencies, the tougher rules will help conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

Speaking at a White House briefing Tuesday afternoon, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the oil conservation will aid in “significantly reducing our dependence on foreign fuel. That will help protect us from oil price spikes that shook our economy last summer."

Interior Secretary-designate Ken Salazar said at his confirmation hearing that he shares Obama's passion for ending American dependence on foreign oil.