Following a decade of dry test wells, the bids represent a step forward for the country, even if it only manages to produce enough product to ease their own domestic demand.

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While the benefits of the Rule potentially represent a huge step forward for regulators, their effect will not be seen for several years as regulators devise and implement the consolidated audit trail.

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And all of that together represents -- would represent a big step forward, and I think the President believes that that would be an important facet of getting something ultimately to his desk that he can sign.

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"Today's guilty plea and sentencing represent a significant step forward in the Justice Department's ongoing efforts to seek justice on behalf of those affected by one of the worst environmental disasters in American history, " said US Attorney General Eric Holder.

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"The final overdraft rules represent an important step forward in consumer protection, " Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in a statement.

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