National Incident Commander Adm. Thad Allen told Members Thursday that cleanup efforts in the Gulf Coast would continue well into the fall.

Allen, the Obama administration’s point man on the BP oil spill, also predicted that stepped-up efforts to capture the leaking oil — 60,000 barrels a day by some estimates — should be successful by next month.

“I got a more succinct explanation than I’ve generally been able to get,” Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) said of the hourlong briefing in the Capitol Visitor Center.

Members from both chambers participated in Thursday’s briefing, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Senate Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray (Wash.) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Allen, a former commandant of the Coast Guard, took a handful of questions before wrapping up. Members from Gulf Coast states asked about the claims process for those harmed by the BP oil spill, according to lawmakers who participated in the briefing.