Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2021

September 3, 2021

White House Director of Public Engagement Cedric L. Richmond. Let me thank everybody for coming here. I'm sure he doesn't need any introduction, but I just want to say it's good to be back, but, more importantly, the President wanted to get here as soon as, one, it wasn't a distraction and draining resources. So we're glad that the Governor assured us of that and invited us down.

But the President has been chomping at the bit to really make sure that recovery is going well and to make sure that he can see hands on.

But you don't need to hear from me. With that, I'll turn it over to the President.

The President. Well, look, folks, you know, this storm has been incredible, not only here but all the way up the East Coast. I've been spending time withâin talking with the Governor a lot, but, in the meantime, also with Governors of my State of Delaware and Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, where there are more deaths than you have here. I hope that doesn't change in terms of the number of lost lives.

And I have a daughter who went to Tulane. [*Laughter*] And she's aâruns a Boys and Girls Club operation, and she called me and said: "Dad, when are you goingâwhy are spending a time talking to the Governor of New York? Why are you not in Louisiana?" [*Laughter*] So you've all got to write a note for me that I'm down, all right?

Look, you know, Cedric and the FEMA Administrator, we came because want to hear directly from you all what isâwhat specific problems you're dealing with.

We've been working with you on key areas to deliver more than 6.7 million meals and 6.1 million liters of water. But sometimes, what we deliver and what is needed aren't all the same thing. And we're frustrated, I knowâyou've got to be frustrated about the restoration of power. And I understand two gentlemen who run those two operations are working like hell. I think you've got about 25,000 linemen from around the country here. A couple have already given their life trying to get things going.

And so we're working 24/7 with the energy companiesâI think they had to acknowledge thatâto get the system up and moving. And we also deployed even more Federal resources, including hundreds of generators to restore power and faster than we were able to do in Katrina.

You know, it's dangerous work, as I said, and I want to thank those 25,000 linemen from 32 different States. They've always beenâresponded in big time.

We're also working with the phone companies so you canâyou know, I think the worst thing in the world, having been there in a different circumstance, wanting toâyou know, knowing things are terrible outside, where you're standing, and wondering how your son, daughter, mother, father, uncle, aunt, and how they're doing and not being able to get connected to them.

And so we're moving asâas fast as we can to be able to provide access, regardless who your provider was. If your provider's system went down, you'll be able to use any provider that's on there; you've just got to get online. So I hope that's picking up around the State as well. I'd like to hear more about that.

Butâand we're moving as fast as we can to keep gas flowing in the pumps. I've authorized going into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Andâbut I know still, you know, there's work to do in this area. And we've instructed my team to have all hands on deck to make sure that that happensâthat we have the, you knowâand they're going to make this upâinstead of us going to Exxon, kind of get back out there. And we're going to be able to work that through.

And, to date, we've also provided $100 million in direct assistance directly to folks in Louisiana, with that 500 bucks going into their bank accounts so that they can deal immediately with emergencies.

And I'd love to hear from you if you've heard anythingâfeedback from your constituentsâ about that at all. Because sometimes it's just thatâwhat you need that moment, and it can make a difference.

And we also know there's a heck of a lot more work to do andâand that's why we're here today. And my message today isâI think what we're all seeing, and I'm getting the same response from my Republican friends here that are in the Congress: There's nothing political about this. It's just simply about saving lives and getting people back up and running.

And we're in this together, and so we're not going to leave any community behind: rural, city, coastal, inland. And I promise we're going to have your backs until this gets done.

And so I'm mainly here to listen, to see what's on your mind, and be able to ask a few questions. And if they're really hard questions I can't answer, I'll turn to Cedric or the Director. [*Laughter*] As you probably know about me, I'll have an opinion. [*Laughter*]

At any rate, so thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll turn it back to you, Cedric, and let's see what we can do here.

Director Richmond. Well, thank you, Mr. President. We'll turn it over to the Governor, who's leading the statewide recovery.

Governor Edwards.

Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana. Thank you, Cedric, and welcome back home.

Mr. President, we appreciate you being in Louisiana today, and thank you for accepting the invitation.

[*Gov. Edwards continued his remarks, concluding as follows.*]

So investing in infrastructure, in resiliency, and making sure that we do things better and smarter, it does pay off, because this would be a much more expensive storm to recover from had we not already made those investments.

So we welcome you. We thank you for being here.

The President. Can I say one thing, please? [Laughter]

Well, hell, you know, once you represent a district, you never stop representing it. You know what I mean?

Director Richmond. That's true.

The President. But you know, one of the things I hope you keep an eye on isâI mean, everybody to keep an eye onâis that, you know, I got, kind ofânot beat up, but I got criticized from my talkingâwhen I was running for officeâwe've got to Build Back Better.

Things have changed and so drastically in terms of the environment. We've already crossed certain thresholds. We can't build back a road, a highway, and a bridge or anything to what it was before. I mean, you've got to build back to what it is nowâwhat's needed now.

And I know the head of the energy companies understand this really well. We have a significant piece of legislation, both the infrastructure bill and a budget thingâa reconciliation billâthat calls for significant investment in being able to deal with what is about to come.

In other words, for example, when you guys are putting back up those high-tension wires againâand that's workingâyou're not going to put up the same exact system. Your guys are going to have to build it better, and it's resiliency.

And so I just want you all focusing onâand as you take a lookâand I'm going to presume to send you copies of this stuffâtake a look and see if what we'reâwhat we're suggesting makes enough sense to you. Not whether it's enough money or not or too much, but does it make sense. Does it make sense.

For example, coming in and seeing all the polls down. Well, you know, I mean, we're going to build back better. I mean, you know, we know if it's underground, it costs a hell of a lot more money, but guess what? It saves a hell of a lot more money long term.

And we know that the kind of stuff that goes across evenâyou saw the high-tension stuff going down across the Mississippi, like it did once in the Delaware River, which is a hell of a lot wider than the Mississippi River. It'sâyou know.

And so we have toâit seems to me we can save a whole lot of money and a whole lot of painâpain for our constituentsâif when we build back, we build it back in a better way.

And it will createâand I realize I'm selling as I'm talking too, but it will create really significant good-paying jobs. Not 15-dollar-an-hour jobs, but jobs of prevailing wage. And it generates economic growth.

But I just hope we don't go about deciding, just likeâand you and I talked a lot about itâ the levee system, and the one the Federal Governmentâthat's the only one I'm fully familiar with. I mean, that was a lot of money. But think how much money it saved and how many lives it saved. So I hope you'll think about that.

With thisâso when you hear the word "resiliency"âand I know the energy guys know thisâit's about making a system, from our transmission of energy straight through to the highways we're building and the bridges, resilient to the changes that we're takingâthat we're seeing happen.

I'm sorry, I wanted to repeat that again. [*Laughter*] But I just hope you take a look at it and tell me if we need more or less too. That's what Iââ

Director Richmond. Well, thank you, Mr. President. I think, with that, it's a great way to segue to our FEMA Administrator, Deanne Criswell.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne B. Criswell. Thank you, Cedric. Mr. President, Governor, so far, you know, in addition to some of the numbers that you mention, we have about 1,200 responders from the Federal family on the ground, and that doesn't include those that are back at our National Response Coordination Center, as well as our Regional Response Coordination Center, representing 22 different Federal Government agencies.

We have, right now, 197 ambulances that have been actively engaged in trying to help with managing your support for the health care system. We also have 12 mobile communication units. Comms have been down, and so we've sent them into the parishes to help increase some of the communications until the cell towers could come back up.

I'd also like to mention that we did just turn on the Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program.

The President. Yes.

Administrator Criswell. The Governor asked for that, I think yesterday or maybe the day before, which means now individuals that are displaced can stay in a hotel for a short term while we're looking at what their long-term lodging situation is.

And so, if they haven't registered, if the people in your communities have not registered yet, they should register for assistance. Those that have registered, we will reach out to them automatically.

And we've also turned on the Blue Roof program. We saw some of the blue roofs as we flew in today. And so those who have damages to their roofs, they can go to blueroof.us.

The President. Let's make it clear: The Governor is afraid of that guy. That's why he insistedâ[inaudible].

Administrator Criswell. [Laughter] So we'll have that available to help with some of those temporary roofing repairs.

And then the last thing I'll just quickly mention is, we know that responder lodging is a concern. I've heard that from you, Governor, as well as some of your staff. We are moving responder lodging into the areas. We have 200 beds that are already set up here in New Orleansâ or, in New Orleans at the airport. We have 300 more en route to Morgan City. And we have 300 en route to Belle Chasse. And then we're also looking at bringing in a cruise ship to help support responders.

And this isn't just for our Federal responders, this will be for your first responders as well. And so, we're actively pursuing additional lodging to help support those that really need to be able to stay close and support your communities.

And this is just the beginning. We're going to be here until your recovery is over.

The President. Not going away.

Director Richmond. Mr. President, before I recognize our hostâparish host, as we looked at those blue roofs, and I think this is important, especially for the country to know, that as our Federal program gets up and running, we've provided blue roofs, but a lot of those roofs are up because the people of Louisiana decided to get on their roof, put up a tarp, mitigate their damage, and start that recovery process immediately.

So the fact that you were able to get those tarps out to parishes so people could pick them up and start their recovery was important. And looking at the vast number, it was just incredible and gives me a sense of Louisiana pride to just show that when we get knocked down, we get right back up.

And with that, I'll recognizeââ

The President. Can I make one other point? [Laughter]

Director Richmond. Okay.

The President. One of the things that, again, about resilience, whereâyou're going to get the funding to build back those roofs, but not the same roofâa roof that is more resistant to higher winds, more resistance to hurricanes.

So it's not just building back to what the roof was before, to build it back better. That's kind of what I meanâthat's a classic example of what I'm talking aboutâresilienceâof changing the nature of it.

Director Richmond. So, Mr. President, with that, I'll recognize the parish president for St.

John Parish, Jaclyn Hotard.

President Jaclyn Hotard of St. John the Baptist Parish, LA. Thank you, Cedric. Mr.

President, Governor, FEMA, and all of our partners, thank you for all of the hard work that was done in preparation for Hurricane Ida. And thank you for the response so far on the ground and for continuing to ramp up those efforts.

Mr. President, from your track record, I know you will be a great partner in our recovery. Thank you for your support and your continued support for the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain levee project. And thank you for calling out the insurance companies for distinguishing between mandatory and voluntary evacuations.

Mr. President, our immediate needs are power, water, communications, and financial assistance for those who can't return home and are forced to stay somewhere else during the recovery. And thank you.

The President. Thank you.

Director Richmond. You know, part of some of the dilemmas when we do meetings like this is who we're going to recognize and who we're going to recognize next, and Senateânow- Congressman Carter represents the second congressional district, which we're in and would be a logical choice, but actually Congressman Graves has more seniority on him. [Laughter]

[*At this point, the press was escorted out of the room, and the briefing continued.*]

NOTE: The President spoke at 1:50 p.m. at the St. John the Baptist Parish's Emergency Operations Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. John C. Carney Jr. of Delaware; Gov. Thomas W. Wolf of Pennsylvania; Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey; Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul of New York; and Leo P. Denault, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Entergy Corp. Also participating in the briefing were Reps. Troy A. Carter and Garret N. Graves; President Kirk Lepine of Plaquemines Parish, LA; President Mike Cooper of St. Tammany Parish, LA; President Matthew Jewell of St. Charles Parish, LA; President Pete Dufresne of St. James Parish, LA; Gregory C. Feirn, chief executive officer, LCMC Health; and Warner L. Thomas, president and chief executive officer, Ochsner Hospital System. A portion of these remarks could not be verified because the audio was incomplete.

Categories: Addresses and remarks :: Hurricane Ida response efforts :: LaPlace, LA, briefing. Locations: LaPlace, LA.

Names: Biden, Ashley; Carney, John C., Jr.; Criswell, Deanne Bennett; Denault, Leo; Edwards, John Bel; Hochul, Kathleen C.; Hotard, Jaclyn; Murphy, Philip D.; Richmond, Cedric L.; Wolf, Thomas W.

Subjects: Communications : Broadband and wireless technologies; Delaware : Governor; Economy, national : Strengthening efforts; Employment and unemployment : Job creation and growth; Energy : Infrastructure and grid improvements; Energy, Department of : Strategic Petroleum Reserve; Homeland Security, Department of : Emergency Management Agency, Federal; Infrastructure, national improvement efforts; Louisiana : Flood protection system, Federal support; Louisiana : Governor; Louisiana : Hurricane Ida, damage and recovery efforts;

Louisiana : President's visit; Natural disasters : Hurricane Ida; New Jersey : Governor; New York

: Governor; Pennsylvania : Governor; White House Office : Public Engagement, Office of.

DCPD Number: DCPD202100708.