    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
    [October 27, 2005]
    [Pages 1611-1612]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks During a Tour of Areas Damaged by Hurricane Wilma in Pompano
    Beach, Florida
    October 27, 2005

        I have come here with the Governor and the
    mayor of this area because I wanted to
    thank all the volunteers who've come down to help people in need. And
    it's--there's an amazing spirit after a disaster, and that spirit is the
    spirit of people willing to give of their time. I've also come to make
    sure the Federal response dovetails in with the State efforts. And
    people here--what I've heard are people concerned about gasoline. A lot
    of the gasoline--the lines that people are standing in will be
    alleviated by new ships coming in, and they'll be able to off-load the
    gasoline and make sure the stations have got fuel. But a lot of the
    gasoline issues relate to the fact that the electricity is not up and
    running.
        I know people are frustrated because they don't have power on yet,
    but I've been told by Jeb and others that there are
    at least 6,000 people from out of State working with the power people
    here in-State to get people's lines up as quick as possible. In other
    words, this is a priority. People are working hard to get your
    electricity back on.
        The mayor wanted me to make sure that
    I told the citizens here that water and ice are moving quite rapidly,
    and that one of her concerns is generators. And Jeb
    and I spoke to her about the generators that are being moved from a
    central location to parts of Florida that need the generating capacity
    to get their life up and running.
        Things don't happen instantly, but things are happening. Right here
    on this site people are getting fed. Soon, more and more houses will
    have their electricity back on and life will get back to normal. In the
    meantime, the Federal Government, working with the State and local
    governments, are responding as best as we possibly can.
        Again, I'm impressed by the deep compassion and care of our fellow
    citizens. Out of these disasters oftentimes comes some good. And one of
    the good that comes out of a disaster is it gives people a chance to
    love a neighbor, to help somebody in need.
        So thank you all for giving me a chance to come by.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:45 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; and Mayor Kristin D. Jacobs of Broward County,
    FL.

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