[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[March 8, 2006]
[Pages 419-421]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on New Home Construction in Gautier
March 8, 2006

    The President. It's good to hear people hammering, isn't it?
    Governor Haley Barbour. It really is. It's 
great for us in Mississippi.
    The President. It is. People are building their lives back. And one 
of the reasons I've come down here is to remind people that there's 
still a lot of people hurting. And I talk to the Governor all the time about what we can do to make sure this 
part of the world rebuilds. It's great to see rebuilding.
    Haley has been real good about talking
to us about a variety of issues. I want to thank you for your 
leadership.
    Gov. Barbour. Mr. President, thank you. 
Let me just say publicly, thank you. In the last day, President Bush and 
the Bush administration has made the fifth extension of the deadline for 
the Government to cover 100 percent of debris removal and other 
emergency measures. And this extension is to June 30th, when we ought to 
be through.
    And first, I want to say thank you for that. You know, it's been a 
huge issue for

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these little communities, that they don't have any tax base, so thank 
you for that. That was made public yesterday. I'm glad to announce today 
that last night HUD approved our plan for our homeowner grant program. 
We intend to make $4 billion of community development block grant money 
from the Federal Government available to Mississippians, like Jerry and 
Elaine, so that they can rebuild their homes or build new homes, to get 
themselves out of the flood plain.
    Tomorrow we have been allowed by HUD to post our plan. You can see 
it on our web site, mshomehelp--m-s-h-o-m-e-h-e-l-p--.gov, and we'll 
have to have a 2-week comment period, at the end of which we'll start 
taking applications. But somebody can go onto the web site now, Mr. 
President, or at noon tomorrow, and find out all the information they 
need to get, what all the rules are. And I'm pleased to say that the 
Akins qualify.
    The President. That's good.
    Gov. Barbour. They built this house up 
above the new flood plain, 25 feet above sea level, which is one of the 
requirements so that we reduce risks. And thank you for doing that.
    The President. I always felt that it was really important to say to 
the Governor and to local folks, ``Come to 
Washington with a plan to help people rebuild.'' I really didn't want 
the plan to be designed by Washington people; I wanted it to be designed 
by local folks. And Haley has put together a Mississippi plan. He not 
only put the plan together; he also came to Washington, DC, and helped 
get the plan funded--with the help of two fine United States Senators--
--
    Gov. Barbour. The best pair of United 
States Senators in the country.
    The President. ----and Members of the House. And so I want to 
congratulate you and your team for putting together a good plan. Our job 
and our purpose is to help people like the 
Akins rebuild. And we want this part of the 
country rising up from the devastation. You know, people really didn't 
lose their spirit down here. But our job is to make sure that that 
spirit is able to, kind of, recapture the hope and optimism of the 
people and let that spirit flourish.
    And I want to thank you for being a good leader. I appreciate you 
all having us. Listen, thanks. After all that work I've done, I'm 
thirsty. [Laughter]
    Jerry Akins. Yes, sir. We have some 
lemonade, and we have some refreshments.
    The President. You do? That's good. The other thing that's 
interesting is that we've got the Allens here from the Allen Brothers 
Construction Company. These are local folks----
    Gov. Barbour. The Martins. [Laughter]
    The President. The Martins. As I said, the Martins. You probably 
thought I said, the Allens. [Laughter] I said, the Martins. [Laughter]
    You know, one of the interesting things is that there is going to be 
a lot of work, and here are the entrepreneurs with their sons helping to 
build this man's house. It's neat to be with them. Small businesses, if 
they seize the opportunity, are going to flourish. And that's what we 
want. These small construction companies are going to have work to do.
    The other thing about the Martins, one of the boys won the Purple 
Heart in Iraq. There he is right there. It's my honor to congratulate 
him for serving the country. Thank you. At any rate----
    The First Lady. Now we're going to present 
Jerry and Elaine a flag for your new house.

Note: The President spoke at 1:10 p.m. at a new home construction site.

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