[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[August 28, 2006]
[Pages 1556-1557]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Lunch Meeting With Community Leaders in Biloxi, 
Mississippi
August 28, 2006

    Listen, Laura and I are pleased to be down 
here again, and we want to thank a lot of the community leaders from the 
gulf coast region of Mississippi for sharing their thoughts and their 
concerns and their hopes and their aspirations.
    I was just commenting upon how clean the beaches look, and that 
wasn't a given a year ago. Those beaches were cluttered with debris and 
garbage, the great, beautiful beaches here had been destroyed. And now 
they speak to the hope of this part of the world.

[[Page 1557]]

    There's still a lot of problems left, Governor, but the people down 
here need to know the Federal Government is committed to working with 
you and the local people, and that, even though we've been through about 
one year together, one year doesn't mean that we'll forget. As a matter 
of fact, now is the time to renew our commitment and to let the people 
down here know that we will stay involved and helping the people of 
Mississippi rebuild their lives.
    The truth of the matter is, the ultimate future for this region down 
here depends on the people of Mississippi. It requires the spirit and 
the courage of the people of this part of the world to rebuild, and I'm 
confident that's going to be the case.
    We saw that spirit right after the storm hit, and we still see that 
spirit. And so I want to thank the good folks for letting us come by and 
say hello. We value our friends down here, and we really appreciate the 
good people of the gulf coast of Mississippi for what you stand for.
    Governor, thank you; appreciate you.

Note: The President spoke at 12:39 p.m. in the Biloxi Schooner 
Restaurant. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Haley R. Barbour of 
Mississippi.