[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 20 (Monday, May 19, 2003)]
[Page 599]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in Pierce City, Missouri

May 13, 2003

    Thank you all very much. It is my honor to be here. Can you hear me 
back there? It is my honor to be here with some of our country's finest 
citizens. I am sorry I'm here under such circumstances.
    I first want to thank the mayor for his hospitality and helping to 
arrange my visit. I want to thank the good Father for opening up this 
place of worship, this house of God, to help those who suffer. I find 
it--and I hope you do--uplifting that in the midst of tragedy, amongst 
people who have lost their homes, in some cases their loved one, or 
their businesses, lost their possessions, that we gather to comfort each 
other and to find help in the house of the Lord, because it's with His 
strength and His prayer that you'll find the sustenance to go on.
    One of the things that struck me as I worked through the crowd here, 
shaking as many hands as I could, was that the people here who have been 
affected by the storm are ready to move on, are ready to pick up their 
lives, and are ready to do everything they can to convert this tragedy 
into good. Folks want to rebuild their--the feed man told me, he said, 
``I got wiped out, but I'm starting tomorrow to rebuild my company.'' 
And there's no doubt you will, because there's a lot of people that want 
to help you.
    And for the volunteers who are here, the people who have taken time 
out of your lives--the Red Cross or the Salvation Army or the church 
groups or the USA Freedom Corps people--I want to thank you very much 
for helping your neighbor in need.
    I'm asking the FEMA people and the Governor and the mayor and 
everybody, I said, ``Is the Government moving fast enough?'' That's the 
question that I need to know. And some of you said, ``yes,'' and some of 
you said, ``no.'' And for the ones who said, ``no,'' we will do 
everything we can to get you the--what you're owed. We'll process the 
paperwork as fast as possible, and if you qualify for help, they'll get 
you the help. That's what we're supposed to be doing.
    So one of my visits--one of the reasons I'm visiting here is to ask 
the question, you know, to people. Because if there's--moving too slow 
or people are saying one thing and the other thing is not happening, now 
is the time to find out.
    But the other real reason is to let you know there's a lot of 
Americans who are praying for you. A lot of people around this country 
saw the devastation--they didn't see what I've seen, because they--you 
can't tell how bad it is until you actually come here to Pierce City and 
see it yourself. You can't realize what it's like to see a tornado go 
right down the main street of a town and just wipe it out. It's hard to 
envision. But a lot of people know you're suffering, and a lot of people 
are praying for you, and a lot of people care for you. And a lot of 
people wish you all the best.
    May God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 2:05 p.m. in the parish hall at St. Mary's 
Catholic Church. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Mark Peters of 
Pierce City. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of these remarks.