    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 36 (Monday, September 12, 2005)]
    [Pages 1356-1358]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks Following a Cabinet Meeting and an Exchange With Reporters

    September 6, 2005

        The President. Thank you all for coming. My message to the Cabinet
    this morning is this: This administration is not going to rest until
    every life can be saved, until families are reconnected, until this
    recovery is complete. Our goals--our immediate goals are these: We want
    to complete the search-and-recovery; we want to restore essential
    services; we want to drain the water in the affected areas and begin
    removing debris; we want to--and are assessing public health and safety
    matters.
        I've asked the Vice President to go down to the affected region on
    Thursday. He will go down to assess our recovery efforts. He will help
    me determine whether or not we're meeting these goals. He'll work with
    Secretary Chertoff and others to make sure that we remove any obstacles,
    bureaucratic obstacles that may be preventing us from achieving our
    goals. In other words, bureaucracy is not going to stand in the way of
    getting the job done for the people.
        I was briefed on plans to immediately help our folks, plans to
    reconnect families, plans to make sure health care is available. And
    Secretary Leavitt gave me a good brief--plans on housing, both immediate
    and long-term housing. Most importantly, I was briefed by members of my
    Cabinet about how we're going to make sure that people who are owed a
    Social Security check, get their Social Security check. At the center in
    Baton Rouge I went to yesterday, I remember clearly a person saying,
    ``When am I going to get my Social Security check?'' And it's important
    to note, people understand we have a strategy to make sure the benefits
    that are due are going to get to them.
        Now, we understand people are scattered out across the country, but
    we have an obligation to make sure that whether a veteran's benefit or
    an unemployment benefit or a Social Security benefit gets to these
    people. And so we have a strategy in place, and we're going to implement
    that strategy--to find people who are in those shelters or in

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    churches or in private homes--and get them the benefit.
        A lot of people are doing good work. We've got a heck of a lot more
    work to do, and that's exactly what this Government is going to do.

    Hurricane Katrina Recovery Efforts

        Q. Mr. President.
        The President. Yes, Bob [Bob Franken, CNN].
        Q. Do you intend to replace any from your administration who are
    leading this recovery effort, who were part of the effort last week that
    has been so widely criticized?
        The President. What I intend to do is lead a--to lead an
    investigation to find out what went right and what went wrong. And I'll
    tell you why. It's very important for us to understand the relationship
    between the Federal Government, the State government, and the local
    government when it comes to a major catastrophe. And the reason it's
    important is, is that we still live in an unsettled world. We want to
    make sure that we can respond properly if there's a WMD attack or
    another major storm. And so I'm going to find out, over time, what went
    right and what went wrong.
        Q. Sir.
        The President. Yes, Jennifer [Jennifer Loven, Associated Press].
        Q. Secretary Chertoff has talked about being disturbed at the
    information--or lack of information to the State from the region. Just
    from what you know initially, do you think that more went wrong at the
    local or State level or the Federal level? And do you think there should
    be a commission to sort it out?
        The President. I think one of the things that people want us to do
    here is to play a blame game. We've got to solve problems. We're
    problem-solvers. There will be ample time for people to figure out what
    went right and what went wrong. What I'm interested in is helping save
    lives. That's what I want to do. And I want to make sure those poor
    folks who have been taken out of their communities and who live in a--
    whose world has been shattered, get the help they need. And then we want
    to help New Orleans rebuild, and we want to see Biloxi rise again.
        And, you know, I was with the mayor of Waveland the other day, from
    Mississippi. His town was completely destroyed. What I'm interested in
    is helping that man and that community get back on their feet. That's
    where my focus is. There will be ample time to assess--and we need to
    assess. And this administration will be part of the assessment as to
    what went wrong, because, I repeat, we've got to have as good a
    relationship as possible with all levels of government to be able to
    respond to major problems. And if things went wrong, we'll correct them.
    And when things went right, we'll duplicate them.
        Patsy [Patricia Wilson, Reuters].

    Upcoming Supreme Court Nomination

        Q. Mr. President, on the Supreme Court, do you have a candidate in
    mind? And now that you have a second opportunity, are you more inclined
    to follow the First Lady's advice and choose a woman?
        The President. First of all, I'm proud of my nominee to be the
    Chief. And the goal is to get this good person confirmed by the time the
    Court convenes this fall. See, they're going to need their Chief. And,
    therefore, the Senate needs to have a--obviously, a thorough debate
    about Judge Roberts and get him confirmed quickly so that when the Court
    convenes, there is a Chief Justice. And I was deliberate in my process
    last time. I'll be deliberative this time. I obviously interviewed a lot
    of good candidates last time. I still will continue to reach out and
    make sure every good candidate is considered.
        Q. Are the same ones on the list, sir? Some of the same ones that
    you interviewed last time, are they----
        The President. The list is wide open, which should create some good
    speculation here in Washington. [Laughter] And make sure you notice,
    when I said that, I looked right at Al Gonzales, who can really create
    speculation. [Laughter]
        Assistant Press Secretary Josh Deckart. Thank you all.
        The President. I'm not through yet. But this is important for people
    to understand: I want the Senate to focus not on who the next nominee is
    going to be, but the nominee I've got up there now. And it's important
    for the country that they complete the work. And

    [[Page 1358]]

    in the meantime, the country can be assured that I'll take a good, long
    look at who should replace Justice O'Connor. I called her from Air Force
    One yesterday and told her of my decision to name John Roberts to be the
    Chief. And her first reaction was that she better get back to doing her
    homework, and she said so somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but she's right,
    she'll be there when the Court is seated with a new Chief Justice. And
    then we'll move deliberately to replace Justice O'Connor.
        Thank you all for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:08 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Chief Justice-Designate John G.
    Roberts, Jr.; and Mayor Tommy Longo of Waveland, MS. The Office of the
    Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these
    remarks.