[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 38 (Monday, September 26, 2005)]
[Pages 1427-1428]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

September 17, 2005

    Good morning. This week I visited Mississippi and Louisiana and 
reported to the Nation on our strategy to help our neighbors in these 
devastated areas recover and rebuild. In the aftermath of Katrina, we 
have seen our fellow citizens uprooted from their homes, searching for 
loved ones, and grieving for the dead. These scenes have touched our 
hearts and moved our whole Nation to action. And the outpouring of 
compassion has sent a clear message to the victims of this storm: Our 
whole Nation cares about you; you are not alone.
    The recovery of the gulf coast region will be one of the largest 
reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen. And I have made a pledge 
of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we 
will help our citizens rebuild their communities and their lives.
    Our strategy rests on three commitments. Our first commitment is to 
meet the immediate needs of those who had to flee their homes and leave 
all their possessions behind. As of this week, more than 500,000 evacuee 
families have gotten emergency help to pay for food, clothing, and other 
essentials, and they will receive broader help in the future. I've asked 
for and the Congress has provided more than $60 billion, an 
unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis.
    Our second commitment is to help the citizens of the gulf coast put 
their lives back together and rebuild their communities. Our goal is to 
get people out of shelters by the middle of October. So we're providing 
direct assistance to evacuees that will allow them to rent apartments, 
and we're beginning to bring in mobile homes and trailers for temporary 
use in affected areas. We will also help provide housing for the many 
workers who will rebuild cities in the region so that reconstruction can 
move forward quickly.
    To relieve the burden on local health care facilities in the 
disaster areas, we're sending extra doctors and nurses and setting up 
well-supplied temporary community health centers. A number of States 
have taken in evacuees and shown them great compassion, admitting 
children to school and providing health care. So I'll work with Congress 
to ensure the States are reimbursed for these extra expenses.
    Our third commitment is to ensure that the communities we rebuild 
emerge better and stronger. Out of this tragedy comes an opportunity to 
harness the good and gracious spirit of America and deliver new hope to 
neighborhoods that were suffering before the storm. Our reconstruction 
efforts will be guided by certain principles: When cities are rebuilt, 
those cities should have many new businesses, including minority-owned 
businesses. When houses are rebuilt, more families should own, not rent, 
those houses.
    To achieve these aims I've proposed the creation of a Gulf 
Opportunity Zone in the disaster area, with immediate tax relief and 
other incentives for job-creating investment. And to encourage 
homeownership, I have proposed a new urban homesteading act, which would 
identify property in the region owned by the Federal Government and 
provide lots to low-income citizens free of charge, through a lottery. 
In return, they would pledge to build on the lot with either a mortgage 
or help from a charitable organization like Habitat for Humanity.
    As we rebuild homes and businesses, we will renew our promise to be 
the land of

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equality and decency. And one day, Americans will look back at the 
response to Hurricane Katrina and say that our country grew not only in 
prosperity but also in character and justice.
    Our citizens have responded to this tragedy with action and prayer. 
We ask God's comfort for the men and women who have suffered so much. We 
pray that the missing find safe return and those who were lost find holy 
rest. And we sought the strength of the Almighty for the difficult work 
that lies ahead.
    In the life of our Nation, we have seen that wondrous things are 
possible when we act with God's grace. From the rubble of destroyed 
homes, we can see the beginnings of vibrant new neighborhoods. From the 
despair of lives torn asunder, we can see the hope of rebirth. And from 
the depth of darkness, we can see a bright dawn emerging over the gulf 
coast and the great city of New Orleans.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on September 16 in the 
Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on September 
17. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on September 16 but was embargoed for release until the 
broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this address.