[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 17 (Monday, May 1, 2006)]
[Pages 806-807]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Visit to a Hurricane Damaged Home in New Orleans, 
Louisiana

April 27, 2006

    The President. Mrs. Williams has invited myself and the mayor and 
the Governor and Congressman into her home, which had been wiped out by 
the storm. And she went to Texas for a while, and she made it clear to 
me, she was glad to be out of Texas and back home. [Laughter]
    But the amazing thing that's happened in her home is that there are 
people from across the country here who are helping to rebuild it. 
Catholic Charities, in this case, has provided the volunteers to help 
Ms. Williams reclaim her life. And so I'd like to first start by 
thanking the volunteers who are here in the home. I want to thank them 
for setting such a good example.
    The man who's running the site here said that they need 2,500 more 
volunteers to come down to New Orleans to help people get back on their 
feet. If you're interested in helping the victims of Katrina, if you're 
interested in helping them get back on their feet, come down here and 
volunteer. A good place to start is in Catholic Charities. You can get 
right there on the web page; they'll find work for you. They'll give you 
a chance to contribute something to your country.
    This is National Volunteer Week, and there are people like the good 
folks standing behind me here who are volunteering all across the 
country, making a difference. And for those of you who are volunteering, 
thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making our society a better 
place.
    I had a good visit with the Governor and the mayor as well. One of 
the things that we're working on is to make sure that we've learned the 
lessons from Katrina--we've learned lessons at the Federal level and 
State level and the local level. And we're now working closely together 
in preparation of the upcoming hurricane season. Secretary Chertoff was 
down here working with the Governor just to make sure that 
communications are clear, that equipment will be prepositioned, that the 
communications system, which failed last time, will be up and running 
should there be another catastrophic storm.
    Listen, all of us in positions of responsibility appreciate those 
who are working to help us understand how to do our jobs better. And we 
pray there is no hurricane this coming year, but we are working together 
to make sure that if there is one, the response will be as efficient as 
possible.
    I'm also talking to the Governor and the mayor about the 
reconstruction effort going on here in Louisiana. I applaud the Governor 
for putting forth a housing plan that she'll be submitting to the 
legislature soon. I call upon the Congress to make sure that the $4.2 
billion of CDBG money in the supplemental appropriations is held intact 
for the people of Louisiana. This money is going to be vital to making 
sure that the vision of the Governor and the mayor gets implemented as 
people are able to come back and start reclaiming their lives.
    We talked about the levees, and I told the Governor and the mayor 
earlier on that we would work to have these levees pre-Katrina--better 
than pre-Katrina by June 1st. We are. There's still money in the 
supplemental that needs to be passed to make sure that we're able to 
fulfill our promise, to make sure that the levees, by September of '07, 
are even better than pre-Katrina. We've got a strategy to help the good 
folks down here rebuild. Part of it has to do with funding; part of it 
has to do with housing; and a lot of it has to do with encouraging 
volunteers from around the United States to come down and help people 
like Ms. Williams.
    So we're proud to be here with you, Ms. Williams, and God bless you.

[[Page 807]]

    Ms. Williams. I'm proud to be here, Mr. President. And I won't 
ever--I can't ever forget you.

    The President. You need to forget--remember those people a lot 
quicker than you're remembering me, because they're the ones who are 
going to help. She promised to cook me a meal----

    Ms. Williams. Oh, yes--[laughter]----

    The President. Once you get the house up and running.

    Ms. Williams. ----and I thank all the volunteers and everybody that 
is helping to make everything work.

    The President. Thank you all very much.

Note: The President spoke at 11:58 a.m. on Pauline Street. In his 
remarks, he referred to Mayor C. Ray Nagin of New Orleans, LA; and Gov. 
Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana.