    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 35 (Monday, September 4, 2006)]
    [Page 1513]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks Following a Lunch Meeting With Community Leaders in Biloxi,
    Mississippi

    August 28, 2006

        Laura and I are pleased to be down here again, and we want to thank
    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 on how clean the beaches look, and that wasn't
    a given a year ago. The beaches were cluttered with debris and garbage--
    the beautiful beaches here had been destroyed. And now they speak to the
    hope of this part of the world.
        There's still a lot of problems left, 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 to let the people down here know
    that we will stay involved and help 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 Barbour of
    Mississippi. A tape was not available for verification of the content of
    these remarks.