[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 35 (Monday, September 4, 2006)]
[Pages 1513-1518]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Hurricane Katrina Recovery Efforts in Biloxi

August 28, 2006

    The President. Listen, thank you all for coming. I'm glad to be back 
here in Biloxi, and I'm glad Laura came with me. I've been in this 
neighborhood before. As a matter of fact, I was here a couple of days 
after Katrina hit. It's amazing, isn't it? It's amazing what the world 
looked like then and what it looks like now.
    I remember meeting Patrick Wright. Remember, Patrick? I don't know 
if you all remember the picture of me seeing this fellow sitting in what 
used to be his home, a pile of rubble. Patrick, it's good to see you.
    I also met Sandy and Lynn Patterson when I was walking down the 
street, your neighbor. They--well, just about everybody here, they'd 
lost everything they owned. People can't imagine what the world looked 
like then. I went by their home--just came out of their home. It's got 
air-conditioning--[laughter]--and electricity. You can see the 
reconstruction effort beginning here in this part of the world.
    It's a sense of renewal here. It may be hard for those of you who 
have endured the last year to really have that sense of change, but for 
a fellow who was here and now a year later comes back, things are 
changing. And I congratulate you for your courage and your perseverance.
    And there's still challenges. There's still more to be done. You can 
see it with the temporary trailers. I feel the quiet sense of

[[Page 1514]]

determination that's going to shape the future of Mississippi. And so 
I've come back on this anniversary to thank you for your courage and to 
let you know, the Federal Government stands with you still. Laura and I 
really care for the people whose lives have been affected. We understand 
the trauma, and we thank you for your determination.
    I want to thank Governor Haley Barbour and Marsha for joining us 
today. I appreciate the Federal coordinator of gulf coast rebuilding, 
Don Powell. He's my friend from Texas. We've got two of the military who 
helped after the storm. I think they made an enormous difference in 
people's lives--General Russ Honore and Admiral Thad Allen. Thank you 
for joining us. You've got two fine United States Senators from 
Mississippi, Thad Cochran and Trent Lott. And I thank Tricia for joining 
us as well. I want to thank Congressman Chip Pickering who has joined us 
today. Congressman Pickering, like these two Senators, care a lot about 
the people of Mississippi.
    I remember walking the block here with A.J. Holloway, your mayor. 
He--A.J. obviously was upset and concerned, but he also made it clear to 
me that with the proper amount of help, Biloxi can rebuild. And Biloxi 
is rebuilding. You got a fine mayor in A.J. Holloway.
    I've had the pleasure of meeting some of the local officials up and 
down the coast--matter of fact, probably all of the local officials. One 
of the people that has intrigued me the most is Mayor Tommy Longo of 
Waveland. Mayor, good to see you, buddy. Thanks for coming. I'm always 
asking about you, Tommy.
    Mayor Tommy Longo. I'm always asking about you.
    The President. That's right. [Laughter] Check is in the mail. 
[Laughter]
    You know, one of the interesting people I met was Malcolm Jones--
he's a city attorney of Pass Christian. Malcolm, thanks for coming. He 
helped design the plan that enabled us to expedite the debris removal, 
and I appreciate your contribution. I want to thank Chipper McDermott, 
who is the mayor, with us--he's Pass Christian's mayor. Rusty Quave is 
with us today. Mr. Mayor, thanks for coming. Billy Skellie is with us as 
well. These are all mayors trying to help their communities recover, 
doing the hard work to helping the people improve their lives. I want to 
thank my friend, Brent Warr. He's the mayor of Gulfport. Brent, good to 
see you. Thanks for coming. I want to thank the Biloxi firefighters who 
have joined us today. Thank you for your work. Thank you for staying the 
job.
    When Katrina made landfall on August 29th at 6:10, it was one of the 
strongest hurricanes to ever hit America. The devastation and debris 
were unimaginable. You had to see it for yourself to fully understand 
the nature of this storm and the damage done. The terrible force of the 
storms tossed some of the giant casinos here onto the land. They twisted 
traffic lights. They ripped some of the beautiful trees from the ground. 
They stripped the cities of familiar landmarks and buildings.
    In the days that followed, the people of Mississippi worked together 
to save lives. People reached out to those who were trapped by rising 
waters. Three people were pulled through a window in that house right 
there, to save their lives. People opened their homes to help the 
suffering. The people of Mississippi said, ``We'll overcome this 
disaster,'' and worked together to do so.
    Since the days of heroism and bravery, the gulf coast has begun one 
of the largest rebuilding efforts in our Nation's history. This is my 
11th visit since the storm hit. You know, each visit you see progress. I 
was struck by the beauty of the beaches. The beaches were pretty rough 
after the storm, as you know. Today, they're pristine, and they're 
beautiful. They reflect a hopeful future, as far as I'm concerned.
    I appreciate the fact that the people down here have embraced this 
amazing challenge with determination and grit. And your Governor is 
leading the way. He says this: He says, ``With all its destruction, the 
storm gave birth to a renaissance in Mississippi that will surely result 
in building our State bigger and better than ever before.'' He believes 
that. A lot of the people in Mississippi believe that. And so do I.
    A year ago, I committed our Federal Government to help you. I said, 
we have a duty to help the local people recover and rebuild.

[[Page 1515]]

And I meant what I said. Working with Thad and Trent Lott and other 
Members of the United States Congress, we have appropriated $110 billion 
to help rebuild this area. It is a strong Federal commitment that we 
will keep.
    We understand people are still anxious to get in their home. We 
understand people hear about help and wonder where it is. We know that. 
But the first thing is, is that this Federal Government has made a 
commitment to help, and it starts with a large check. It also means that 
in order for the rebuilding to be as strong as we want, there has to be 
a partnership with the Federal Government and the State and local 
governments.
    Here's my attitude about the partnership: You know better than the 
people in Washington the needs of your communities. I'd rather listen to 
local mayors and county commissioners than folks sitting in Washington, 
DC, about what this part of Mississippi wants.
    The first test of this partnership was to clear debris. You can't 
rebuild a community when the community is full of debris. We've now 
removed about 98 percent of the dry debris. I remember when we first 
came down here; the mayors weren't so happy with the debris removal. But 
we listened to them. We got the funding equations right. And we got 
after it, and the debris is basically gone--which is step one of making 
sure our partnership works, and step two about making sure we can 
rebuild this area bigger and better than before.
    We're also working together to make sure we're better prepared to 
handle the hurricanes. Every Department of my administration 
participated in a comprehensive study that looked at our response to 
last year's hurricanes. Each Department came up with practical reforms, 
ways to do things better. And so we've been reviewing plans. We've been 
working with the State and local folks.
    The people in Mississippi are prepared. And I want to thank Governor 
Barbour and the local folks for making impressive efforts to protect the 
people of Mississippi. The truth of the matter is, we can work together, 
and will, but when disaster strikes, the first people that you rely 
upon--the people that matter most--are your friends. It's friends 
helping friends that turns out to make an enormous difference in saving 
lives and helping to get by the trauma of the first days.
    We all have roles to play, but in every State hit by last year's 
storms, it was the bravery of the local citizens that meant the 
difference between life and death. It was the bravery of the first-
responders on the scenes. I'm here to thank you all for showing the 
country how to respond to natural disaster.
    See, there's a new Mississippi that's coming, and you're going to 
see it in the construction of homes and the return of local businesses. 
This requires a different kind of courage, but it's a courage, 
nevertheless, for people to take risk and to rebuild and to say, ``I'm 
not going to let the storm disrupt my life forever.''
    See, you got people here leading the reconstruction. We'll help you. 
We've committed more than $3 billion in housing grants, and that money 
is beginning to flow to the homeowners. And I know there's some 
frustration, but I want to appreciate the State working hard to make 
sure that when that money is spent, it's spent well and it goes to 
people who deserve it. That's what you expect, and that's what's going 
to happen. The checks have begun to roll; they're beginning to move, and 
the Governor and his staff are on top of it. It's a huge undertaking 
that's going to require cooperation with government agencies, insurance 
companies, volunteers, and community leaders.
    The folks right back here said they couldn't have rebuilt this house 
without the church, without volunteer organizations that have stepped up 
to help. Governor Barbour's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding, and 
Renewal was an important step to bringing citizens together to develop a 
vision of how people can work together. It's a smart thing to have done.
    See, I said, you develop the plan. We're not going to do it for you 
because you know better the local needs, and Mississippi stepped up. The 
Commission brought together more than 500 volunteers. The Commission 
held more than 50 public forums in 33 counties. They heard from 
thousands of citizens on how to rebuild, and as a result,

[[Page 1516]]

the recovery efforts began with concrete recommendations on how to 
improve the infrastructure, on how to revamp zoning laws and building 
codes, and how to increase local cooperation in planning for future 
storms.
    It was a smart thing to do, Governor, and I appreciate you doing it. 
You have a strategy now to build smarter homes. You've got a strategy to 
have neighborhoods connected by parks and playgrounds. You've got a 
sound strategy.
    And I understand that rebuilding neighborhoods begins one house at a 
time, and that's what's happening here. When somebody goes back to their 
home, it helps renew the community, and so part of our efforts and part 
of our focus is to make sure that people can get back in their homes as 
quickly as possible.
    Sandy Patterson--she can tell you how important it is to feel 
reconnected. She says, ``My house is my home again, and it's good to be 
home.'' And that's what we want; people to help people here in this part 
of the world.
    Listen, the spirit is alive here in the small-business owners who 
are working hard to get their businesses open. One of the entrepreneurs, 
a fellow named Ernest Henley--he's here. He owns West End Cleaners. When 
Katrina hit, it blew out his windows, hurt his roof. Less than 2 weeks 
later, the windows were boarded up, but West End Cleaners was back in 
business. See, he wasn't going to let the storm stop him from realizing 
his dream, which is running his own business.
    Bobby Mahoney is with us. He showed the same spirit when he opened 
Mary Mahoney's. That's a restaurant he named for his mother. That's a 
smart thing to do if you have a restaurant. [Laughter] Within 2 months 
of Hurricane Katrina, Mary Mahoney's was once again serving its world-
famous gourmet seafood gumbo. Inside the restaurant you can see where 
Bobby painted the lines to mark how high the waters were for Camille and 
then Katrina. He says this: ``The reason why Biloxi is going to get back 
real quick is because of businesses. You can come back and build a home 
with a job, but you can't come back and build a home without a job.''
    That's a smart man who understands that as this part of the world 
flourishes and businesses grow, people are going to find work and have 
the wherewithal to help rebuild the communities in their lives.
    I appreciate the spirit of Pass Christian. After the hurricanes 
leveled many of its buildings, the city responded by permitting 
businesses and community organizations to set up trailers in War 
Memorial Park. The idea started when Hancock Bank set up a shop in an 
RV. Today, the park has two banks, an insurance agent, a real estate 
business, a convenience store, a construction company, a takeout 
restaurant, and a town library. Scott Naugle--he's with us today; he's 
the president of the chamber. He says, ``We're going to do business even 
if we have to learn new ways to do it.''
    Optimism is the only option. We want to help. We want to help that 
optimism succeed. And so I signed legislation that creates what's called 
the Gulf Opportunity Zones. That means if you invest in this part of the 
world, you get tax breaks. In other words, they're using the Tax Code to 
say, come and invest your capital here. It's very important for the 
Congress to extend this legislation. It's important for planners and job 
creators to know that the incentive we created will still be there.
    And also, we've put out small-business loans. In other words, what 
we're trying do is just help you. The spirit is here. The people want to 
succeed. And our job at the Federal level is to help you succeed. That's 
what I've come to tell you.
    One of the remarkable things about this part of the world that was 
so affected by the storms was what happened to the schools. Laura has 
visited the gulf coast 13 times. She's carried the message that a lot of 
people in America feel, and that is, it's important to help children get 
back to school as quickly as possible. And you've done that.
    For children who lost everything--their homes, their belongings, and 
their friends--going to school can be a place where they find stability 
and a familiar routine. The people of Mississippi understood that well. 
Teachers and community leaders worked hard to get the children back into 
school as quickly as possible.

[[Page 1517]]

    Catch this: As a result of these efforts, in the past school year, 
every district closed after Katrina was reopened. It's a remarkable 
accomplishment by the good folks in this part of the world. Lizana 
Elementary School is a good example. In the days and weeks after 
Katrina, it first served as a Red Cross shelter. And to get school back 
on its feet, the citizens from Mississippi and all across the Nation 
helped it rebuild. They donated desks and file cabinets and even 
clothing and bookbags and pencils and paper. Vickie Williams is with us 
today. Here's what she said. She said, ``None of the students had to 
purchase supplies. Through donation efforts across the country, 
everything got back to normal. It was a blessing from everywhere.'' 
Vickie, thanks for giving other people credit, but you and your staff 
deserve a lot of credit.
    Charles B. Murphy and Gulfview elementary schools are another 
inspiring story. When the schools were destroyed, the teachers had to 
adapt, and they began to hold their classes in trailers. Teachers helped 
with maintenance duties, and parents pitched in, and volunteers came as 
far away as Vermont and Canada. And they assembled furniture and hauled 
boxes and set up computers and planted trees. There was an outdoor 
classroom that served as a meeting place for science and music and 
physical education.
    Jan White is with us. She said this: ``Last year was survival; this 
year is innovation.'' The school system has not only survived, but 
they're going to be stronger and better than they were before.
    One of the things that the Governor and the Senator said to the 
Federal Government, they said, ``We need help. Our tax bases have been 
destroyed. We need operating cash to keep our schools running.'' And so 
we've spent almost $480 million to help the schools recover. But there's 
a lot more work to be done.
    And one of the places where work can be done and is being done is in 
libraries. Laura Bush feels strongly about this. She's set up what's 
called the Laura Bush Foundation, and in working with the private 
sector, has awarded more than a million dollars in grants to 20 schools 
to purchase new books.
    We see the new Mississippi because of the faith-based and community 
organizations that abound here. When the hurricane struck, men and women 
of faith stepped forward immediately. The following Sunday, Father 
Harold Roberts--he's with us today--and the congregation of Episcopal 
Church of the Redeemer gathered at the site where their church once 
stood. They carried lawn chairs, and they brought blankets to sit. Some 
of them had been through this before.
    See, back in 1969, Hurricane Camille destroyed everything but the 
steeple and the old church bell. This time, nothing was left standing, 
and so the congregation had to ring the old bell from its new place in 
the rubble. On that first Sunday after Katrina, Father Harold Roberts 
read from the Book of Romans. Here's what he said. He said, ``Rejoice in 
hope. Be patient in suffering. Persevere in prayer''--precisely what the 
people of this part of the world have done.
    Father Roberts is working hard. His congregation began to rebuild 
their school, and now they're building--they're going to build a church 
on higher ground. In the meantime, they're gathering in the gymnasium. 
He said, ``In spite of the challenges of the past year, we see the power 
of God working. The people have been incredibly patient. We will recover 
from this, and we will not rebuild until we can do it right.''
    Good citizens have risen up all over Mississippi to rebuild this 
State. Many volunteers traveled thousands of miles to be here. In other 
words, I hope you realized you weren't alone. One of the amazing groups 
was Hands On Gulf Coast.
    Hands On Gulf Coast is a group of volunteers, total strangers to the 
people of this part of the world, in large part. They said, ``What can I 
do to help?'' They came en masse. They did all kinds of things. They 
cleaned up wreckage, and they removed mold, and they repaired roofs, and 
they provided clothing, and they tutored students. Somebody said, ``We 
have a need.'' They said, ``I want to help.''
    When the Coastal Family Health Center lost three buildings and more 
than 60 staff members, Hands On offered to help. They worked with nurses 
who came from the gulf coast. They got FedEx to supply funding for 
airfare. They provided food and housing. And as a result, the Coastal 
Family Health Center

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was able to provide critical help for good people in this part of the 
world.
    Suzanne Stahl, who I happen to have met, is standing right over 
there. You've been down here for 12 months, see. Isn't that amazing? 
Somebody shows up and says, ``I want to help,'' and is still here 
helping because she cares, as do a lot of other people. She said this: 
``It's been incredible to see the power and will of all the volunteers 
who have come to do something. If only I could have bottled the energy 
and enthusiasm of these volunteers. It's just about as unbelievable as 
the devastation.''
    So, I want to thank all those who have volunteered. I want to thank 
those who have given of their hard-earned money to help the good people 
down here recover. I want to remind those who are constantly looking for 
a way to serve your fellow man that there's still work to be done down 
here, that there's still hope. There's still a need for people to come 
and help.
    The armies of compassion that conducted the millions of acts of 
kindness remind us that the true strength of the United States of 
America lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens, and we're thankful 
for that.
    No doubt in my mind, Mississippi will have the renaissance that 
Governor Barbour talked about. You can't drive through this State 
without seeing signs of recovery and renewal. It's just impossible to 
miss the signs of hope. And you've done it the old-fashioned way, with 
vision and hard work and resolve.
    Some of the hardest work is still ahead. We'll complete the clearing 
of the wet debris from the Mississippi Sound. We'll ensure Federal money 
reaches the individuals who need it to build their homes. We'll make 
sure the schools and libraries are rebuilt better than before, and we'll 
stand by you as long as it takes to get the job done. And when the job 
gets done, your children and your grandchildren will have a brighter and 
more hopeful future.
    May God continue to bless the courageous people of Mississippi. 
Thank you for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 2:10 p.m. in an East Biloxi neighborhood. 
In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi and his 
wife, Marsha; Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, USA, commanding general, First 
United States Army; Patricia Thompson Lott, wife of Senator C. Trent 
Lott; Mayor A.J. Holloway of Biloxi, MS; Mayor Rusty Quave of 
D'Iberville, MS; Mayor Billy Skellie, Jr., of Long Beach, MS; Vickie 
Williams, principal, Lizana Elementary School; and Jan White, principal, 
Gulfview-Charles B. Murphy Elementary School.