[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 35 (Monday, September 4, 2006)]
[Pages 1520-1527]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Hurricane Katrina Recovery Efforts in New Orleans

August 29, 2006

    Thank you all. Thank you. Good morning. From our beginnings as a 
nation, the church steeple and the schoolhouse door have been enduring 
symbols of the American community, and so it is today in New Orleans. 
Earlier this morning, we gathered at St. Louis

[[Page 1521]]

Cathedral in the presence of a just God who asks us to love our 
neighbors as ourselves. And now we stand inside Warren Easton Senior 
High School. Warren Easton is the oldest public school in New Orleans.
    In a little more than a week, its classrooms will again be filled 
with young men and women who will write the future of this great 
American city. And that future draws from a rich past--the music of Fats 
Domino, the stories of Tennessee Williams, shotgun houses and iron-
lattice balconies, seafood gumbo, red beans and rice on Mondays.
    Over the course of nearly three centuries, a city that once was the 
center of slave trade has been transformed to a unique and great 
American city. This city is a story of hope and dignity and 
perseverance. And it's these qualities that have seen you through trials 
of war and prejudice and natural disaster.
    One year ago today, your beloved New Orleans and surrounding 
parishes and counties and the great State of Mississippi were struck by 
a cruel hurricane. And here in this city, there was flooding on a 
biblical scale. Less than 3 weeks later, with many of the homes and 
churches and schools still under water, I came to Jackson Square. I said 
we could not imagine America without the Crescent City and pledged that 
our Government would do its part. And today Laura and I have come back 
to discuss that pledge and your future.
    I want to thank Don Powell, the Federal Coordinator of the Gulf 
Coast Rebuilding, who is with us today. I appreciate Admiral Thad Allen, 
who's now the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, who is with 
us today. And I want to thank Lieutenant General Russ Honore.
    I appreciate the members of the congressional delegation who have 
joined us today: Senator Mary Landrieu as well as Senator David Vitter 
and his wife, Wendy. Thank you both for being here. I want to thank 
Congressman William Jefferson and Andrea; Congressman Bobby Jindal; and 
Congressman Charlie Melancon and his wife, Peachy. Thank you all for 
joining us. Proud to be working with you.
    I noticed that Mary brought her brother, Mitch, the Lieutenant 
Governor of the great State of Louisiana. Mitch, thanks for coming.
    I want to thank the attorney general of the State of Louisiana. 
General, thank you for joining us. He's an alumnus of Warren Easton 
Senior High School. I appreciate so very much the superintendent of 
schools--State Superintendent of Schools Cecil Picard is with us today. 
I thank all those State and local officials who have come. I appreciate 
Jean Case, who is the chair of the President's Council on Service and 
Civic Participation.
    I want to thank one of the fine, fine citizens of your State, a man 
who brings great dignity in anything he does, and that's Dr. Norman 
Francis, who is the chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. I want 
to thank Lexi Medley, who is the principal of Warren Easton Senior High 
School. Happy birthday. Today is her birthday. We're not telling, are 
we? [Laughter] No, 25, okay.
    I want to thank all those school administrators, teachers, 
librarians, and students who are here from not only--they're not only 
here from New Orleans, but they're from around the area, including 
Mississippi. Welcome. Thanks for coming.
    When the waters broke through the levees a year ago, southern 
Louisiana was consumed by flood waters, and New Orleans faced the 
greatest disaster in its history. Eighty percent of your city was under 
water. Thousands of businesses were hurt. Tens of thousands of homes 
were damaged and destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of folks fled the 
region in perhaps the greatest dislocation of American citizens since 
the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
    Your fellow Americans offered you more than sympathy. They responded 
with action. Those of you who were stranded on rooftops looked to the 
sky for deliverance, and then you saw the Coast Guard choppers come. 
Members of Louisiana National Guard, who had just come back from Iraq, 
stepped forward to bring food and water and ice. On every street, in 
every parish, there were constant acts of selflessness.
    Doctors and nurses stayed with patients; they went without food so 
that the sick and the infirm might be able to eat. Fishermen used their 
flat-bottom boats to form the ``Cajun Navy'' and pulled women and 
children and the elderly out of flooded homes, and brought them to dry 
ground. Volunteers

[[Page 1522]]

embraced frightened boys and girls with warm blankets and loving arms to 
reassure them somebody cared. In these and countless other acts of 
courage, we saw the very best of America.
    Unfortunately, the hurricane also brought terrible scenes that we 
never thought we would see in America: Citizens drowned in their attics; 
desperate mothers crying out on national TV for food and water; a 
breakdown of law and order; and a government at all levels that fell 
short of its responsibilities.
    When the rain stopped and this wounded city was laid bare, our 
television screens showed faces worn down by poverty and despair. For 
most of you, the storms were only the beginning of your difficulties. 
Katrina exposed the big things that need repairing; yet it's most 
devastating impact has been on the rhythms of everyday life.
    Some of you still don't know whether you have a neighborhood to come 
back to. Others of you who made the decision to return are living in 
trailers. Many are separated from their loved ones and simply long just 
to go to church on a Sunday afternoon with somebody you care about. Many 
of you find yourself without jobs and struggling to make do without the 
convenience of a supermarket nearby. Many fear for your safety because 
of violent criminals. The challenge is not only to help rebuild, but the 
challenge is to help restore the soul.
    I take full responsibility for the Federal Government's response, 
and a year ago I made a pledge that we will learn the lessons of Katrina 
and that we will do what it takes to help you recover. I've come back to 
New Orleans to tell you the words that I spoke on Jackson Square are 
just as true today as they were then.
    Since I spoke those words, Members of the United States Congress 
from both political parties came together and committed more than $110 
billion to help the gulf coast recover. I felt it was important that our 
Government be generous to the people who suffered. I felt that step one 
of a process of recovery and renewal is money.
    I also put a good man in charge of coordinating the Federal response 
for local rebuilding. I've already introduced him--his name is Don 
Powell. He's a good fellow. He's no-nonsense. He's a good listener, and 
when he finds hurdles in the way between intentions and results, he 
works to remove them. He's on the job now, and he's going to stay on the 
job until we get the job done. And I appreciate you, Don, for your 
service.
    To make sure that we keep our promises and to make sure this good 
area recovers, we have got to give assurance to the citizens that if 
there is another natural disaster, we'll respond in better fashion. 
Every Department of my administration has looked at its response to last 
year's hurricanes and has recommended practical reforms, things to do to 
make sure that the response is better.
    Chertoff--Secretary Chertoff has increased manpower and training for 
FEMA, strengthened partnerships with the Red Cross and the Department of 
Defense, improved communications among local, State, and Federal 
emergency teams, and has expanded supplies so that FEMA can feed up to a 
million people for about a week. We looked at what went right, and we 
looked at what went wrong, and we're addressing that which went wrong.
    In Louisiana, we have pre-positioned supplies in advance of this 
year's hurricane season. The people of the gulf coast can know that at 
the Federal level and at the State level and at the local level, we've 
all assessed, and we're now working together in better fashion. We're 
better prepared. And step one of rebuilding is to assure people, if 
another hurricane comes, there will be a better, more effective 
response.
    Secondly, in order to make sure that people understand there's hope 
and renewal in this area, they've got to have confidence in a stronger 
levee system. It became clear to me in my first of my many visits down 
here--the people said, ``It's fine--you can talk all you want, just get 
the levees stronger.'' I think that was your message, Senator. 
[Laughter]
    The Army of Corps of Engineers has been working nonstop--and I mean 
nonstop--to repair the damage and make 350 miles of the system stronger. 
I say 350 miles. Most people in America don't understand the nature of 
your levee system. They're extensive and require a lot of work, 
including rebuilding I-walls with T-walls. In other words, that

[[Page 1523]]

strengthens the foundations of levees. We're storm-proofing the pumping 
stations, and the pumping stations' capacities are being increased. 
We're elevating electrical systems so they can work during a flood.
    Today, almost the entire flood protection system around New Orleans 
has been restored to pre-Katrina level. And in many places, the system 
is now better than it was before Katrina. We're working to make the 
levees stronger than ever by 2010, and we will study what we need to do 
to give New Orleans even greater protection.
    One thing that the American people have got to understand is that in 
order to make sure the levee system works, there has to be a barrier 
system to protect the State of Louisiana. I strongly urge the United 
States Congress to pass energy legislation that will give the State of 
Louisiana more revenues from offshore leases so they can restore the 
wetlands.
    The Army Corps of Engineers has been working with local citizens in 
difficult circumstances. I've been on the levees; I've seen these good 
folks working. One such fellow is Kevin Wagner. He's with us today. He's 
an engineer whose house had 12 feet of water after the storm. I think 
it's important for people to listen to what Kevin said. He said, ``For 
me, it's personal. My whole family lived down there in St. Bernard 
Parish. Everyone who's working on this effort has the same motivation 
and the same sense of urgency.''
    There is a sense of urgency, and I want to thank those in the Corps 
and those who are helping the Corps send reassuring messages to the 
people who live here and the people who want to move back here.
    A more hopeful New Orleans means we've got to get rid of the broken 
furniture and old refrigerators and get rid of the wreckage. You can't 
rebuild until you remove the rubble. The sheer tonnage of debris in 
Louisiana is many times greater than any previous disaster. And after 
many months and more than $1.8 billion from the Federal Government, from 
the taxpayers, more than three-quarters of the debris has now been 
cleared.
    You know, it's amazing when you really think about the effort. Of 
course, government has a part, but the truth of the matter is a lot of 
the effort, a lot of the success, and a lot of results were achieved 
because of faith-based and community groups. Groups like Katrina Krewe 
have mobilized thousands of volunteers, ranging from students on spring 
break to moms and retirees. Isn't it interesting to have a country where 
people are willing to show up to help clean out houses and remove debris 
for someone they didn't even know? It's a spectacular nation, isn't it, 
when compassion overflows to overwhelming?
    The Krewe's founder, Becky Zaheri, is with us. She left; then she 
came back. And she said, ``I went and visited other States and they were 
beautiful, but they were not home.'' That's the spirit that we're trying 
to capture. That's the spirit we want people who are watching from afar 
to understand; this ``home'' is beginning to be.
    The debris is getting cleaned. As a matter of fact, in order to make 
sure that the Federal--that we continue to clean the remaining debris, 
the Federal Government has agreed to pay 100 percent of reimbursement 
costs through the end of the year on the five hardest hit parishes.
    We need to get homes available for people. A renewed New Orleans is 
a New Orleans with new homes. Everybody understands that. The people 
here, and those who have left, they all tell me one thing--particularly 
those who--``I miss New Orleans,'' is what they say. But we got to make 
sure they have a place to move to. Trailers are only temporary. The goal 
is to make sure that communities are restored because there's new homes. 
That's the goal. And we will help.
    I want to thank the Louisiana Recovery Authority. Dr. Francis and 
his team have done a really good job of developing a strategy, a plan, 
to help renew communities through homes. You know, when we first got 
going in this deal, we had choices to make, and a lot of people said, 
``Why don't you just take it over, Washington? Why don't you make all 
the decisions for the local folks?'' That's not the way I think. I trust 
the people like Dr. Francis and the parish presidents and the mayors and 
the city councilmen to make the right decisions for the people of this 
community. And so the Federal Government is working with the Louisiana 
Recovery

[[Page 1524]]

Authority to help people get back in their homes. And we've appropriated 
more than $10 billion to help people achieve that dream.
    Under this program, eligible homeowners will receive up to $150,000 
for damage not covered by insurance or other Federal assistance. All of 
us agree, at all levels of government, that we've got to get the money 
as quickly as possible in the hands of the people, so they can rebuild 
their lives and help this city recover.
    A more hopeful New Orleans means replacing a school system that 
didn't work with one that will. And I congratulate the good people of 
New Orleans and the LRA for coming up with a novel plan to address 
failure that had caused--in many cases, was a root cause of poverty. I'm 
excited for you about the innovative charter school system you have put 
in place. I applaud you for thinking differently. I can't thank you 
enough for seizing the moment to say to the good folks and the families, 
we will do a better job with the school system here in New Orleans.
    I know Margaret Spellings was down here recently--she's been down 
here a lot, and she should. We provided about a billion dollars to help 
the school system to get people back in school. The Federal Government 
has helped. It's very important, however, that people understand that 
the best way to make sure the school system delivers excellence is there 
be local control of schools, that people be charge of the future--local 
people be in charge of the future of the New Orleans schools.
    Warren Easton Senior High School is a new charter school. One year 
ago, the classrooms and corridors were covered by about 10 feet of 
water. Like many other schools in New Orleans, Warren Easton is now 
reopened. When you say ``charter school'', it means the funding actually 
follows the students, which makes schools more accountable to parents. 
It means parents will be more involved in the schools.
    By reopening as a charter school, Warren Easton is providing a new 
model. The motto of this school is, ``We believe in success.'' A 
revitalized New Orleans needs a reformed public school system where 
everybody can say, ``We not only believe in success; we see success for 
the good of the future of this State.''
    Laura mentioned that the First Lady's Foundation established a Gulf 
Coast School Library Recovery Initiative, and they started granting--
giving grants--more grants today to help libraries restock. Her view is 
the view of many, in that the center of a school is the library. Without 
a library, schools can't realize their full potential. And so she and 
her foundation and folks in the private sector have awarded more that a 
million dollars in grants to 20 schools, including $70,000 to the 
library here at this high school.
    Nancy Hernandez is the librarian. She is a graduate from this high 
school. She puts it this way: ``I think the library is the heart of the 
school. For a child, there is nothing that can replace the joy that 
comes from a book.'' And she is right. And I want to thank you, Laura, 
for helping people realize dreams with new books, in the midst of 
helping this public school system recover.
    New Orleans' school system is enriched by the religious schools 
here. And the Cathedral Academy has been educating in New Orleans for 
nearly three decades. There's an interesting story I'm about to tell 
you. Last October, Cathedral Academy became the first school to reopen. 
That was last October. Sister Mary Rose is the principal, and she 
believes this: No child would be turned away from her school's front 
door.
    For 10-year-old Aaliyah Carr, who is with us today here, the return 
to school was a day she will never forget. I love what she said. She 
said, ``I was so happy, I could hear the choir singing in my head. It 
was a long time before I thought I'd see a school again, and I'm so glad 
to be walking these halls.'' Aaliyah says it better than I can. 
Education is the gateway to a brighter future. Education provides the 
light of hope for a young generation of children.
    It's really important--I look forward to working with the Federal 
Government to provide opportunity scholarships for the poorest of our 
families so they have a choice as to whether they go to a religious 
school or a public school. It's good for New Orleans to have competing 
school systems. It's good for our country to have a vibrant parochial

[[Page 1525]]

school system. And I applaud those who are very much involved with the 
Catholic school system here in the great city of New Orleans.
    I predict, a year from now people are going to be wondering where 
they can find workers and wondering what they're going to do about the 
equipment shortages, supply shortages. I see an incredibly bright future 
for the entrepreneur. A lot of the revitalization of New Orleans and the 
area--surrounding area is going to come because there's more businesses 
opening and more shops reopening.
    I believe that Government has a role to play in encouraging 
entrepreneurship, and so I worked with Members of the United States 
Congress, both political parties, to pass Go Zone legislation. Go Zone 
legislation gives entrepreneurs and small businesses tax incentives to 
invest in this area, to help jump-start this economy and provide jobs. 
The Go Zone legislation is set to expire. The United States Congress 
needs to extend this good piece of legislation.
    There's a guy named Joe Peters--he's here with us. Where are you, 
Joe? Somewhere. Got a lousy seat. [Laughter] I want to tell you what he 
said. He's a Vietnam vet. He runs a tire store on St. Claude Avenue. 
Right after the flood, the waters went up to his desktop. He and his 
workers, though, reopened the shop. They had a job to do. They were 
fixing tires for police cruisers and family cars that were trying to get 
to safety. They were providing an important service. Here's what Joe 
says about this city's future. See, he's an entrepreneur. He's a can-do 
person. He believes in the future. He said, ``This ain't nothing. This 
is New Orleans. We were here before there was a United States. You 
cannot kill a city like this.''
    I have returned to make it clear to people that I understand we're 
marking the first anniversary of the storm, but this anniversary is not 
an end. And so I come back to say that we will stand with the people of 
southern Louisiana and southern Mississippi until the job is done.
    A lot of work has been accomplished, and I congratulate the people 
here. But there's more work to be done. The work ahead includes making 
sure that your streets are safe. And to make sure that people understand 
we at the Federal level understand we still have a continuing 
commitment, Attorney General Al Gonzales came down here. And he 
announced a new Justice Department initiative to send more Federal 
agents and prosecutors to New Orleans to help local law enforcement 
crack down on violent crime. If you want there to be renewal and 
recovery, like we all do, you've got to crack down on violent crime. 
You've got to send a message that the streets of New Orleans are safe. 
And we'll help you do so. The work ahead includes--[applause].
    Last night I had dinner with your parish presidents and Mayor Nagin 
and Oliver Thomas and the good doctor and a lot of other good folks, and 
one message was clear to me: That for this city to recover, there needs 
to be help on infrastructure. There needs to be better sewers and better 
infrastructure around which a new New Orleans can emerge. I listened 
carefully, and to the extent there's bureaucracy standing in the way, me 
and Don Powell will--or Don Powell and I--excuse me, darlin'--Don Powell 
and I--[applause]--Don Powell and I will work to get rid of them.
    We can also--we'll work with your leaders to achieve a larger goal, 
and that is this: To rebuild a New Orleans where every child who grows 
up here feels a great part of the American promise. That's the 
challenge. And we've got a role to play, and we'll play it. That's what 
I'm here to say--we'll play it.
    But I also want to remind you that the Federal Government cannot do 
this job alone, nor should it be expected to do the job alone. This is 
your home; you know what needs to be done. And a reborn Louisiana must 
reflect the views of the people down here and their vision and your 
priorities. State and parish authorities have a responsibility to set 
priorities, and they're doing so. We all have a responsibility to clear 
obstacles that stand in the way of meeting goals. And we've got to make 
sure the money that has started to flow continues to flow.
    At this critical moment, there are a lot of people making big 
decisions about where their future lies. I understand that, and so does 
the LRA and Governor Blanco and local authorities. We all understand 
that. We know there are people weighing a big decision. We

[[Page 1526]]

want to make sure that, when they do make the decision to rebuild, that 
the rules are clear and that the zoning decisions by local authorities 
make sense. That's a local decision to make. But we are going to make 
sure that we work closely together to clear up any ambiguity. See, we 
want people coming home. We want the rules clear, so when people come 
home, they know that they'll be coming to a safer, better place.
    I appreciate the fact that State and local authorities are working 
together and making tough decisions. It hadn't been easy, but the storm 
was a big storm that created a lot of damage, and the good folks down 
here are working together. They're thinking smart. They've got a plan, a 
strategy to help rebuild, and the Federal Government will stand with 
you.
    The private sector has a responsibility to help down here. You know, 
during the storm, American companies showed a lot of resourcefulness to 
get supplies and relief to the affected areas, and I know everybody down 
here thanks private--corporate America for doing that. But now that the 
immediate crisis has passed, the people of this region are looking to 
corporate America to see if they're here for the long haul. So I ask 
America's business leaders to show the people here the same commitment 
you showed during the flood. New Orleans is going to rise again, and by 
planting your corporate flag here now and contributing to this city's 
rebirth, you'll gain some loyal customers when times get better.
    The people of this city have a responsibility as well. I know you 
love New Orleans, and New Orleans needs you. She needs people coming 
home. She needs people--she needs those saints to come marching back, is 
what she needs. New Orleans is calling her children home. I hear it from 
all of the local officials. They say they got a plan in place and money 
coming to make New Orleans a hospitable place.
    One woman who's come back is a woman named Samantha George. She is 
with us today. A year ago, the future looked bleak for Samantha and her 
four young daughters. Their home in Mid-City had five feet of water in 
it. Everything they owned was gone. And so they left, and they went to 
Mississippi and Georgia, as this good mother searched for work. At one 
point, Samantha and her daughters were living in cars. She felt alone 
and abandoned. And that's when she walked into the office of Catholic 
Charities and met a lady named Peggy Matthews, who's also here.
    Peggy wiped the tears off Samantha's face. She gave her love and 
encouragement. Samantha agreed to enroll in Peggy's job-training class 
and give it one more try. And within 2 weeks, she found work. And at the 
same time, Catholic Charities helped her with food and clothes and 
diapers and a gift card to Wal-Mart that allowed her to buy the uniform 
she would need for her new job. She found help and love.
    Catholic Charities also helped Samantha find a house in the 
Carrollton neighborhood near Lafayette Academy. It's a new charter 
school that her daughters will be attending very soon. Recently she 
found a new job she loves; she's now a nurse. For the first time in her 
life, Samantha says she feels a sense of ownership and control over her 
future. Here's what she says: ``I was just hoping for some motivation so 
I could keep going. I think God sent me to Catholic Charities, and I 
think of myself as blessed because now I'm able to help other people who 
cannot help themselves.''
    Samantha's story is a story of renewal. And it may sound like a 
familiar story to people who know the history of New Orleans; it's 
always been a city of second chance. When your first settlement was 
leveled by a storm, you rebuilt again. When fire struck, you replaced 
the wood buildings with brick. When you were ravaged by war and 
epidemics of malaria and smallpox and yellow fever, you picked yourself 
up and you prospered. And when the hurricanes hit in the past, you 
cleaned up, you salvaged what you could, and you rebuilt. Every time New 
Orleans came back--louder, brasher, and better.
    We see the same resolve today. In keeping with the tradition of this 
city, New Orleans again looks to music to express her feelings. And 
these feelings were captured on a benefit album called ``Higher 
Ground.'' One of those songs is called ``Come Sunday,'' written by Duke 
Ellington. In her rendition of this classic, Cassandra Williams implores 
a loving

[[Page 1527]]

God to ``please look down and see my people through.''
    Sunday has not yet come to New Orleans, but you can see it ahead. 
And as you approach that joyful day, you can move forward with 
confidence in your abilities, trust in the compassion of your fellow 
Americans, and faith in a loving God who makes the path through mighty 
waters. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 11:35 a.m. at Warren Easton Senior High 
School. In his remarks, he referred to Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, USA, 
commanding general, First United States Army; Andrea Green-Jefferson, 
wife of Representative William J. Jefferson; Louisiana State Attorney 
General Charles C. Foti, Jr.; Sister Mary Rose Bingham, principal, 
Cathedral Academy of New Orleans; Mayor C. Ray Nagin of New Orleans, LA; 
Oliver M. Thomas, Jr., president, New Orleans City Council; Gov. 
Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana; and entertainer Cassandra 
Wilson. The transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary 
also included the remarks of the First Lady, who introduced the 
President.