[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 35 (Monday, September 8, 2008)]
[Pages 1169-1170]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in 
Austin, Texas

September 1, 2008

    Governor, thank you; Senator, thank you for coming; Members of 
Congress.
    The coordination on this storm is a lot better than on--than during 
Katrina. A lot of it had to do with the Governors. Yesterday I was on 
the video conference with the Governors of Alabama, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Texas. There was clearly a spirit of sharing assets, of 
listening to somebody's problems and saying, how can we best address 
them? The Federal Government is very much involved in helping the 
States. Our job is to assist. That's why Secretary Paulison is with me 
today; he heads FEMA.
    I do want to thank the State of Texas and other States for welcoming 
citizens from Louisiana. It's been a huge evacuation. It's hard for a 
citizen to pull up stakes and move out of their home and face the 
uncertainty that comes when you're not at home. And I want to thank 
those citizens who listened carefully to the local authorities and 
evacuated. And I want to thank my fellow citizens in Texas and in other 
States for welcoming these folks in open arms. The State of Texas is a 
generous State. And, Governor, I wanted to thank you and your team for 
being so kind to the people.
    And it's very important for those who have been evacuated to listen 
very carefully to the officials in their respective States before they 
decide to return. This storm is yet to pass. It's a serious event. And 
as the Governor mentioned, the people of east Texas got to be prepared 
for a possible flooding event.
    All in all, what I look for is to determine whether or not assets 
are in place to help, whether or not there's coordination, and whether 
or not there's preparation for recovery. And to that end, I feel good 
about this event.
    And I do want to thank Gail McGovern of the American Red Cross for 
joining us, and thank a lot of the other organizations that are 
preparing to go help people in need. These organizations such as the 
American Red Cross and the Salvation Army require the support of our 
citizens.
    And if you're interested in how you can help once the storm passes, 
please call up the different web sites of these organizations, and 
donate your time or your money so that the recovery effort is as 
compassionate and complete as possible.
    Governor, thanks for having me. I want to thank your team for all 
the hard work they're doing. I'm looking forward to going in with you in 
the room next door to say thanks to the people that are working the long 
hours. And we're going to go down to San Antonio and see a staging area 
there and thank the people there for working so hard, not only on behalf 
of the citizens of Texas but on behalf of the people of the region.

[[Page 1170]]

    Appreciate it. It's good to be home.

Note: The President spoke at 11:05 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas; Gov. Bob Riley 
of Alabama; Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana; Gov. Haley Barbour of 
Mississippi; and Gail J. McGovern, president and chief executive 
officer, American Red Cross.