[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 37 (Monday, September 22, 2008)]
[Page 1213]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Briefing on Hurricane Ike Recovery Efforts

September 15, 2008

    Thank you very much, Secretary Chertoff, for your briefing--you just 
came back from Houston; Administrator Paulison. The briefing, of course, 
was on the damage done to Texas and Louisiana, a result of Ike.
    We, obviously, watch this recovery very carefully, because the 
Federal Government is playing a crucial role in helping the people of 
the devastated areas recover. We're working closely with the State and 
local authorities on a variety of subjects.
    Recently, I was informed that there are going to be a--numerous 
points of distribution for food, water, and ice throughout Harris County 
to help the people there adjust. Obviously, until electricity is fully 
restored, people are going to need help with water, food, and ice.
    There's some good news on electricity. Electricity is beginning to 
be restored. Obviously, there's a lot more houses and folks that are 
waiting for electricity, but people are working hard. There's crews 
coming in from around the country to help.
    The energy situation is one that's of concern. Our drivers, our 
folks at the pump, are going to have to expect some upward pressure on 
price, because the storm disrupted the supply of gasoline as a result of 
shutting down refineries and pipelines. Now, two--the two major 
pipelines are up and running, which is positive news, and it happened 
quicker than we thought it would happen. Yet until those refineries get 
up and running full blast, those pipelines are going to be looking for 
product.
    And so there's going to be a pinch. I wish it wasn't the case, but 
it is. On the other hand, if the pinch is too hard, if people think 
they're being treated unfairly, they need to get on the Department of 
Energy web site, because there's--or the FTC web site--and make their 
complaints known.
    The storm was--damaged a lot of infrastructure, but truthfully it 
was not as bad as some predicted that it would be on the energy sector.
    I'm going down tomorrow; I'm looking forward to going down. Members 
of my administration will be going down. We're looking forward to 
hearing from, you know, the local folks. I'm confident there will be 
people that are very frustrated because their lives have been severely 
affected by this storm. And my message will be that we hear you, and 
we'll work as hard and fast as we can to help you get your lives back up 
to normal.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 12:05 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of these remarks.