02 September 2005
Bush Pledges To Bolster Efforts for Hurricane Relief
President travels to New Orleans to view Katrina's aftermath
Federal authorities are working closely with state officials in Louisiana to coordinate the arrival of food and medical aid in New Orleans for victims of Hurricane Katrina, says President Bush.
"I want to assure the people of the affected areas and this country that we'll deploy the assets necessary to get the situation under control," Bush said September 2 before leaving on a trip to New Orleans to survey the damage.
Hurricane Katrina struck the southeastern United States August 29, inflicting widespread damage on southern Florida and devastating the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (See related article.)
The president recently met with the governors of Alabama and Mississippi to gather assessments of the storm's devastation on communities along the Gulf Coast.
For additional information, see Hurricane Katrina.
Following is a transcript of Bush's remarks:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
September 2, 2005
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT UPON DEPARTURE
The South Lawn
9:02 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Secretary Chertoff and I just finished a meeting with Secretary Rumsfeld, General Myers, other members of my Cabinet, as well as General Honore, Admiral Keating, who is in charge of NORTHCOM -- General Honore who is our active duty general on the ground in Louisiana, as well -- and Mike Brown, who is the head of FEMA.
There's a lot of aid surging toward those who have been affected: millions of gallons of water, millions of tons of food. We're making progress about pulling people out of the Superdome. There's an issue right now at the convention center of New Orleans that General Honore briefed us on. We're trying to get food and medicine to the convention center. He's working with the governor, and the adjutant general, and the mayor, to deploy 600 of the newly arrived MPs to secure the site, so that the food and medicine and water can get in there.
A lot of people are working hard to help those who have been affected, and I want to thank the people for their efforts. The results are not acceptable. I'm headed down there right now. I'm looking forward to talking to the people on the ground. I want to assure the people of the affected areas and this country that we'll deploy the assets necessary to get the situation under control, to get the help to the people who have been affected, and that we're beginning long-term planning to help those who have been displaced, as well as long-term planning to help rebuild the communities that have been affected.
I'm looking forward to my trip down there, and looking forward to thanking those on the ground, and looking forward to assure people that we'll get on top of this situation and we're going to help people that need help.
Thank you.
END 9:04 A.M. EDT
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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