For Immediate Release
September 27, 2005
Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Beaumont, Texas
9:49 A.M. EDT
MR. McCLELLAN: All right, good morning, everybody. Let's get
started with the gaggle. The President had his usual briefing this
morning before we departed. He's continued to receive updates on the
hurricanes and the response, relief and recovery efforts.
Today the President will be meeting with state and local officials.
Our priority is making sure that people are getting the help they need,
that we're getting assistance to them, and that the federal government
is doing our part to help. And the President will have an opportunity
to hear from the state and local officials about efforts to meet the
needs of the people in the region, and what else we can do to support
the state and local response efforts. It will also be an opportunity
for the President to get a first-hand look at the damage that has been
done by Hurricane Rita in the region.
At the first stop, the President -- in Beaumont, the President will
go to the main terminal there, and meet in a conference room, I believe,
with state and local officials. Joining him will be General Clark, the
Commander of the Joint Task Force Rita; Admiral Hereth, the primary
federal officer for Hurricane Rita in Texas; Governor Perry; Mayors from
Beaumont, Port Arthur and other communities in the area; county judges
will be there; Senator Cornyn is traveling with us, he'll be there, as
well.
Q Senator Cornyn?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, he's on board. Congressman Brady and
Congressman Poe are expected to be there, as well. And then following
that meeting -- I think, actually, Admiral Allen is going to join us
there for the aerial tour. The President will do an aerial tour of the
Beaumont-Lake Charles-Texas/Louisiana border region. I expect that
he'll be able to get -- be able to see the damage in the Beaumont/Port
Arthur area, the Sabine Pass area, Cameron, Louisiana -- Cameron Parish
was a parish that was hit particularly hard, including Lake Charles.
I think we're going to try to see an off-shore oil rig as part of
the aerial tour, as well. And as I mentioned, Lake Charles. And then
we will land in Lake Charles, where the President will participate in a
briefing with state and local officials, including Governor Blanco, the
Mayor from Lake Charles and some other cities in the area, the parish
Presidents from that area. I think Senator Landrieu will be there, as
well. Congressman Boustany, I think is supposed to be there, and then
General Honore and Admiral Allen will be there, as well.
Just some -- a brief update on some of the ongoing operations
relating to Hurricane Rita, as well as the recovery with Hurricane
Katrina. One of the -- the search and rescue -- in Texas, some of the
search and rescue efforts are really shifting more from flooding to
addressing some of the problems associated with the heat index. The
heat index is supposed to get up to about 105 degrees today, so that's
where some of those search and rescue operations will be focused on.
Texas is reporting about 707,000 thousand people remain without
power.
Q How many?
MR. McCLELLAN: Seven-hundred-and-seven thousand people in Texas
are customers without power. And you've got power companies, the state,
FEMA and the Department of Energy all working together to address the
problem. It's going to take some time to get some of the power back on.
Temporary housing is, obviously, a priority that people are starting to
focus on more in Texas. And they continue to move forward on the phased
return that began on Sunday, that's a phased return occurring over a
seven-day period.
In Louisiana, you've got damage assessments ongoing in some of the
hardest-hit areas, particularly some of the parishes. The Department of
Transportation has been providing some busing to continue to get people
out of the Lake Charles area. And the assessment on the flooding
continues in Cameron Parish, as well. There's flooding throughout the
Parish. And the flooding and debris in some of the parishes, obviously,
have an impact on some of the ability to do the damage assessments. The
latest report I have is about 821,000 customers without power in
Louisiana. A number of those -- some 216,000 remain without power from
Katrina. That's part of that overall number. You've got some 8,700
evacuees in shelters in Louisiana. And in terms of the levees in New
Orleans, they put a large amount of rock and sandbags into the levee
there that was overtopped or breached, that flowed into the 9th Ward.
So they've been able to stop the inflow of water, and now they are
moving forward on the pumping operations to dewater that area.
The priorities remain on lifesaving and life-sustaining operations,
making sure people have food and water and ice and shelter, addressing
some of the housing needs, doing the ongoing damage assessments, and
restoring some of the critical infrastructure.
Just a couple of quick highlights, in terms of the federal
government, or some key statistics. U.S. Coast Guard units have rescued
more than 124 people from Hurricane Rita. There are more than 700 urban
search and rescue personnel on the ground in Louisiana engaged in search
and rescue missions. Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama
have more than 34,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen positioned to
assist and respond. You have 246 shelters housing some 73,000 evacuees
from Hurricane Rita nationwide.
And in terms of Hurricane Katrina, more than 1,440,000
registrations have been received for financial assistance, and more than
$2.2 billion in assistance has been delivered to over 680,000 households
to help meet immediate needs. And you have about 80,000 Hurricane
Katrina evacuees nationwide being housed in shelters right now.
Just to follow up on a couple of issues from yesterday. You heard
the President talk about or encourage the American people to do what
they could to conserve energy. We want to make sure that sufficient
supplies are available nationwide, but we also want to make sure that
sufficient supplies are particularly available in the hardest hit areas
from the hurricanes. We want to make sure -- that's natural gas,
gasoline, diesel fuel that they have the resources they need to meet
needs.
And encouraging conservation has been something that this
administration has always done. If you'll recall, back in 2001, we took
a number of actions to promote energy conservation, including providing
conservation grants to accelerate the development of fuel cells, to
promote the advancement of -- to encourage the development of
technologically advanced engines, to encourage development of hydrogen
technology for cars and buildings of the future. And these were steps
we took to really look at new ways to produce power and develop vehicles
that will dramatically lower emissions and get more power out of fuel
units.
And there are a number of steps we took back in the summer of 2001.
I would encourage you to look back at those actions that we took. We
also took actions at the White House to promote energy conservation and
increase energy efficiency. There were actions we took when it came to
turning off lights, turning off computers, increasing thermostats, and
things of that nature. And that information is all available --
Q Back then?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, all available on our website. That's why I'm
saying that -- what the President said yesterday really built upon the
actions that we've already been taking.
Q Turning up the thermostats, was back in the summer of 2001, or
--
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. You can look back at some of the steps that
we were taking to promote energy efficiency and conserve energy. And
some steps that we're already taking, since yesterday, in terms of the
White House, the President has directed the staff to take steps to
increase the thermostats, scale back non-essential travel, to look at
other ways that we can conserve energy, as well.
The White House has been looking at additional ways that we can
conserve energy. We'll also be sending out notices to staff about --
reminding them to turn off lights and printers and copiers and computers
when they leave the office. We'll continue to move forward on more
e-government, paperless systems that would reduce the use of faxes and
copiers and printers and things of that nature, encouraging all
government vehicles to try to consume less. That would include by
people sharing rides in government vehicles, not letting cars idle,
which wastes gas. We'll be sending out notices to staff to promote mass
transit options, as well, letting them know about Metro stops and
encouraging ride sharing, telling them where pick-up and drop-off points
are at the White House, or reminding them of that, and just scrutinizing
staff travel even more, so that people can videoconference where they
can versus actually traveling, and things of that nature.
So, again, these actions that we are taking build upon steps that
we've already taken. And other areas -- the President did want
everybody to look at the motorcade, too, to see what could be scaled
back there, as well. So I think today we probably have a couple less
vans than we normally would.
Q Press vans?
MR. McCLELLAN: Sorry?
Q The press vans will be there?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think probably -- I think there is usually like
four press vans. I think we're trying to do it in two or three -- staff
and the guest van is combined. I think we can -- all steps that people
can take will help, and that's why we look at all these measures.
Q Would the President consider maybe doing more meetings with
these local officials on video conference himself, either -- did he
consider it for this trip, or for future trips?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we do do video conferencing, and we do quite
a bit of that. But the President believes that it's important to get a
first-hand account of the operations that are ongoing to provide relief
to the people in need, as well as to hear first-hand from state and
local officials about the cooperation and the response from the federal
government in terms of meeting those needs. And it's also important for
him to be able to see first-hand some of damage that has been done. He
is the President of the United States, and overseeing -- the President
is the one who is responsible for the federal response efforts. So this
is an important trip. I don't expect that we're going to be returning
any time this week, but --
It's also for the President to not only get a first-hand account of
how needs are being -- how the needs of the people are being met, but
it's also important for him to provide some comfort and reassurance that
we are going to do what we can to help get people back up on their feet
and to lift the spirits of all those who are working around the clock to
meet the enormous challenges that have been presented by these two
hurricanes hitting in roughly the same area.
Q Is he not returning this week because he wants to conserve his
travels, or is it just because he didn't have any plans?
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know that it's necessarily that. I just
think that this will be the last trip to the region this week.
Q Senator Frist's office came up with a figure of $100 billion
for Katrina recovery. Does that sound like a reasonable figure?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I mean, the assessment of the longer-term
rebuilding efforts is ongoing. We're trying to move forward on that as
quickly as possible. A lot of that depends on getting a full assessment
of the damage that's been done, particularly to some of the critical
infrastructure. And it's the infrastructure that is going to be some of
the larger cost. It takes a little bit of time to get a good assessment
of how much is at -- how much that will cost.
There's some things we can assess right now, or that we already
have assessed, but some of the larger costs relate to the
infrastructure, and those assessments are ongoing right now. And we're
working with state and local officials to get a good sense of how much
is going to be needed. The President has made it very clear that we're
going to meet the needs of the people in the region, and the federal
government is going to do our part to help. It's also important that we
make sure we have accountability measures in place for the money that --
the taxpayer money that is being spent now. We do have strong
accountability measures in place. We want to make sure that we're not
slowing down any of the important needs -- the immediate needs that need
to be -- I guess we don't want to slow down resources getting to the
people who need them. In fact, we've been cutting through paperwork and
cutting through red tape and bureaucracy to make sure people are getting
what they need.
At the same time, we want to make sure that the taxpayer money is
being spent wisely, and that it's going for the purposes that is
intended. That's why you have the Department of Homeland Security
established inspector general teams in the region to oversee that part
of it. And the President has made it clear that we want to work with
Congress to look at ways to offset some of the costs related to
Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. And that's what we're going to
do. We already have some savings that we proposed in our budget, and
we're ! going to continue to work with Congress to identify additional
unnecessary spending that can be cut.
Q And the Louisiana delegation is talking about a request of
$250 billion on top of what's already been allocated. Does that sound
reasonable?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, we don't know what the longer-term needs are
right now, because we don't have a complete assessment of what those
needs are. We hope to have that soon, hopefully in the coming weeks.
We are committed to working with state and local officials to make sure
needs are met, and working with Congress to do so, as well. And that's
what we'll do. But the President has said that the federal government
has an obligation to help this region recover, and to help the people in
the region rebuild their lives and rebuild their communities. And
that's what we will do. So we'll work with state and local officials
and we'll work with Congress to meet that commitment.
Q Are there going to be any more specifics from the President
today on refinery development? He seemed to signal yesterday we may
need to cut the red tape, some of the regulatory stuff, the
environmental stuff. Are we going to hear specifics on that today?
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know if that's necessarily the purpose of
today. You'll hear from the President today. The purpose of today is
to make sure that the response and relief efforts -- the needs
associated with the response and relief efforts are being met, and hear
from state and local officials, and to get a first-hand account of some
of the damage that has been done because of Hurricane Rita.
But that is something that we believe needs to be addressed. It's
one of the problems associated with our dependence on foreign sources of
energy, and with our lack of ability to -- let me back up. We need to
expand our refinery capacity, because of demand. And that's one of the
problems when it comes with being able to refine the oil into gasoline.
And there are a number of people that have expressed to the President
that they would like to expand their existing operations, but the time
and cost of it is very restrictive. There are others that would like to
be able to build new refineries to meet some of the demand, and again,
because of the regulations and rules, it's costly, it's time consuming
and restrictive on people being able to do that.
Q The environmentalists are saying this is just an excuse to do
a lot of stuff the refinery folks have wanted to do, in terms of scaling
back environmental stuff, new source reviews, some of that stuff.
MR. McCLELLAN: It's to meet an important need of the American
people. The American people recognize that this is a problem area, and
that's why the President believes it's one of the areas that needs to be
addressed. The refineries are utilizing -- the President is concerned
about the fact that refineries are utilized at a rate higher than 90
percent right now, and it takes three to four years to permit a
refinery. That's too long.
And so you have to look at ways that maybe we can shorten the
permitting time, bringing about more certainty, and finding -- maybe
finding other sites. Remember, the President proposed looking at some
of the military sites that may be part of the Base Realignment and
Closure process as one way to expand refinery capacity.
Q You said that some of the focus has shifted from flooding to
the heat. Have there been new problems with some of the victims in
dealing with this --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the heat index is a concern. Remember, you
have power out in certain areas. That is a concern, and that's why some
of the -- Texas is shifting some of those search and rescue more to
addressing some of the heat concerns.
Q How are they addressing the concerns?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, maybe you can talk to state and local
officials about that, but that's one of the concerns. It's very hot in
Texas right now, you've got areas without power, you've got people who
have had businesses and homes that have been damaged. And it's
something that is a priority for the state right now, and we're there to
assist them in those efforts. Remember, the flooding wasn't -- in Texas
wasn't what it was expected to be. The hurricane didn't stall, it kept
moving, and that was good in the sense that it didn't lead to the kind
of flooding that everybody expected.
And now -- so this is part of what you're seeing in the aftermath
of the hurricane, just making sure that the priorities are being met.
And this is one of the priorities, people becoming overheated, and so
forth.
Q On the refinery issue, is legislation needed to cut through
the red tape, or what are you talking about?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there are some ideas that are being proposed.
In fact, I think Chairman Barton of the House Energy Committee is
proposing some ideas, and we'll certainly take a look at those ideas.
But, yes, we're looking at ways to address this issue.
Q There's been some scrutiny lately over the no-bid contracts
that are flowing through in the wake of the cleanup and FEMA. Is that a
concern for the administration?
MR. McCLELLAN: It's something that the Department of Homeland
Security Inspector General is committed to staying on top of. He
expressed that the other day. His job is to help prevent fraud and
abuse, mismanagement and things of that nature, and he -- obviously,
there's a lot of resources going out quickly, and you want to make sure
that those resources are getting to the people who need them. And
that's the purpose of those supplemental emergency requests that
Congress passed at our request.
But you also want to make sure that there's accountability in
place, and that's what I was stressing with Steve, is that we do have
accountability measures in place. They are -- the Department of
Homeland Security Inspector General set up a special office for
Hurricane Katrina, to address these issues, and they've deployed
inspector general teams in different parts of the region, to stay on top
of these issues. And I think the Inspector General expressed how that
was a concern, that money -- that it's going out so fast, because you
need to get resources to the people that need them, and their job is to
stay on top of that.
Q Scott, looking back over the past few weeks, it's obviously
been one hurricane thing after another. We're looking at a federal
relief effort that will be the biggest in history, natural disaster the
biggest in history. Have you heard the President reflect at all on how
this has come to dominate the agenda going forward?
MR. McCLELLAN: As he said, he said it's going to be one of the
largest reconstruction efforts ever. And what we're committed to doing
is making sure that it's a locally inspired vision, and that the federal
helps support that -- their efforts to implement that vision. That's
why he was down in Mississippi last week, meeting with the Governor's
Commission, that is moving forward on developing ideas for rebuilding.
We want to rebuild those communities better and stronger than ever. And
the Mayor -- and New Orleans is moving forward on efforts to start to
look at some of the longer-term vision for the area.
Q My question went more to the point of how it's dominating his
agenda, and the exclusion of other things that he intended to focus on
this fall.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there are a number of important priorities
that we continue to address, and that we will continue to meet. This is
-- the response and recovery and rebuilding efforts relating to these
hurricanes is highest -- is of the highest priority for the President.
And he's going to continue to stay focused on making sure that we're
meeting the needs of the people in the region, that we're helping them
get back up on their feet, and that we're helping them rebuild their
lives and their communities.
Obviously, there are other priorities, as well. The President has
a great team in place throughout the federal government, and we're all
working to make sure that those priorities are addressed, too.
Q How much time is he spending on researching the next Court
nominee, or reading the materials, or consulting? How does that stand?
MR. McCLELLAN: You bring up another priority. That's a priority,
moving forward on filling that vacancy. The President indicated he was
going to move forward in a timely manner, and he is continuing to move
forward on it. In fact, maybe later today I can give you an update on
the consultations. I know that as of yesterday we had -- the White
House had spoken with -- the President and White House staff had spoken
with 17 of 18 of the Judiciary Committee members. We had reached out to
another one, and I imagine we may have made contact yesterday with that
member, as well. We have consulted with -- it's well above 50, it may
be even closer to 70 by now. But the President was committed to doing
extensive consultation ahead of making a decision to fill that vacancy,
and that's what we've been working to do. I think we were, essentially,
wrapping that process up, maybe as early as today. The amount of
consultation we did the first time was unprecedented, and the President
is committed to doing the same amount of consultation this time.
He spoke yesterday to -- again, to step back -- the President is
going to appoint someone that all Americans can be proud of, and that is
highly qualified to fill the vacancy. That's what he did with Judge
Roberts, and that's what he will do with this vacancy, as well. He is,
as he indicated, he is considering a diverse group of potential
nominees.
Q Is he reading materials on them, reading opinions, or --
remember, the last time, he was doing all these things you told us
about. We haven't heard that much about it this time.
MR. McCLELLAN: I'll see if there's any additional update to give
you on that.
Q Just to be clear, the consultation is --
MR. McCLELLAN: We have a process in place. Obviously, he's very
familiar with a number of individuals that may be under consideration.
Go ahead, Dick.
Q Just to be clear, the consultations you were talking about in
a moment were with regards to Roberts, is that right?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, no, no. The ones -- I was talking about
consultations with regard to this vacancy. Remember, last week the
President met with Senators Specter and Leahy and Senator Frist and
Senator Reid. That was part of the consultation process, and White
House staff -- Harriet Miers, our Counsel, Andy Card, Chief of Staff,
and Karl Rove, Deputy Chief of Staff, have been reaching out to listen
to ideas from members of the Senate.
Q So the consultation process is nearly over, then.
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I think we're close to wrapping that up, if
not already. And I'll try to get you an update later.
Q Is he interviewing any candidates yet?
MR. McCLELLAN: If the President wants to share any more
information with you, I imagine he will. But out of respect for those
who may or may not be under consideration, I'm not going to get into
those kind of issues.
All right.
Q Thank you.
MR. McCLELLAN: Thanks.
END 9:16 A.M. EDT
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