For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 28, 2006
Press Gaggle by Dana Perino
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Mississippi
12:00 P.M. EDT
MS. PERINO: All right. We are on our way to Mississippi for the
Katrina anniversary event.
The President's schedule, I'll run through that quickly. This
morning he had his normal briefings. He had a meeting with the
Secretary of Homeland Security where he had an update on Hurricane
Ernesto. Attending were the Chief of Staff, Fran Townsend, Secretary
Chertoff, and Director Paulison. Director Paulison led the briefing.
Basically, the briefing talked about the track of the storm, how
right now it looks like it will be a Florida event. Florida is
preparing and as of now, there has been no request for federal
assistance or support. The President will be getting regular updates.
Q -- do you know when --(inaudible) --
MS. PERINO: Not yet, no.
The President and Mrs. Bush participated in an interview with April
Ryan of American Urban Radio Network. The President, upon arriving,
will have lunch with community leaders -- pool at the bottom. We will
release a list of the participants. Then he will have a walking tour of
a Mississippi neighborhood -- pool coverage, as well -- and his remarks
on Gulf Coast recovery -- expanded pool.
Those three events are in Biloxi. And then he will go to Gulfport,
where he will visit the United States Marine, Incorporated business.
And then he will chopper to New Orleans where he will have dinner with
Louisiana state and local officials. Again, we will release the names
of those participants.
Q -- (inaudible) --
MS. PERINO: Yes, ma'am.
I just want to point out one thing. We don't always mention the
Freedom Corps volunteer in these gaggles, but just to point out to you
today, I think part of the message this week is to remember and be
thankful for all the volunteers, armies of compassion that geared up
after Hurricane Katrina and continued.
The Freedom Corps greeter is Ken Wetzel. He was born and raised in
Biloxi, Mississippi. He's 46 years old. Right after Hurricane Katrina,
he delivered food and supplies to his neighbors. He helped clear the
debris. And then in September of 2005, he began volunteering with the
Hope Crisis Response Network, and that organization deploys volunteers
and resources to impacted areas to assist with immediate disaster relief
needs, as well as long-term recovery efforts. And he is a site
coordinator, so he supervises and works alongside teams of volunteers
who travel to the Gulf Coast to help rebuild homes.
And with that, I'll take any of your questions.
Q On Iran, I realize that the deadline hasn't been reached yet,
but there appears to be a movement for the United States to go ahead
with sanctions without going through the U.N. -- is that correct? And
also, how soon after August 31st could there be sanctions imposed?
MS. PERINO: The question was about Iran and whether or not reports
about the United States making decisions about going alone are accurate,
and how soon after August 31st there would be action -- correct?
Q Sanctions.
MS. PERINO: Sanctions. I saw that report; I don't know its
veracity. I saw it was unnamed officials.
Q It was Bolton.
MS. PERINO: Was it Bolton? Over the weekend. I'm sorry, I didn't
see that report. I saw the one this morning in The Washington Times.
What I know is that the P5 plus one is meeting on August 31st. That
will be three days from now. They are in communication with one another
right now. And there's just nothing to report yet in terms of next
steps or action. If that changes between now and Thursday, I will
certainly let you know immediately. But for now, I don't have anything
to add to what John Bolton said over the weekend.
Q Is the President going to go to the Lower Ninth Ward or the
Ninth Ward in New Orleans tomorrow?
MS. PERINO: The question was whether or not the President will go
to the Lower Ninth Ward. As you know, on these Gulf Coast trips, if
you've been traveling with us before, we don't announce specific
locations because of security and logistics. So we'll keep you updated
on that.
Q On Ernesto, has the President talked to his brother about it?
Have they been in contact on the phone about it, and what have they
said?
MS. PERINO: I'm not sure if the President has spoken to his
brother, but I know that Secretary Chertoff has. I can check on that
for you.
Q Apparently, Dana, there was an interview in which the
President suggested it might be a good ten years before New Orleans
comes back.* Is that a new time frame that he's thinking about or
talking about today?
MS. PERINO: I'm not aware of the interview you're referring to and
I don't know the specific number, if he would have said that. What he
has always said from the beginning, and this has been repeated by state
and local officials, is that the devastation from Hurricane Katrina was
so great that 365 days later we are not at the finish line. We are
starting to see the rebuilding efforts take root. The debris has been
largely removed, almost all in Mississippi and gone a long way in
Louisiana. The schools are starting to come back. Businesses are
starting to come back. The local and state officials have their housing
plans now in order. Those have been approved by the federal government,
and that money is available for them to draw on.
So I think even Ray Nagin yesterday on Meet The Press said it is
going to take at least five years in terms of the building cycle. So it
is going to be a long road back to rebuilding fully, but I think it's
important to remember that the expectations that were set last August
and September was that a year from now was not going to be -- you
weren't going to be able to see the city completely rebuilt. So it is
going to take a long period of time.
In terms of like, 10 years, I don't know about exact time frame,
but it's certainly going to take several years. And the President has
reaffirmed, and you will hear him again today reaffirm his commitment to
the entire region, especially in terms of moving forward on the parallel
tracks of schools, jobs and housing. And all three of those things need
to be moving forward together at the same time so that they can all
complement one another, because you can't bring people back unless you
have schools or jobs or homes.
Q What expectations do you have on Annan's visit to the region?
And secondly, what is Marine, Inc.?
MS. PERINO: As far as Annan's visit, I think I told you last
Wednesday that the President spoke to Secretary General Annan and said
he was very interested in his trip and asked the Secretary to give him a
ring when he returns.
As far as expectations, I wouldn't set any. I think that we'll see
how the trip goes, and then hear from him how it goes. We obviously
noted over the weekend that the UNIFIL force is being filled out and
deployed, so that's an important step in the region.
And your second question was about what is -- one moment please and
I'll get that for you. The question was what is the United States
Marine, Incorporated. It was founded in 1971. In 1988, the company
started to design and build military, patrol and special warfare boats
ranging in length from 21 to 90 feet. You'll probably find more on
their website.
After Hurricane Katrina, the company moved to Gulfport from New
Orleans. And prior to the storm, it employed 118 employees in New
Orleans. Today they have 154 employees in Gulfport, 44 percent of those
employees worked for them prior to Katrina. And their New Orleans
facility is scheduled to reopen next fall, so both locations will remain
open for business. They design and build military, patrol and special
warfare boats.
Q How many employed before Katrina?
MS. PERINO: They had 118; today they have 154.
Q This is the President's 13th visit, is that right?
MS. PERINO: Thirteenth visit to the region, yes. Just to make
sure that everyone is clear in terms of the numbers, remember right
after Hurricane Katrina, not far on its heels was Hurricane Rita. And
the President did make two trips to the Gulf Coast region on that -- I
think two of those visits included Texas. So, by our account, this is
the 13th visit to the region. I think in our fact sheet you saw last
week that 82 visits had been made by the President's Cabinet.
Kelly, did you have a question?
Q I was just going to ask if he was happy with the pace of the
recovery as it stands right now? I know it's going to take a long time,
but is he satisfied that everything is up to speed and that the region
is ready for another hurricane?
MS. PERINO: Well, I think those as two separate questions. One is
about the rebuilding, the second is about the preparation for hurricane
season. Yes, I think that he has confidence in the state and local
officials who will be the first responders, and also in Director
Paulison and Secretary Chertoff, who have worked tirelessly not just
with the Gulf Coast region, but they reviewed 75 hurricane preparation
plans across the city -- I'm sorry, across the United States. Actually,
I think it was -- I'm sorry -- it was all 50 states and an additional 75
cities.** I can get you the exact number on those. So for hurricane
preparation, yes, we are better prepared.
And Director Paulison spoke about that a lot yesterday in terms of
what they had done to improve communications between the federal, state
and local governments. And as far as the rebuilding, the President, as
you've noted, this is his 13th trip; his Cabinet has been down here 82
times. It is going to be a long road back, but they're starting to see
some real progress, especially in the areas of getting the schools back.
The housing money and in the form of the CDBG grants is in the hands of
the state officials, and so people will start seeing those checks so
then they can decide how to rebuild, or relocate if they need to in
different parts of the area.
And the President encourages people to come back to the Gulf Coast
region. He has spoken about the vibrancy of the culture. He loves the
food. He's looking forward to getting back down here and reaffirming
his commitment to the region.
END 12:12 P.M. EDT
* The President never said that it would take 10 years to rebuild. He
was talking about how we'll all reflect 10 years from now about Katrina
and remember the devastation the storm wrought and how the region was
rebuilt to be better and stronger. The President has said repeatedly
that it will take several years of perseverance and patience to rebuild.
** 50 states, and 75 cities
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