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Read Bush transcript: 'We will do what it takes'
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- President Bush delivered a prime time
address to the nation Thursday from Jackson Square in the French Quarter
of New Orleans 17 days after Hurricane Katrina churned the city and
displaced a million people. This is a transcript of his remarks.
President Bush: Good evening. I am speaking to you from the city of New
Orleans -- nearly empty, still partly underwater and waiting for life
and hope to return. Eastward from Lake Pontchartrain, across the
Mississippi coast, to Alabama and into Florida, millions of lives were
changed in a day by a cruel and wasteful storm.
In the aftermath, we have seen fellow citizens left stunned and
uprooted, searching for loved ones, and grieving for the dead and
looking for meaning in a tragedy that seems so blind and random.=A0
We have also witnessed the kind of desperation no citizen of this great
and generous nation should ever have to know -- fellow Americans calling
out for food and water, vulnerable people left at the mercy of criminals
who had no mercy and the bodies of the dead lying uncovered and untended
in the street.
These days of sorrow and outrage have also been marked by acts of
courage and kindness that make all Americans proud. Coast Guard and
other personnel rescued tens of thousands of people from flooded
neighborhoods.=A0
Religious congregations and families have welcomed strangers as brothers
and sisters and neighbors. In the community of Chalmette, when two men
tried to break into a home, the owner invited them to stay and took in
15 other people who had no place to go.=A0
At Tulane Hospital for Children, doctors and nurses did not eat for days
so patients could have food, and eventually carried the patients on
their backs up eight flights of stairs to helicopters. Many first
responders were victims themselves -- wounded healers, with a sense of
duty greater than their own suffering.=A0
When I met Steve Scott of the Biloxi Fire Department, he and his
colleagues were conducting a house-to-house search for survivors. Steve
told me this: "I lost my house, and I lost my cars, but I still got my
family, and I still got my spirit."
Across the Gulf Coast, among people who have lost much and suffered much
and given to the limit of their power, we are seeing that same spirit: a
core of strength that survives all hurt, a faith in God no storm can
take away and a powerful American determination to clear the ruins and
build better than before.
Tonight so many victims of the hurricane and the flood are far from home
and friends and familiar things. You need to know that our whole nation
cares about you, and in the journey ahead you are not alone. To all who
carry a burden of loss, I extend the deepest sympathy of our country.=A0
To every person who has served and sacrificed in this emergency, I offer
the gratitude of our country.
And tonight I also offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout
the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes. We will stay as
long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their
lives. And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to
know: There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this
great city will rise again.
The work of rescue is largely finished. The work of recovery is moving
forward. In nearly all of Mississippi, electric power has been restored.
Trade is starting to return to the Port of New Orleans, and agricultural
shipments are moving down the Mississippi River.
All major gasoline pipelines are now in operation, preventing the supply
disruptions that many feared. The breaks in the levees have been closed,
the pumps are running, and the water here in New Orleans is receding by
the hour.=A0
Environmental officials are on the ground, taking water samples,
identifying and dealing with hazardous debris, and working to get
drinking water and waste water treatment systems operating again.=A0
And some very sad duties are being carried out by professionals who
gather the dead, treat them with respect, and prepare them for their
rest.
In the task of recovery and rebuilding, some of the hardest work is
still ahead, and it will require the creative skill and generosity of a
united country.
Our first commitment is to meet the immediate needs of those who had to
flee their homes and leave all their possessions behind. For these
Americans, every night brings uncertainty. Every day requires new
courage, and the months to come will bring more than their fair share of
struggles.
The Department of Homeland Security is registering evacuees who are now
in shelters, churches, or private homes -- whether in the Gulf region or
far away. I have signed an order providing immediate assistance to
people from the disaster area.=A0
As of today, more than 500,000 evacuee families have gotten emergency
help to pay for food, clothing, and other essentials. Evacuees who have
not yet registered should contact FEMA or the Red Cross. We need to know
who you are, because many of you will also be eligible for broader
assistance in the future.=A0
Many families were separated during the evacuation, and we are working
to help you reunite. Please call this number, 1-877-568-3317, that's
1-877-568-3317, and we will work to bring your family back together and
pay for your travel to reach them.
In addition, we are taking steps to ensure that evacuees don't have to
travel great distances or navigate bureaucracies to get the benefits
that are there for them.=A0
The Department of Health and Human Services has sent more than 1,500
health professionals, along with over 50 tons of medical supplies --
including vaccines, antibiotics, and medicines for people with chronic
conditions such as diabetes.=A0
The Social Security Administration is delivering checks. The Department
of Labor is helping displaced persons apply for temporary jobs and
unemployment benefits. And the Postal Service is registering new
addresses so that people can get their mail.
To carry out the first stages of the relief effort and begin the
rebuilding at once, I have asked for, and the Congress has provided,
more than $60 billion.
This is an unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis, which
demonstrates the compassion and resolve of our nation.
Our second commitment is to help the citizens of the Gulf Coast to
overcome this disaster, put their lives back together and rebuild their
communities. Along this coast, for mile after mile, the wind and water
swept the land clean.=A0
In Mississippi, many thousands of houses were damaged or destroyed. In
New Orleans and surrounding parishes, more than a quarter million houses
are no longer safe to live in. Hundreds of thousands of people from
across this region will need to find longer-term housing.
Our goal is to get people out of shelters by the middle of October. So
we are providing direct assistance to evacuees that allows them to rent
apartments, and many already are moving into places of their own. A
number of states have taken in evacuees and shown them great compassion
-- admitting children to school, and providing health care. So I will
work with Congress to ensure that states are reimbursed for these extra
expenses.
In the disaster area and in cities that have received huge numbers of
displaced people, we are beginning to bring in mobile homes and trailers
for temporary use. To relieve the burden on local health care facilities
in the region, we are sending extra doctors and nurses to these
areas.=A0
We are also providing money that can be used to cover overtime pay for
police and fire departments while cities and towns rebuild.
Near New Orleans, Biloxi and other cities, housing is urgently needed
for police and firefighters, other service providers and the many
workers who are going to rebuild those cities. Right now, many are
sleeping on ships we have brought to the Port of New Orleans, and more
ships are on their way to the region.=A0
And we will provide mobile homes and supply them with basic services as
close to the construction areas as possible, so the rebuilding process
can go forward as quickly as possible.
And the federal government will undertake a close partnership with the
states of Louisiana and Mississippi, the city of New Orleans and other
Gulf Coast cities, so they can rebuild in a sensible, well-planned
way.=A0
Federal funds will cover the great majority of the costs of repairing
public infrastructure in the disaster zone -- from roads and bridges to
schools and water systems. Our goal is to get the work done quickly.
And taxpayers expect this work to be done honestly and wisely, so we
will have a team of inspectors general reviewing all expenditures.
In the rebuilding process, there will be many important decisions and
many details to resolve, yet we are moving forward according to some
clear principles. The Federal government will be fully engaged in the
mission, but Gov. Barbour, Gov. Blanco, Mayor Nagin, and other state and
local leaders will have the primary role in planning for their own
future.=A0
Clearly, communities will need to move decisively to change zoning laws
and building codes, in order to avoid a repeat of what we have seen. And
in the work of rebuilding, as many jobs as possible should go to men and
women who live in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Our third commitment is this: when communities are rebuilt, they must be
even better and stronger than before the storm. Within the Gulf region
are some of the most beautiful and historic places in America.=A0
As all of us saw on television, there is also some deep, persistent
poverty in this region as well. And that poverty has roots in a history
of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity
of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action.=A0
So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us
rise above the legacy of inequality. When the streets are rebuilt, there
should be many new businesses, including minority-owned businesses,
along those streets.
When the houses are rebuilt, more families should own, not rent, those
houses.
When the regional economy revives, local people should be prepared for
the jobs being created.
Americans want the Gulf Coast not just to survive, but to thrive, not
just to cope, but to overcome. We want evacuees to come home, for the
best of reasons -- because they have a real chance at a better life in a
place they love.
When one resident of this city who lost his home was asked by a reporter
if he would relocate, he said, "Naw, I will rebuild, but I'll build
higher." That is our vision of the future, in this city and beyond: we
will not just rebuild, we will build higher and better.
To meet this goal, I will listen to good ideas from Congress, state and
local officials and the private sector. I believe we should start with
three initiatives that the Congress should pass.
Tonight I propose the creation of a Gulf Opportunity Zone, encompassing
the region of the disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama.
Within this zone, we should provide immediate incentives for
job-creating investment: tax relief for small businesses, incentives to
companies that create jobs and loans and loan guarantees for small
businesses, including minority-owned enterprises, to get them up and
running again.=A0
It is entrepreneurship that creates jobs and opportunity. It is
entrepreneurship that helps break the cycle of poverty, and we will take
the side of entrepreneurs as they lead the economic revival of the Gulf
region.
I propose the creation of worker recovery accounts to help those
evacuees who need extra help finding work. Under this plan, the federal
government would provide accounts of up to $5,000 which these evacuees
could draw upon for job training and education to help them get a good
job ... and for child care expenses during their job search.
To help lower-income citizens in the hurricane region build new and
better lives, I also propose that Congress pass an Urban Homesteading
Act.
Under this approach, we will identify property in the region owned by
the federal government, and provide building sites to low-income
citizens free of charge, through a lottery.=A0
In return, they would pledge to build on the lot, with either a mortgage
or help from a charitable organization like Habitat for Humanity. Home
ownership is one of the great strengths of any community, and it must be
a central part of our vision for the revival of this region.
In the long run, the New Orleans area has a particular challenge because
much of the city lies below sea level. The people who call it home need
to have reassurance that their lives will be safer in the years to
come.=A0
Protecting a city that sits lower than the water around it is not easy,
but it can and has been done.
City and parish officials in New Orleans, and state officials in
Louisiana will have a large part in the engineering decisions to come.
And the Army Corps of Engineers will work at their side to make the
flood protection system stronger than it has ever been.
The work that has begun in the Gulf Coast region will be one of the
largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen. When that job is
done, all Americans will have something to be very proud of. And all
Americans are needed in this common effort.=A0
It is the armies of compassion, charities and houses of worship and
idealistic men and women that give our reconstruction effort its
humanity. They offer to those who hurt a friendly face, an arm around
the shoulder, and the reassurance that in hard times, they can count on
someone who cares.
=A0
By land, by sea and by air, good people wanting to make a difference
deployed to the Gulf Coast, and they have been working around the clock
ever since.
The cash needed to support the armies of compassion is great, and
Americans have given generously. For example, the private fund-raising
effort led by former Presidents Bush and Clinton has already received
pledges of more than $100 million.=A0
Some of that money is going to governors, to be used for immediate needs
within their states.
A portion will also be sent to local houses of worship to help reimburse
them for the expense of helping others.=A0
This evening the need is still urgent, and I ask the American people to
continue donating to the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, other good
charities and religious congregations in the region.
It is also essential for the many organizations of our country to reach
out to your fellow citizens in the Gulf area. So I have asked USA
Freedom Corps to create an information clearing house, available at
usafreedomcorps.gov, so that families anywhere in the country can find
opportunities to help families in the region or a school can support a
school.
And I challenge existing organizations -- churches, Scout troops, or
labor union locals to get in touch with their counterparts in
Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama and learn what they can do to help. In
this great national enterprise, important work can be done by everyone,
and everyone should find their role and do their part.
The government of this nation will do its part as well. Our cities must
have clear and up-to-date plans for responding to natural disasters,
disease outbreaks or terrorist attack -- for evacuating large numbers of
people in an emergency and for providing the food, water and security
they would need.=A0
In a time of terror threats and weapons of mass destruction, the danger
to our citizens reaches much wider than a fault line or a flood plain. I
consider detailed emergency planning to be a national security
priority.=A0
Therefore, I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to
undertake an immediate review, in cooperation with local counterparts of
emergency plans in every major city in America.
I also want to know all the facts about the government response to
Hurricane Katrina. The storm involved a massive flood, a major supply
and security operation and an evacuation order affecting more than a
million people.=A0
It was not a normal hurricane, and the normal disaster relief system was
not equal to it. Many of the men and women of the Coast Guard, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States military, the
National Guard, Homeland Security, and state and local governments
performed skillfully under the worst conditions.=A0
Yet the system at every level of government, was not well coordinated
and was overwhelmed in the first few days. It is now clear that a
challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader
role for the armed forces -- the institution of our government most
capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice.
Four years after the frightening experience of September 11th, Americans
have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of
emergency. When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation,
I as president am responsible for the problem, and for the solution.=A0
So I have ordered every Cabinet secretary to participate in a
comprehensive review of the government response to the hurricane. This
government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina. We are going to
review every action and make necessary changes so that we are better
prepared for any challenge of nature, or act of evil men that could
threaten our people.
The United States Congress also has an important oversight function to
perform. Congress is preparing an investigation, and I will work with
members of both parties to make sure this effort is thorough.
In the life of this nation, we have often been reminded that nature is
an awesome force and that all life is fragile. We are the heirs of men
and women who lived through those first terrible winters at Jamestown
and Plymouth, who rebuilt Chicago after a great fire, and San Francisco
after a great earthquake, who reclaimed the prairie from the dust bowl
of the 1930s.=A0
Every time, the people of this land have come back from fire, flood, and
storm to build anew -- and to build better than what we had before.
Americans have never left our destiny to the whims of nature, and we
will not start now.
These trials have also reminded us that we are often stronger than we
know with the help of grace and one another. They remind us of a hope
beyond all pain and death -- a God who welcomes the lost to a house not
made with hands.=A0
And they remind us that we are tied together in this life, in this
nation and that the despair of any touches us all.
I know that when you sit on the steps of a porch where a home once stood
or sleep on a cot in a crowded shelter, it is hard to imagine a bright
future. But that future will come.=A0
The streets of Biloxi and Gulfport will again be filled with lovely
homes and the sound of children playing. The churches of Alabama will
have their broken steeples mended and their congregations whole. And
here in New Orleans, the street cars will once again rumble down St.
Charles, and the passionate soul of a great city will return.
In this place, there is a custom for the funerals of jazz musicians. The
funeral procession parades slowly through the streets, followed by a
band playing a mournful dirge as it moves to the cemetery. Once the
casket has been laid in place, the band breaks into a joyful "second
line" -- symbolizing the triumph of the spirit over death.
Tonight the Gulf Coast is still coming through the dirge, yet we will
live to see the second line.
Thank you, and may God bless America.
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