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Skriven 2005-09-20 23:33:12 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0509201) for Tue, 2005 Sep 20
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President's Remarks at Governor's Commission Briefing in Mississippi
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 20, 2005

President's Remarks at Governor's Commission Briefing in Mississippi
Gulfport, Mississippi


˙˙˙˙˙In Focus: Hurricane Relief

11:35 A.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks. Well, thanks for
having me -- again. A couple of things, observations: Every time I come
back here I see progress. You know, sometimes when you're so close to the
situation it's hard to really see noticeable change. But this part of the
country is changing. And it's -- you're moving forward. I don't know if you
know that or not, but flying in or driving in, there's something different
from the first time I was here.

Now, what wasn't different is this Mississippi spirit is strong. It was
noticeable -- (applause.) There is a can-do attitude in the midst of all
the trauma and pain, one thing I noticed on my first trip was, "we can do
this." And now I'm seeing it being done. "We can do this" means a lot of
things. It meant, like Larry Darden, who's there -- Jerry, stand up for a
minute. Larry Darden rescued 20 people out of flood waters. (Applause.) He
represents kind of the heroic action that took place when the storm hit. I
met him out at the airport. He said, "I never thought I'd get to see a
President." (Laughter.) I said, "I never thought I'd get to meet a fellow
who saved 20 lives."

And that can-do spirit is -- these county commissioners -- we call them
county commissioners -- county supervisors and mayors who are dealing with
unbelievable trauma, and, you know, they're right there on a front line of
trying to comfort people who hurt. And, yet, amidst all that agony and pain
they're going through was this comforting spirit. The can-do spirit is, you
know, seeing progress being made. And inside this tent there's a can-do
spirit of taking a horrible situation and making this part of the world
better. And so I'm impressed.

And I think that when Haley said, well, we've got to make sure that people
take a look down here to invest, the first thing they're going to look at
is not the tax code, but the character of the people, which will give you a
great advantage. (Applause.)

My pledge is -- let me step back. I really appreciate this commission. I
think it's really important for Mississippi folks to chart your path. And I
know Gene Taylor feels that way, and I know the senators feel that way.
It's just -- you really don't want the federal government telling you how
to rebuild. What you want is the federal government to help you rebuild.
You want a partner, not somebody who is going tell you what the strategy
ought to be.

I also appreciate Haley saying that the state of Mississippi and this
commission will take into account what the local folks think. Their input
is going to be vital. I mean, you've got yourself some mayors and some
supervisors who were elected by the people; you need to listen to them,
because they're going to be listening to the people. (Applause.)

A couple of recovery items -- one, I spent some time -- quality time at the
Chevron plant in Pascagoula, and I want to thank Roland for being here. By
the way, you talk about a dedicated group of people who are working huge
hours and long hours, not only to get that plant up and running, but to
help the community. It was an impressive display of compassion and hard
work, and thanks for having me.

But I did hear from the mayors and the county supervisors, and there was a
level of frustration, as there should have been. You know, you hear one
thing about debris removal, and nothing is happening. Well, I got back and
I called them in, and I said, look, part of the recovery, we've got to help
these folks have a sensible plan to start removing debris. We worked with
Haley, the mayors tell me -- I'm a little cautious about laying it out
there -- but the mayors tell me there is a plan now in place that is
logical and that -- where people will begin to see concrete results when it
comes to removing this debris.

We've got people looking at the infrastructure. One of the questions I
asked in Washington, D.C., as the principle party responsible for
rebuilding the infrastructure, is, have you got your assessment teams out
there? You know, looking at these bridges requires more than just, you
know, writing a check. It requires the Coast Guard to look at the spans; it
requires the -- I think you've got a role in parts on the state highways.

I mean, we're trying to help get this recovery going by plowing through the
paperwork requirements as fast as possible, so that we can reduce the
frustration to you. (Applause.) And Haley is right, we have a
responsibility by law to help rebuild the infrastructure. You can't rebuild
a part of the world without your infrastructure in place, and we know that.
And so we look forward to working with you to get this infrastructure up
and running.

On the other hand, as Jim Barksdale said, if you don't have a plan, if you
don't have a plan of action, the recovery and the rebuilding will be
haphazard. So I want to applaud this commission. In my speech the other
night, I made it clear to the country that we expect local folks to come up
with the vision. We want the Mississippi people to lay out the Mississippi
vision about what this important part of the world is going to look like.
And that's exactly what this commission is all about.

When they told me that Haley and Barksdale had invited me to come, I was
thrilled, because I think it's really smart and really important to bring
capable people together to delegate tasks, to think anew, obviously to
utilize that which worked in the past to your advantage, but be willing to
think anew, because you've got a fantastic opportunity. We'll get the
debris removed, we'll get your water systems up and running as quickly as
possible, we'll get your bridges built, but the vision that you detail as a
result of this commission is going to be the blueprint for the future.

And so I really appreciate all the citizens who have agreed to take time
out of your busy schedules to help plot the strategy for the future. It's
really important, it's really important. And there's no doubt in my mind
that out of the rubble and out of those huge heaps of timber that used to
be homes, a better Mississippi will emerge. (Applause.)

At any rate, we look forward to working with you. Let me put it another
way: We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our
job. That's what I'm telling you.

And so thanks for taking this on. Good luck. Think bold. (Applause.)

END 11:42 A.M. CDT

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