The White House, President George W. Bush Click to print this document

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 1, 2007

President Bush Meets with Elected Officials and Community Leaders in Louisiana
Lil Dizzy's Café
New Orleans, Louisiana

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     Fact sheet In Focus: Hurricane Katrina

2:22 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: It is my pleasure to be back in New Orleans. I want to thank the Lieutenant Governor, the Mayor, the head of the City Council, the parish presidents for joining me.

I committed to stay involved in the rebuilding of -- gosh, a United States Senator, excuse me, Senator -- and the Congressman, I beg your pardon. I committed to the people of this part of the world and the Gulf Coast that the federal government would fund recovery and stay committed to the recovery. And one of the reasons I have come down is to hear from you. I fully understand that there are frustrations and I want to know the frustrations. And to the extent we can help, we'll help. I told the people that I would work with the Congress to write a $110 billion check -- the people of Louisiana and Mississippi, and that check has been written. And now it's incumbent upon us to get the money into people's hands.

President George W. Bush is joined by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, left, and New Orleans Archbishop Alfred Hughes, right, Thursday, March 1, 2007 in New Orleans, during a luncheon with elected officials and community leaders on the recovery progress of their Gulf Coast region. White House photo by Eric Draper Sometimes it's hard to see progress when you're living close to the scene. I guess the New Orleans Saints football team represents to me what's happening in this part of the state -- a resurgence, there's a renewal. Even though there's a lot of work to do, the spirit of the people down here is strong.

And so I want to thank these leaders for joining me. It means a lot to me. It's good to be with you. It's also good to be in a place where you can buy some pretty good food. (Laughter.) I'm looking forward to it.

END 2:24 P.M. CST


President George W. Bush meets with New Orleans Upper Ninth Ward resident Ethel Williams, left, and her daughter, Wanda, following a lunch meeting Thursday, March 1, 2007 in New Orleans with city and state officials, to talk about the rebuilding progress of areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. President Bush met Ethel Williams and toured her hurricane damaged home in April 2006. White House photo by Eric Draper


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