For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
October 13, 2006

Vice President's Remarks to the Travel Pool
Port of New Orleans Headquarters
New Orleans, Louisiana

October 12, 2006

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I appreciate the opportunity to come back to New Orleans this afternoon and get a briefing on how things are going in terms what's really a crucial part of the whole recovery operation, obviously.

Earlier I had a chance to visit with the Canal Barge Company leadership and see one of their tugs out here in the river. And then General Crear has just given me a briefing on where we stand with respect to the work that the Corps of Engineers has been doing. This clearly has been one of the most important parts of the recovery effort. It's probably one of the bigger projects the Corps has ever undertaken in the history of the Corps. And that's altogether fitting since this was one of the worst natural disasters, obviously, that the United States has ever had to endure.

But I'm impressed with what they've done. It looks like the levee system is back basically to pre-Katrina levels, in some cases, even better than that. There's still a lot of work to be done, a number of studies still under way and more work to be done in the future. But I've been tremendously impressed with what we've seen here today. I think the General deserves a lot of credit. And obviously, Don Powell has been the President's man in New Orleans working together with the delegation, with Senator Vitter and the other members of the delegation. We've come a long way, but we've got a lot to do yet, and delighted to have the opportunity to stop in and see what has been accomplished and improve my own understanding of what remains to be done. Thank you very much.

END