Bush: Katrina response 'not acceptable' (AP) Updated: 2005-09-03 11:22
NEW ORLEANS - Scorched by criticism about sluggish federal help, President
Bush acknowledged the government's failure to stop lawlessness and help
desperate people in New Orleans. "The results are not acceptable," Bush said
Friday in the face of mounting complaints from Republicans and Democrats alike.
President Bush
leans on Lousiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco as FEMA Director Mike
Brown, left, and Sen. David. Vitter, R-La., right, look on following a
news conference at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport,
Friday, Sept. 2, 2005. Bush is touring the Gulf Coast communities battered
by Hurricane Katrina, hoping to boost the spirits of increasingly
desperate storm victims and exhausted rescuers.
[AP] | Bush promised to crack down on crime
and violence, rush food and medicine to the needy and restore electrical power
within weeks to millions of customers across the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina.
"This is a storm that requires immediate action now," the president said
after a daylong tour of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. "I understand the
devastation requires more than one day's attention. It's going to require the
attention of this country for a long period of time."
Bush planned to talk about hurricane relief in his weekly radio address in a
rare live broadcast Saturday from the Rose Garden. He also is expected to travel
again to the Gulf Coast area on Monday, but White House officials would not
disclose where he would stop.
Congress passed a $10.5 billion disaster aid package, and Bush signed it
immediately upon his return to the White House. He also said National Guard
troops were moving in to restore order in New Orleans. He said the city's
convention center, where thousands of people sheltered for days in unsafe
conditions, was secure.
Bush also issued a memorandum saying the hurricane had created a "severe
energy supply interruption" and formally authorized a drawdown of oil from the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He said that the disruption had resulted in a
severe increase in the price of oil products and that the price rise could
damage the national economy.
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| | Hurricane Katrina batters US | | | | | Pakistani, Indian officials meet for peace | | | | | Death toll of Baghdad bridge stampede nears 1,000 | | |
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