For weeks we have all been thinking of only one subject: How can we help those who are suffering and in need following Hurricane Katrina? We are saddened by the loss of life and the scope of the damage. We are grief stricken for the victims and their families.
I’ve been to the area. We saw business districts and neighborhoods along the Gulf Coast. We inspected the aftermath.
We visited shelters. We talked with survivors and the volunteers who are helping. They told us their stories.
Our compassion compels us to ease the suffering. We are called to action. We are inspired by the heroism, the generosity, and the determination of our fellow citizens. Americans always come together to lift up members of our national family who hit hard times.
This storm has been devastating to lives and livelihoods, but together we will heal. As the President has said, we will roll up our sleeves. And we will go to work. We will build up again, better and stronger, what was swept away.
You here in the private sector have been, and continue to be, an important part of that.
The outstanding response from the business community makes me extremely proud of the men and women serving society within American companies.
Let me tell you directly, thank you very much for all that you’re doing.
American companies have already contributed $487 million for relief and recovery. I specifically want to recognize and applaud the Chamber.
Your Center for Corporate Citizenship is streamlining access to supplies for states and localities by serving as a national clearinghouse.
And as of this morning, the Department of Commerce activated a hotline, 1-888-4USA-DOC, as a government point of contact. We will help direct corporate generosity to where it's needed most.
The phones will be staffed by DOC employees who will act as caseworkers. They will take ownership of each contribution and steer it through the federal government until it is successfully reaches its destination.
Many of you have asked how else you can contribute. We've seen many business allowing employees to take the time to volunteer, encouraging charitable donations, in some cases matching those donations, and of course making in kind contributions.
Thank you for your leadership. You’re setting a very high standard.
The most important thing that I can tell you about this challenge is to share a core conviction: The compassion, will and determination of the American people are strong enough to carry all of us through this time of testing.
We will reunite families and restore safety, security, and promise to their lives. We will rebuild our Gulf communities.
And we will revive our coastal economy to support the talents and empower the dreams of people from Morgan City , Louisiana to Orange Beach , Alabama.
President Bush is deploying the full resources of the federal government to achieve those goals. The first priority is to complete recovery operations to save any lives that remain at risk.
The next mission is the restoration of the essential services on which normal life depends; returning power, water, and waste services to the region. And then we need to continue loosening the floodwaters’ grip on the City of New Orleans.
President Bush also took actions to stabilize our economy. The President tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to prevent a gasoline supply shortage.
The President suspended Davis-Bacon for federally funded reconstruction projects in the Gulf Coast.
Last week, the President formed a Hurricane Katrina Economic Restoration Task Force. With the Departments of Treasury and Labor, Commerce is chairing a working group that will manage the national and regional economic impact of the storm.
This working group’s mission is to encourage new investment and employment and to generate sustainable economic activity for areas hit by Katrina.
This Administration is committed to ensuring that rebuilding efforts begin immediately. Less than five days after Katrina struck President Bush signed a $10.5 billion emergency relief bill.
Last week the President approved an additional $52 billion dollars for relief and recovery.
At the Commerce Department, our Economic Development Administration announced an $8 million package of direct grants to Louisiana , Mississippi , and Alabama.
The money will be used to help state and local government begin planning economic recovery and the road ahead.
We see resolve among those rebuilding in Katrina’s wake. Thousands of men and women are working around the clock to restore our supply of energy.
Several oil and gas pipelines are back in operation. Over half the affected refineries are back on line. Others will be restored shortly and in the coming weeks. The hardest hit will take substantially longer.
The scope of devastation is staggering. But the U.S. economy is resilient and durable. Consider for a moment all of the blows our economy has sustained.
Between 1980 and last year, 62 hurricanes hit the U.S. —each causing more than a billion dollars in damages.
Until Katrina hit New Orleans and our Gulf Coast , the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was the worst natural disaster to ever strike a major U.S. city.
The 1906 earth quake leveled the city. Fire added to the death and destruction. But San Francisco was rebuilt and reborn.
During October 1871, Chicago burned to the ground. Hundreds died and more were homeless. Two days later, the Chicago Tribune printed the following headline, “Chicago Will Rise Again.” That is the optimistic spirit of America. That is the spirit that will rebuild the Gulf States. New Orleans will again be a great American city.
Our economy is resilient. We have faced many challenges in the past five years alone: The technology stock bust.
Terrorists attacked us on 9/11.
Corporate scandals drove down public confidence.
And, last year, four of the most destructive and expensive hurricanes in our history struck the United States.
This all occurred after the President inherited a recession. But the President put in place policies grounded on creating the environment for entrepreneurship, innovation, risk-taking, and economic growth.
And growth has been solid. We remain the world’s fastest growing major industrialized economy. Over the past four quarters, our economy grew 3.6 percent.
Our underlying strength will help us withstand and rebuild—to spring back from Katrina.
The continued strength of our national economy will be a lifeline to the region, lifting the devastated areas in our Gulf States back to normal.
Naturally, the private sector has a huge role to play in the recovery. From volunteers pitching in to contributions from businesses of all sizes, we are seeing an outpouring of compassionate action.
Many businesses are showing real leadership. Home Depot and Lowe’s set a positive example by holding their prices steady in hurricane damaged areas.
Other corporations are also stepping forward. Let me give you a few of the examples that have been brought to my attention.
Merck donated $1 million in relief.
And Merck is preparing a large donation of vaccines, antibiotics, and other medicines that will be sent once the specific needs are established by the authorities on the ground.
Merck also plans to issue replacement prescription drugs to patients, hospitals, and pharmacies that sustained flood losses.
General Electric donated $18 million and they are providing critically needed equipment: generators, trucks, trailers, modular space, and water filtration gear.
Wal-Mart donated $17 million to the recovery. Wal-Mart is also guaranteeing jobs for its displaced employees.
Wal-Mart’s Emergency Operations Team began deploying needed merchandise across the Gulf Coast before Katrina arrived.
Wal-Mart trucks are distributing camping supplies and food products to service and community organizations.
Many American companies are setting a high standard of corporate stewardship with their responses. Thank you all for everything that your companies are doing.
Finally, let me leave you with an appeal. Your contributions are vitally important now, but I hope your companies will also consider the Gulf Coast region in the months ahead.
I hope you will consider investing and locating enterprises in the rebuilding zone. Only then will the region truly be reborn. Please give strong consideration to basing operations in the affected areas.
In the U.S. we look outward with a vision of economic engagement. We have always been a country of explorers.
We have always been a country of travelers. We have always been a country of business pioneers.
It is that pioneering spirit that American entrepreneurs can now apply right here at home. There is opportunity in New Orleans. There is opportunity on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Alabama.
The people need basic businesses. They need goods and services. Together, we can meet those needs.
There may be no better place in America to invest and do business than New Orleans.
The Gulf Coast and New Orleans will rise again. And when that day comes, millions of Americans who joined the recovery will take pride in the great mission of rebuilding our Gulf Coast.
We can all play a part.
I thank all of you and the men and women you represent for the important contribution that American businesses are making in this effort.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
