White House Gaggle

By Gregory Gorman
September 23, 2005

President’s Schedule

Last night the President spoke again with Texas Governor Perry about preparations on the ground in advance of Hurricane Rita. This morning he had his usual intelligence briefings and his daily hurricane briefing which focused almost exclusively on Rita. He will have a photo opportunity with the 2005 Boys/Girls Clubs Regional Finalists for Youth of the Year followed by some policy time related to the Hurricane Katrina recovery and rebuilding efforts. This afternoon the President will present the Medal of Honor Award at the White House and then depart for San Antonio, Texas and subsequently to Colorado Springs, Colorado. He will thank officials and first responders in San Antonio who are on the ground working ahead of Hurricane Rita. Tomorrow morning he will have breakfast with the troops in Colorado Springs followed by a briefing at the command operation center. Press Secretary Scott McClellan announced that the remainder of the President’s weekend schedule was still being determined due to Hurricane Rita. McClellan did not announce the President’s Week Ahead schedule at this time.

Houston Evacuation

McClellan sent the administration’s thoughts and prayers to the families of those who lost their lives early Friday morning when an evacuation bus caught on fire. He stated that it was important to start the evacuation process early and that this was an unprecedented number of people being evacuated from the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. When asked if the President was satisfied and comfortable with the evacuation process, McClellan would not directly comment on the matter but he did say that the federal government is assisting with the evacuation efforts and that state and local officials are taking the lead. According to McClellan, the President is getting his view of the evacuation process from operational officials on the local level. He stated, "The President wants to make sure we are doing all we can from the federal government’s standpoint".

Military Involvement

McClellan stated that the question of military involvement in hurricane response and recovery has been addressed by the President. The President will get a better assessment during his visit to the Northern Command of how the military can help in situations like hurricane response and recovery. When asked if there were discussions happening about the legal issues of employing the military as law enforcement, McClellan said that the issue was being discussed and that the administration has to look at the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and how it applies those lessons in the future.

Spending Cuts

When asked again about the question of cutting spending for the Medicare prescription drug benefit and the highway bill in order to pay for Katrina recovery, McClellan reiterated the administration’s intent to move forward on the drug legislation for seniors. In terms of other issues, the White House is committed to working with Congress to cut unnecessary spending from the budget and has already made savings suggestions in the 2006 budget. McClellan said, "We are going to meet the needs of the people in the region. We are also going to have accountability in place".