Summary

NAME: US BUSH 20060828I TAPE: EF06/0785 IN_TIME: 10:03:55:14 DURATION: 00:02:40:02 SOURCES: POOL DATELINE: Biloxi - 28 August 2006 RESTRICTIONS: SHOTLIST: 1. Aeroplane landing 2. George W. Bush, US President and wife, Laura Bush getting off plane 3. Bush touring neighbourhood of newly constructed homes 4. Bush at podium 5. SOUNDBITE: (English) George W. Bush, US President: "I've been in this neighbourhood before, as a matter of fact I was here a couple of days after (hurricane) Katrina hit, amazing isn't it? Amazing what the world looked like then and what it looks like now." 6. Cutaway of Bush at podium 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) George W. Bush, US President: "You can see the reconstruction effort beginning here in this part of the world. It's a sense of renewal here. It may be hard for those of you who have endured the last year to really have that sense of change, but for a fellow who was here and now a year later comes back, things are changing. And I congratulate you for your courage and your perseverance. And there's still challenges. There's still more to be done. You can see it with the temporary trailers. I feel a quiet sense of determination that's going to shape the future of Mississippi and so I've come back on this anniversary to thank you for your courage and to let you know the federal government stands with you, still." 8. Bush shaking hands with people 9. Bush leaving STORYLINE: US President George W. Bush suggested on Monday that Washington may not be willing to send more than the 110 (b) billion US dollars already approved for a Gulf Coast still struggling to come back from Hurricane Katrina's battering, and said a full recovery is likely to take years. Of the 110 (b) billion US dollars (euro86 billion) in hurricane aid approved by Congress since Katrina struck a year ago on Tuesday, just 44 (b) billion US dollars has been spent. The Bush administration has released 77 (b) billion US dollars to the states, reserving the rest for future needs. Bush returned on Monday to the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina and declared "a sense of renewal" in the region still struggling to come back from the storm's battering. Amazing what the world looked like then and what it looks like now," Bush said, marvelling at the air conditioning and electrical service in the newly constructed home visible behind him. The Mississippi coastline neighbourhood is very different now a year on since Bush saw it littered by debris of all sizes, with cars in trees, homes smashed to bits and nearby floating casinos tossed onto dry land. Bush said "there's still challenges." Bush came to Mississippi, the first day of a two-day Gulf Coast visit to mark the one-year anniversary of the hurricane that still haunts his presidency. It was his 13th journey to the region, and his first in three months. His travels were accompanied by worries that a new tropical storm could bring the first test of his promise that the botched post-Katrina response will not be repeated. Tropical Storm Ernesto cut a path through the Caribbean and put Florida on emergency footing. Forecasters believe Ernesto will emerge with some force into the Gulf of Mexico later this week. With Bush's image as a leader still tarnished by the halting federal response to Katrina, the president wanted to make clear he has been fully engaged in planning for Ernesto. A poll earlier this month found two-thirds of Americans still disapproved of the president's handling of Katrina. Democrats are converging on the Gulf along with Bush, intending to make the case that he and the Republican Party should be held accountable for failing storm victims. The president's first stop was lunch at the Biloxi Schooner Seafood Restaurant, owned by Joe Lancon, who recently reopened less than two miles (3 kilometres) from where Katrina destroyed his two other restaurants. Bush reassured state and local officials that the federal government would continue to help with the rebuilding but he didn't bring any new aid announcements or fresh policy proposals.