Summary

FTG FOR COVERAGE ON HURRICANE SANDY / INT BROLL PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA BRIEFING AT FEMA HEADQUARTERS Saturday, November 3, 2012 President Barack Obama remarks at FEMA DC Slug: 0940 WH FEMA RS31 81 AR: 16x9 Disc #349 NYRS: 5114 President Barack Obama delivers remarks at FEMA 09:45:45 Well listen, I just completed not only a meeting with our team here at FEMA and our cabinet officers who were involved in the recovery process along the east coast, but we also had a conference call with the governors of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, as well as many of the municipalities who have been directly affected by this crisis and this tragedy. 09:46:10 We still have a long way to go to make sure that the people of New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and some of the surrounding areas get their basic needs taken care of and that we start moving back to normalcy. 09:46:26 A couple of things that we've emphasized. Number one, that it is critical for us to get power back on as quickly as possible and just to get people an example of the kind of work we're doing, the military, DOD, thanks to the work of Leon and others have been able to get military transport facilities to move cherry pickers and personnel from as far away as California to get that equipment into the area so that we can start getting some of the power back on as quickly as possible. It is a painstaking process, but we are making progress. 09:47:06 Number two, we are getting assets in to pump as much water out as possible. Lower Manhattan obviously is an acute example, but there are problems with flooding that are effecting substations throughout the region. That's going to continue to be a top priority. 09:47:23 Number three, making sure that people's basic needs are taken care of. You know, as we start seeing the weather get a little bit colder, people can't be without power for long periods of time, without heat for long periods of time, and so what we're doing is starting to shift to identify where we can have temporary housing outside of shelters so people can get some sense of normalcy. They can have a hot meal, they can have the capacity to take care of their families as their homes are being dealt with. 09:48:00 Number four, debris removal is still important. Number five, making sure that the National Guard and other federal assets are in place to help with getting the transportation systems back up and running. That's going to be critical. 09:48:18 What I told the governors and the mayors is what I've been saying to my team from the start of this event, and that is we don't have any patience for bureaucracy, we don't have any patience for red tape and we want to make sure that we are figuring out a way to get to "yes" as opposed to "no" when it comes to these problems. 09:48:42 The other thing I emphasize though is that it is much easier for us to respond if we know what these problems are out in these areas. So, if everybody can help publicize the number 800-621-FEMA, 800-621-FEMA then individuals can register with FEMA and immediately get the assistance that they need, and so the more that folks in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut understand that there are a lot of resources available for them not just with respect to housing, but also with respect to childcare, medicine, a whole range of support, then we want to make sure that they contact us as soon as possible if they're in distress because help is available. 09:49:35 Let me just close by saying this. Obviously we've now seen that after the initial search and rescue the recovery process is difficult and it's painful, but the governors at the local level - Governors Christie, Cuomo and Malloy - they are working around the clock. Their teams are working around the clock. We are incredibly grateful to the heroism and hard work of our first responders, many of whom themselves have had their homes flooded out. 09:50:09 Our hearts continue to go out to those families who have been affected and who have actually lost loved ones. That's obviously heartbreaking, but I'm confident that we can continue to make progress as long as state, local and federal officials stay focused and I can assure you everybody on this team, everybody sitting around the table, has made this a number one priority and this continues to be my number one priority. 09:50:34 There's nothing more important than us getting this right and we're going to spend as much time, effort and energy as is necessary to make sure that all the people in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut know that the entire country is behind them in this difficult recovery effort and we are going to put not just 100 percent, but 120 percent behind making sure that they get the resources they need to rebuild and recover. 09:51:02 Alright? Thank you very much everybody. President Barack Obama travels to FEMA headquarters via motorcade 09:52:08 motorcade outside White House 09:53:02 Obama exits White House and enters SUV 09:53:36 motorcade departs White House driveway 10:00:55 refeed of FEMA remarks President Barack Obama returns to White House via motorcade 10:07:19 motorcade departs FEMA 10:14:21 motorcade arrives White House gates 10:16:00 Obama enters White House gate / side entrance ' THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release November 3, 2012 REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT FEMA HEADQUARTERS Washington, D.C. THE PRESIDENT: Well, listen, I just completed not only a meeting with our team here at FEMA and all of our Cabinet officers who are involved in the recovery process along the East Coast, but we also had a conference call with the governors of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, as well as many of the municipalities who have been directly affected by this crisis and this tragedy. We still have a long way to go to make sure that the people of New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, and some of the surrounding areas get their basic needs taken care of and that we start moving back to normalcy. A couple of things that we've emphasized: Number one, that it is critical for us to get power back on as quickly as possible. And just to give people an example of the kind of work we're doing -- the military, DOD, thanks to the work of Leon and others, have been able to get military transport facilities to move cherry-pickers and personnel from as far away as California to get that equipment into the area so we can start getting some of the power back on as quickly as possible. It is a painstaking process, but we're making progress. Number two, we're getting assets in to pump as much water out as possible. Lower Manhattan obviously is a particularly acute example, but there are problems with flooding that are affecting substations throughout the region. That's going to continue to be a top priority. Number three, making sure that people's basic needs are taken care of. As we start seeing the weather get a little bit colder, people can't be without power for long periods of time, without heat for long periods of time. And so what we're doing is starting to shift to identify where we can have temporary housing outside of shelters so people can get some sense of normalcy. They can have a hot meal; they can have the capacity to take care of their families as their homes are being dealt with. Number four, debris removal still important. Number five, making sure that the National Guard and other federal assets are in place to help with getting the transportation systems back up and running -- that's going to be critical. What I told the governors and the mayors is what I've been saying to my team since the start of this event, and that is we don't have any patience for bureaucracy, we don't have any patience for red tape, and we want to make sure that we are figuring out a way to get to yes, as opposed to no, when it comes to these problems. The other thing I emphasized, though, is that it is much easier for us to respond if we know what these problems are out in these areas, so if everybody can help publicize the number 800-621-FEMA -- 800-621-FEMA -- then individuals can register with FEMA and immediately get the assistance that they need. And so the more that folks in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut understand that there are a lot of resources available for them, not just with respect to housing, but also with respect to childcare, medicine, a whole range of support, then we want to make sure that they contact us as soon as possible if they're in distress because help is available. Let me just close by saying this: Obviously we've now seen that after the initial search and rescue, the recovery process is difficult and it's painful. But the governors at the local level -- Governors Christie, Cuomo, and Malloy -- they are working around the clock, their teams are working around the clock. We are incredibly grateful to the heroism and hard work of our first responders, many of whom themselves have had their homes flooded out. Our hearts continue to go out to those families who have been affected and who have actually lost loved ones -- that's obviously heartbreaking. But I'm confident that we can continue to make progress as long as state, local and federal officials stay focused. And I can assure you everybody on this team, everybody sitting around the table has made this a number-one priority and this continues to be my number-one priority. There's nothing more important than us getting this right. And we're going to spend as much time, effort and energy as necessary to make sure that all the people in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut know that the entire country is behind them in this difficult recovery effort. We are going to put not just 100 percent, but 120 percent behind making sure that they get the resources they need to rebuild and recover. Thank you very much, everybody. From: Giusto, Thomas M. Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2012 10:24 AM To: Giusto, Thomas M.; ABC News Radio Editorial; #ABCTV Domestic News; #ABCTV News DC Political Unit Main Cc: #ABCTV News Video Subject: Operative Sound Bites from Obama at FEMA Headquarters A full transcript will be out soon. I have bolded the ones I like. "We still have a long way to go to make sure the people of New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, and some of the surrounding areas get their basic needs taken care of and they start moving back to normalcy." "It is critical for us to get the power back on as quickly as possible." "We're getting assets in to pump out as much water as possible." "We don't have any patience for bureaucracy. We don't have any patience for red tape. And we want to make sure that we are figuring out a way to get to yes as opposed to no when it comes to these problems." "This continues to be my number one priority. There's nothing more important than us getting this right. And we're going to spend as much time, effort and energy as necessary to make sure all the people of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut know that the entire country is behind them in this difficult recovery effort." Here is more detail. "We still have a long way to go to make sure that the people of New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and some of the surrounding areas get their basic needs taken care of and we get back to normalcy," Obama said. "Couple of things we've emphasized. Number one, that it is critical to get power back on as quickly as possible," he said. He showed photo of military transport to move cherry puckers and crews from as far away as California. "It is a painstaking process but we are making progress." "Number two. we are getting assets into pump as much water as possible. Lower Manhattan obviously a particularly acute example but there are problems with flooding that are affecting substations throughout the region." "Number three. Making sure that people's basic needs are taken care of. As we start seeing the weather get a little bit colder people cannot be without power for long periods of time, without heat for long periods of time. So what we are doing is starting to shift to identify where we can have temporary housing outside of shelters so people can get some sense of normalcy, they have a hot meal, they can have a capacity to take care of their families as their homes are being dealt with." "Number four. Debris removal is still important. "Number five. Making sure that the national guard and other federal assets are in place to help with getting the transportation system up and running. That's going to be critical." "Let me just close by saying this. Obviously we have now seen that after the initial search and rescue that the recovery process is difficult, it's painful. But the governors at the local levels, governors Christie, Cuomo, and Malloy, they are working the clock. And their teams are working the clock. We are incredibly grateful to the heroism and hard work of our first responders, many of whom themselves have had their homes flooded out. "Our hearts continue to go out to those families who have been affected, who have actually lost loved ones. That's obviously heart breaking. But I'm confident that we will continue to make progress as long as state and local and federal officials stay focused." He said that continues to be his and his administration's "number one priority." "There is nothing more important than us getting this right. And we're going to spend as much time, effort and energy as necessary to make sure all the people of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut know that the entire country is behind them in this difficult recovery effort." He spoke for about five minutes. Pool asked about frustrations of people, particularly Staten Island. He did not respond. Obama has left for Cleveland OH. From: Giusto, Thomas M. Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2012 9:43 AM To: ABC News Radio Editorial; #ABCTV Domestic News; #ABCTV News DC Political Unit Main Subject: Pool About to Feed Tape: President Obama's Remarks at FEMA Headquarters Here is more on the remarks from the print pool reporter. Obama at FEMA Briefing on Hurricane Sandy recovery: "We still have a long way to go" But Obama said everyone is putting in "120 percent" effort. And he said, "We don't have patience for bureaucracy. We don't have patience for red tape." Obama spent a little more than an hour in a briefing that including video conferences with governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and some mayors. Obama, sitting between FEMA administrator Craig Fugate and DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, listed five steps being taken: Getting assets in to restore power; pumping out water from flooding; making sure people's needs are being taken care of; removing debris; and getting National Guard in place. He said that "we're starting to shift" people from shelters to temporary housing. He showed a photo of a transport plane carrying crews and equipment to restore power. Transcript to come. More from pool to come. From: Giusto, Thomas M. Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2012 09:25 AM To: Giusto, Thomas M.; ABC News Radio Editorial; #ABCTV Domestic News; #ABCTV News DC Political Unit Main Subject: President Obama's Remarks at FEMA Headquarters These will be played out to the pool upon arrival back at the White House. The pool is loaded into the vans now. Pool was ushered into a large conference room with large screens. The president was sitting at the center of the table, flanked by Secretary Napolitano and administrator Fugate. The other secretaries as listed in the earlier note were also in attendance. POTUS made brief remarks, laying out how the federal government continues to respond to power outages and flooding. Remarks lasted approx 5 minutes. said there was a 'long way to go' before people start feeling a sense of normalcy. POTUS said government was working 'around the clock' to ensure people's needs are being met. 'There's nothing more important than getting this right,' the president said.