Bush Authorizes Plan for Hurricane Recovery

Dec. 21, 2005 — -- President Bush signed the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 this afternoon, calling it important legislation that will help the people of the Gulf Coast states put their lives back together and rebuild their communities after the ravages of the hurricanes.

"It's an important piece of legislation," Bush said. "It's part of our strategy to accomplish an important national goal, and that is a revitalized Gulf Coast and a New Orleans that is a shining example of what America can do when it puts its mind to something."

The Gulf Opportunity Zones were first introduced Sept. 15 when the president went to New Orleans to address the nation from Jackson Square. The zones are intended to help local economies in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama by providing benefits for businesses through 2007. Benefits include the following:

Bush said his administration is now implementing a comprehensive plan to help the Gulf Coast recover and rebuild.

"When I spoke to the nation from Jackson Square in New Orleans, I said our job and our goal for the Gulf Coast was not just to survive but to thrive, and not just to cope but to overcome," he said. "And I meant it."

President Bush told hurricane victims that jobs in the Gulf Coast region will gofirst to local residents.

"This provides a great opportunity to make sure that the folks in Mississippi and Louisiana can find work," he said. "And those are the folks we want to be first in line, by the way. If you're from New Orleans, La., we want you to be the first person to get the job ... If you're from Mississippi, we want those new jobs to go to Mississippi residents."

In his remarks, the president also softened an earlier comment. In September Bush was castigated by bloggers and comedians for expressing concern over the devastation to Republican Sen. Trent Lott's house on the Mississippi coast. "Out of the rubble of Trent Lott's house -- he lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house," he said on Sept. 4. "And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch."

Today, Bush brought it up again but expressed himself better. "Trent Lott invited me one time to his home, right there on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. It no longer exists. He knows firsthand what it means to live through one of these devastating storms."