Remarks by the President in Announcing His Nomination of Alan Krueger for Chair of CEA

Rose Garden

11:01 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  This morning we're continuing to deal with the impact and the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.  As I said yesterday, we're going to make sure folks have all the support they need as they begin to assess and repair the damage left by the storm.  And that’s going to continue in the days ahead.

It’s going to take time to recover from a storm of this magnitude.  The effects are still being felt across much of the country, including in New England and states like Vermont where there's been an enormous amount of flooding.  So our response continues.  But I’m going to make sure that FEMA and other agencies are doing everything in their power to help people on the ground.

Now, even as we deal with this crisis of the moment, our great ongoing challenge as a nation remains how to get this economy growing faster.  Our challenge is to create a climate where more businesses can post job listings, where folks can find good work that relieves the financial burden they’re feeling, where families can regain a sense of economic security in their lives.

That’s our urgent mission.  And that’s what I’m fighting for every single day.  That’s why today I’m very pleased to nominate Alan Krueger to chair the Council of Economic Advisers.  Come on down here, Al.

Alan brings a wealth of experience to the job.  He’s one of the nation’s leading economists.  For more than two decades, he’s studied and developed economic policy, both inside and outside of government.  In the first two years of this administration, as we were dealing with the effects of a complex and fast-moving financial crisis -- a crisis that threatened a second Great Depression -- Alan’s counsel as chief economist at the Treasury Department proved invaluable.

So I am very pleased to appoint Alan, and I look forward to working with him.  As I told him, it’s going to be tough to fill the shoes of Austan Goolsbee, who's been a great friend and advisor who I’ve relied on for years.  But I have nothing but confidence in Alan as he takes on this important role as one of the leaders of my economic team.

I rely on the Council of Economic Advisers to provide unvarnished analysis and recommendations, not based on politics, not based on narrow interests, but based on the best evidence -- based on what’s going to do the most good for the most people in this country.  And that’s more important than ever right now.  We need folks in Washington to make decisions based on what’s best for the country, not what’s best for any political party or special interest.  That’s how we’ll get through this period of economic uncertainty, and that’s the only way that we’ll be able to do what’s necessary to grow the economy.

So it’s that spirit that I’m going to be calling upon in the coming days.  Next week, I will be laying out a series of steps that Congress can take immediately to put more money in the pockets of working families and middle-class families, to make it easier for small businesses to hire people, to put construction crews to work rebuilding our nation’s roads and railways and airports, and all the other measures that can help to grow this economy.

These are bipartisan ideas that ought to be the kind of proposals that everybody can get behind, no matter what your political affiliation might be.  So my hope and expectation is that we can put country before party and get something done for the American people.

That’s what I'll be fighting for.  And we've got to have a good team to do it.  So, Alan, I appreciate your willingness to take on this assignment, and I'm looking forward to working with you once again.

MR. KRUEGER:  Thank you very much.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much.

Thank you, everybody.

END
11:04 A.M. EDT 

President Obama Signs Vermont Emergency Declaration

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Vermont and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Irene beginning on August 26, 2011, and continuing.

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the State of Vermont.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding. 

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Craig A. Gilbert as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT:  FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@DHS.GOV

Statement by the President, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate on Hurricane Irene

Rose Garden

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  I’m joined today by my Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, and Administrator of FEMA, Craig Fugate, to provide a brief update on our ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Irene.

First, let me say that this is a storm that has claimed lives.  Our thoughts and prayers are with those who’ve lost loved ones and those whose lives have been affected by the storm.  You need to know that America will be with you in your hour of need.

While the storm has weakened as it moves north, it remains a dangerous storm that continues to produce heavy rains.  One of our chief concerns before Irene made landfall was the possibility of significant flooding and widespread power outages.  And we’ve been getting reports of just that from our state and local partners.  Many Americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding, which could get worse in the coming days as rivers swell past their banks.

So I want people to understand that this is not over.  Response and recovery efforts will be an ongoing operation, and I urge Americans in affected areas to continue to listen for the guidance and direction of their state and local officials.

Before the storm made landfall, the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA worked very closely with our state and local partners, as well as volunteer organizations, to pre-position supplies and teams of first responders along the hurricane’s projected track.  And the American Red Cross opened shelters in communities across the region.  I want to thank those Americans for their work over the past several days, which has saved lives and property up and down the East Coast.

We continue to have search and rescue personnel on alert, as well as water, food and other needed resources.  And moving forward, FEMA is working with state and local responders to assess damage and assist in the recovery.

I do want to underscore that the impacts of this storm will be felt for some time, and the recovery effort will last for weeks or longer.  Power may be out for days in some areas, and we will support our state and local partners in every way that we can as they work to restore power in those areas.

So I’m going to make sure that DHS and FEMA and other federal agencies are doing everything in their power to help folks on the ground.  I continue to meet regularly with Secretary Napolitano and Administrator Fugate and the other members of my team to assess our response and ensure that we have what we need in place.

As I’ve told governors and mayors from across the affected area, if they need something, I want to know about it.  We’re going to make sure that we respond as quickly and effectively as possible.  And we’re going to keep it up as long as hurricane season continues.

Finally, while we’re not out of the woods yet, I want to thank everybody at the federal, state and local levels who have worked so hard to respond to this storm.  This has been an exemplary effort of how good government at every level should be responsive to people’s needs, work to keep them safe, and protect and promote the nation’s prosperity.

I want to thank scientists who provide the information necessary for governors and mayors to make sound decisions, disaster response experts who made sure we were as prepared as possible, to National Guard members and first responders who risked their lives to ensure their fellow citizens’ safety -- all ordinary Americans who love their country and volunteered to do their part.

Above all, the past few days have been a shining example of how Americans open our homes and our hearts to those in need and pull together in tough times to help our fellow citizens prepare for and respond to, as well as recover from, extraordinary challenges, whether natural disasters or economic difficulties.  That’s what makes the United States of America a strong and resilient nation, a strong and resilient people.  And I want to thank all who have been involved very much.

Now I’d like to ask Secretary Napolitano and Administrator Fugate to say a few words. 

Janet.

SECRETARY NAPOLITANO:  Thank you.  Thank you, Mr. President.  And I’d like to echo the President’s comments about the ongoing threat from Hurricane Irene.  We will be dealing with the impacts of this storm over the coming days, and I urge all Americans to take prudent steps to stay safe. 

Now, dealing with a storm like this requires a three-phase approach:  preparation, response and recovery.  Some states and communities are still currently responding, while others are beginning to assess their damages and plan for recovery. 

As response assets are freed up in states already impacted by the storm, we will begin moving them to help with ongoing response, and we will be working with all other states throughout the recovery period.

I’d also like to thank the entire team that is working so hard to respond to Irene.  And that team includes the American people.  Thanks to all of you who prepared, especially those who followed local evacuation orders.  Your actions helped protect not only your families and minimize loss of life, but also freed up local first responders to help those who needed help the most.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security will continue working to coordinate the federal response through FEMA, making sure that the entire federal family is working as one to support the affected states.  So, with that, I’d like to personally thank Craig Fugate, who is my director of FEMA, and the entire FEMA team, who have been leading this effort. 

So, Craig.   

ADMINISTRATOR FUGATE:  Well, thank you, Mr. President and Secretary.  When you look at these disasters, a lot of times you try to find a place of damage that tells everybody the story about what’s happened.  But in this hurricane that’s hard to do because I’m pretty sure most of you forgot Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were first impacted, and we had people who lost their homes and are currently dealing with recovery in Puerto Rico.  And now we repeat that process in North Carolina, Virginia and up the coast as flooding is still ongoing.

When a disaster comes off the news and nobody is paying attention, we still don’t go home.  We’re still working hard across this country, from tornadoes and floods that have already struck this country as well as to new damages.  And that’s part of the mission we have at FEMA, to work with our state and local partners, to work with the private sector, volunteer and faith-based community, but most of all, as the Secretary and President said, the American people who we work for.  We’re there for the survivors.  We’ll be there through the length of these disasters.  And, again, we’re not going home just because it won’t be on the news.  We now we got a lot of work ahead of us and we’re going to be there to support local communities and states as they begin the recovery.

Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Thank you very much, everybody.  Craig and Janet will continue to keep everybody posted throughout the week.  As we have already said, there are a lot of communities that are still being affected.  We are particularly concerned about flooding because the continuing rains can end up having an impact well beyond the immediate center of the storm.

And so we’re going to continue to monitor that carefully.  Assessments are already being done in North Carolina and Virginia.  There are still search and rescue teams that are operating throughout the region.  And we will continue to keep the American people posted throughout our efforts not only with respect to response but also with respect to recovery.

So thanks very much, everybody.

END                5:10 P.M. EDT