Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jay Carney aboard Air Force One en route New Jersey, 10/31/2012

Aboard Air Force One
En Route New Jersey   

12:47 P.M. EDT

MR. CARNEY:  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  Welcome aboard Air Force One as we make our way to the great state of New Jersey, which, as you know, has been devastated by Sandy.  You know the President’s schedule:  He will be taking an aerial tour with Governor Christie of some of the areas that were most affected by storm damage, and he'll be discussing with local officials the response effort and recovery effort underway in New Jersey.

As you know, earlier today, the President went to FEMA, where he held a briefing at FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center, and was joined by Secretary LaHood, Secretary Sebelius, Secretary Chu, Secretary Napolitano, Administrator Fugate -- who is with me today -- Secretary Panetta, Secretary Donovan, Chief of Staff Jack Lew, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security John Brennan, and other senior members of his team.  Vice President Biden joined the briefing by video teleconference. In addition, U.S. NORTHCOM Commander General Jacoby joined by video teleconference.

Administrator Fugate is with us today, and I asked him to join me so that he could answer some of your specific questions about recovery and relief efforts. 

Before he left, the President also placed a phone call to NYU -- and let me get that information here -- where he spoke with NYU Langone Medical Center dean, Dr. Grossman; the chief nursing officer, Dr. Glassman -- that would be Dr. Robert Grossman, the dean and CEO of the Medical Center; and Dr. Kimberly Glassman, chief nursing officer at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Dr. Grossman and Dr. Glassman were responsible for the safe evacuation of over 200 patients after the hospital’s power generators failed.  I think we all are aware of the story -- the President mentioned it yesterday on his visit to the Red Cross and I think highlighted it as an example of how, in response to disasters like this, Americans come together to help one another, neighbors help neighbors.  And it was a heartening story about, as the President said, in the darkness of the storm, the brightness of America shown through.

With that, we're here to take your questions.  Again, I have with me FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.

Q    What does the President make of all the attention that's kind of been focused on the very effusive praise that  Governor Christie lavished on the President yesterday, and in terms of optics today of -- we're six days from the election, and the President going to New Jersey with a strong supporter of Governor Romney?

MR. CARNEY:  You’ve heard the President say that this is a time to focus on what was a devastating storm and the terrible aftermath of that storm.  New Jersey was, by many measures, the hardest hit state -- I believe that's correct -- and it is entirely appropriate for the President to visit New Jersey and receive updates on the efforts there to recover and to view firsthand the damage inflicted by Sandy.  This is not a time for politics.  And the President appreciates the efforts of governors, state and local officials, across the various states that were affected by the storm, regardless of political party.

Q    What is he hoping to get out of it?

MR. CARNEY:  The President is Commander-in-Chief.  The President has overseen the federal response effort, as you know, for these past several days.  He has been meeting regularly with the entire federal team that has been coordinated by Administrator Fugate, and directed them to spare no effort, to lean forward in their response to the storm and in the provision of assistance to states and localities that have been affected by the storm. 

As you know, there have been -- there were, I think, about 10 emergency declarations signed by the President that went out before the storms.  New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have all received major disaster declarations that includes individual assistance, whereby individuals in affected counties can apply directly for aid.  And I’m sure Administrator Fugate has more information on that.

Q    What does he hope to get out of this --

MR. CARNEY:  Again, he‘s overseeing -- as part of his job to oversee the federal response effort, he wants to see how bad it is.  He wants to meet with Governor Christie and other local officials to hear from them directly and in person about the response efforts.  He wants to thank those first responders in New Jersey, and while he’s in New Jersey, those first responders in other states who have done such remarkable things and acted so heroically in order to prevent further loss of life and damage.

Q    Can you give us some background about how this trip came about, who initiated it?  Was it Governor Christie’s office that reached out to the White House?  I mean, who specifically from the White House was the go-between?

MR. CARNEY:  I don’t have the specific details on that.  I think, in general, when we have incidents like this, natural disasters like this, and the President travels to the location, that we are very careful about making sure that the places that we visit, we are not using resources that would otherwise be used in recovery efforts.  That’s the case here. 

We reached out I believe to New Jersey and worked with the Governor’s office to make this trip happen.  I know it’s been reported that there were discussions about New York.  It was the assessment at the White House that because of the situation in Lower Manhattan, it would not be appropriate for the President, for the very resource allocation issue, to visit New York at this time.

Q    So when Mayor Bloomberg said that he made the point to the White House that it wasn’t appropriate, he was not correct on that?

MR. CARNEY:  No, he was agreeing with our assessment, which is that it was not appropriate at this time.

Q    Can I ask one more follow-up question?  At a rally for Mitt Romney today, former Governor Jeb Bush -- and Administrator Fugate, I wonder if you could respond to this -- Bush said, “My experience in all this emergency response business is that it is the local level and the state level that really matters, that if they do their job right, the federal level works out pretty good.”  Do you agree with that?

ADMINISTRATOR FUGATE:  That’s the system.  We’re called the federal government, and our job is to support the governors and their teams.  And I think when you look at the states impacted, there are four that are going to primarily need federal assistance beyond just a normal grant -- and that’s New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and West Virginia where it’s still snowing.  So these are the areas where we have active requests for commodities, generators, and other support. 

But the system is always built upon the federal government supports the states; the states support local governments.  That’s why the investment in Homeland Security dollars has been so critical in building up more robust capabilities, allowing state and local responders to deal with the most immediate lifesaving missions, while we backstop them, including the Department of Defense for the type of catastrophic impacts we’re seeing.

Q    Are you at a point right now where you can make an assessment for a state like New Jersey as to how long this recovery process is going to take, or it still too early?

ADMINISTRATOR FUGATE:  When did the storm stop blowing?  I mean, we’re still -- you look at -- the first thing was search and rescue.  We mobilized the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Urban Search and Task Forces to support New Jersey.  Swift Water Rescue -- the lead federal agency was the U.S. Coast Guard. 

We still do not have the primary all-clear.  So we are still checking and looking for people.  And, unfortunately, I think -- we’re hoping that we’ve gotten to all the living, and now the next step will be to go and look for those that were lost, particularly in the fires, the flooding.  The Coast Guard still has an active search on for the missing captain off of the HMS Bounty. 

So we’re moving right now from search and rescue to the immediate needs.  One of the things Jay talked about the President did was, in declaring the disaster, people can start registering for FEMA assistance.  And probably the most important one is people that have had flood damage to their homes, that they’re not going to be able to go back, can start registering.  What we want to do is get them rental assistance and give them a place to stay. 

When a lot of people’s power comes back on that’s going to be what really needs to happen, but there were homes that were flooded and destroyed, or are so badly damaged they need a place, they need help.  So we’re doing that. 

And one follow-up -- yes, I know there’s no power and the Internet is not going to help and you can’t call 1-800-FEMA.  That’s why we also put people on the ground, starting today, to go door to door, start getting into those neighborhoods.  It will take time to reach everybody.  But we also are aware that those that can call in can call 1-800-621-FEMA.  And people already have registered.  You can go online.  Our website is mobile friendly, so you can register online if you’ve got connectivity. But we’re going to go into the neighborhoods with the state and reach out to everybody that may need assistance.
   
Q    -- about using assets in a novel way, maybe bringing the military to bear more than has been done in the past.  Can you cite any examples of things that you’re doing maybe a little differently this time to expedite the recovery?

ADMINISTRATOR FUGATE:  Everybody looks at this going, we’re doing things differently -- I’m thinking, no, this is how we planned for it.  When you look at the number of people -- this is a large population -- you’ve got to bring a lot of stuff ahead of time.  And you look at the role of the Army Corps of Engineers, NORTHCOM -- this is what we’ve designed the whole system for in these types of events when it goes beyond what the governors’ teams can do.

A lot of disasters is financial assistance.  This one is getting stuff there based upon the populations at risk.  So I wouldn’t say it’s so much novel as much as, yes, this is how we’ve been planning it, but this may be the first time since Katrina you’ve seen this happen.

Q    Can we talk about environmental concerns on the water? There’s a whole bunch of subway water.  Where do you pump it out? There’s a bunch of gas on top of it; raw sewage in the Potomac River that there’s concerns about if it floods.  And that was front page of the Post.  Where does this stuff go?  How do we -- what’s the plan to --

ADMINISTRATOR FUGATE:  Guess what, it happens when it floods.  This is not novel.  The lead for this will be the Coast Guard and U.S. EPA, working with state environmental agencies.  They are already identifying where there are sheens, where there are spills.  They have contractors on support.
 
So part of this remediation will be making decisions about how to mitigate some of the hazards where cleanups need to occur. So that assessment is also taking place.  And as the Coast Guard, shifting from search and rescue, their what we call ESF 10, the HAZMAT function, will be one of their activities going through the next days as they get in there and see what’s  --

Q    Can you identify places where you would pump this water to, particularly in New York City?
 
ADMINISTRATOR FUGATE:  This is, again -- the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is going to support the locals in pumping.  Part of it’s going to be what’s the contamination, what has to be done immediately.  So, again, I kind of walk around with this as I don’t know the answer to all the questions, but our job is getting smart people there that can answer the questions to get things done.  And that’s what we’re doing with this team.
 
MR. CARNEY:  Part of the federal role here is to expedite the assistance that the federal government can provide.  This effort has been led by Administrator Fugate.  One of the things that came out of the President’s call with utility companies last night is that FEMA established a power restoration working group, which includes a representative of the utilities at the National Response Coordination Center to cut through the red tape, increase federal, state, local and private coordination, and restore power to people as quickly as possible. 

This is a very high priority of the President.  And in that conversation with utility executives yesterday, he praised the companies in their efforts thus far and the bravery of linemen who are involved in restoring power in sometimes dangerous situations.  But he made clear that we need to collectively give 100 percent to that effort, because power restoration is such a vital component of recovery.

Q    Jay, there was some question yesterday about statements that Mitt Romney had made during the primary debates about turning some of the FEMA funding over to the state or even to the private sector.  And I was curious, does the President have a response to that in Romney’s non-response to those questions yesterday?

MR. CARNEY:  This is really a day not for politics, but for focusing on the damage caused by the storm.  That’s why we’re in New Jersey.  That’s why the President will be viewing some of the hardest hit areas in this state.  So I just don’t have a comment on a political matter right now.

Q    Can you be more specific about why New Jersey is different than New York in terms of diverting resources from --

MR. CARNEY:  Well, it’s not about -- well, Administrator Fugate can talk about the allocation of resources.  I think both states were extraordinarily hard hit.  New Jersey I think was hardest hit of all by some measures.
 
Q    But in terms of the President coming and not diverting resources?  Why is it okay for him to go to New Jersey and not New York?

MR. CARNEY:  -- the White House and Mayor Bloomberg that because of the unique nature of the damage to Lower Manhattan and the resources that need to be brought to bear there, that it was not appropriate for the President to visit Manhattan today.

Q    Why did he scrub the trick-or-treat tonight?

MR. CARNEY:  I would refer you to the East Wing for more details on that.  I think they put out a statement that it was because of the storm.
 
Q    Administrator Fugate, can federal money -- this disaster aid be used to get the election happening in these states on Tuesday?  Is that money usable for that?

ADMINISTRATOR FUGATE:  Here’s what happened in 2004 -- we had so many places that were impacted, at polling stations, that the Florida Supervisor of Elections had requested assistance in getting temporary facilities back up.  We worked with FEMA and it was eligible funding.

But the actual part -- who does what, what needs to be done -- is a state responsibility.  But we’re able to support, as a state puts in a request for anything, to support the actual polling operations. 

Q    Thanks, guys.

MR. CARNEY:  All right, thanks so much.  Thank you, Mr. Fugate.  I appreciate it. 

END 
1:03 P.M. EDT

Readout of the President’s Conference Call with Electric Utility Executives

Late this afternoon, the President participated in a call in the White House Situation Room with Energy Secretary Stephen Chu, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and utility executives to underscore that restoring power to the millions of Americans who lost electricity during Sandy is a top priority and explore areas where FEMA and federal partners can provide additional assistance as companies and states work towards this goal.  He thanked the executives for the efforts their companies made to preposition assets in advance of the storm and for the important work that has already begun to restore power, including the ongoing effort to move existing private sector assets from as far away as the West Coast.  The President also commended the dangerous and exhausting work being undertaken by the lineman and utility workers on the front lines in the field, repairing downed power lines and conducting other important tasks.

On the call the President made clear his existing directive to agencies to eliminate any bureaucratic roadblocks the companies and their crews could encounter that delay the power restoration effort, and identified steps the companies and the Administration could take now to help speed this critical effort – including the deployment of an industry liaison to FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center beginning tomorrow.  The President instructed his team to keep him updated on the progress made by the utilities to restore power.

Remarks by the President at the American Red Cross

Washington, D.C.

2:18 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  First of all, I want to thank Gail and Charlie who are on the scene doing work every time we have a disaster here in the United States of America.  But obviously, the Red Cross is doing outstanding work internationally, so we want to thank them for their outstanding work.

A few things that I want to emphasize to the public at the top.  This storm is not yet over.  We’ve gotten briefings from the National Hurricane Center.  It is still moving north.  There are still communities that could be affected.  And so I want to emphasize there are still risks of flooding, there are still risks of down power lines, risks of high winds.  And so it is very important for the public to continue to monitor the situation in your local community, listen to your state and local officials, follow instructions.  The more you follow instructions, the easier it is for our first responders to make sure that they are dealing with true emergency situations.  So the better prepared individual families are for the situation, the easier it is going to be for us to deal with it.

Next, obviously, I want to talk about the extraordinary hardship that we’ve seen over the last 48 hours.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who have lost loved ones.  Unfortunately, there have been fatalities as a consequence of Hurricane Sandy, and it’s not clear that we’ve counted up all the fatalities at this point.  And obviously, this is something that is heartbreaking for the entire nation.  And we certainly feel profoundly for all the families whose lives have been upended and are going to be going through some very tough times over the next several days and perhaps several weeks and months.

The most important message I have for them is that America is with you.  We are standing behind you, and we are going to do everything we can to help you get back on your feet.

Earlier today I had a conversation with the governors and many of the mayors in the affected areas, including Governor Christie, Governor Cuomo, and Mayor Bloomberg.  I want to praise them for the extraordinary work that they have done.  Sadly, we are getting more experience with these kinds of big impact storms along the East Coast, and the preparation shows.  Were it not for the outstanding work that they and their teams have already done and will continue to do in the affected regions, we could have seen more deaths and more property damage.  So they have done extraordinary work working around the clock.  The coordination between the state, local, and federal governments has been outstanding. 

Obviously, we’re now moving into the recovery phase in a lot of the most severely affected areas.  New Jersey, New York in particular have been pounded by this storm.  Connecticut has taken a big hit.  Because of some of the work that had been done ahead of time, we’ve been able to get over a thousand FEMA officials in place, pre-positioned.  We’ve been able to get supplies, food, medicine, water, emergency generators to ensure that hospitals and law enforcement offices are able to stay up and running as they are out there responding.

We are going to continue to push as hard as we can to make sure that power is up throughout the region.  And obviously, this is mostly a local responsibility, and the private utilities are going to have to lean forward, but we are doing everything we can to provide them additional resources so that we can expedite getting power up and running in many of these communities.

There are places like Newark, New Jersey, for example, where you’ve got 80, 90 percent of the people without power.  We can't have a situation where that lasts for days on end.  And so my instructions to the federal agency has been, do not figure out why we can't do something; I want you to figure out how we do something.  I want you to cut through red tape.  I want you to cut through bureaucracy.  There’s no excuse for inaction at this point.  I want every agency to lean forward and to make sure that we are getting the resources where they need -- where they're needed as quickly as possible.

So I want to repeat -- my message to the federal government:  No bureaucracy, no red tape.  Get resources where they're needed as fast as possible, as hard as possible, and for the duration, because the recovery process obviously in a place like New Jersey is going to take a significant amount of time.  The recovery process in a lower Manhattan is going to take a lot of time.

And part of what we’re trying to do here is also to see where are some resources that can be brought to bear that maybe traditionally are not used in these kind of disaster situations.  For example, there may be military assets that allow us to help move equipment to ensure that pumping and getting the flooding out of New York subway systems can proceed more quickly.  There may be resources that we can bring to bear to help some of the private utilities get their personnel and their equipment in place more swiftly so that we can get power up and running as soon as possible.

So my message to the governors and the mayors and, through them, to the communities that have been hit so hard is that we are going to do everything we can to get resources to you and make sure that any unmet need that is identified, we are responding to it as quickly as possible.  And I told the mayors and the governors if they're getting no for an answer somewhere in the federal government, they can call me personally at the White House.

Now, obviously, the state, local, federal response is important, but what we do as a community, what we do as neighbors and as fellow citizens is equally important.  So a couple of things that I want the public to know they can do.

First of all, because our local law enforcement, our first responders are being swamped, to the extent that everybody can be out there looking out for their neighbors, especially older folks, I think that's really important.  If you’ve got a neighbor nearby, you’re not sure how they're handling a power outage, flooding, et cetera, go over, visit them, knock on their door, make sure that they're doing okay.  That can make a big difference.  The public can be the eyes and ears in terms of identifying unmet needs.

Second thing, the reason we’re here is because the Red Cross knows what it’s doing when it comes to emergency response.  And so for people all across the country who have not been affected, now is the time to show the kind of generosity that makes America the greatest nation on Earth.  And a good place to express that generosity is by contributing to the Red Cross.

Obviously, you can go on their website.  The Red Cross knows what they're doing.  They're in close contact with federal, state, and local officials.  They will make sure that we get the resources to those families as swiftly as possible.  And again, I want to thank everybody here who is doing such a great job when it comes to the disaster response.

The final message I’d just say is during the darkness of the storm, I think we also saw what’s brightest in America.  I think all of us obviously have been shocked by the force of Mother Nature as we watch it on television.  At the same time, we’ve also seen nurses at NYU Hospital carrying fragile newborns to safety.  We’ve seen incredibly brave firefighters in Queens, waist-deep in water, battling infernos and rescuing people in boats. 

One of my favorite stories is down in North Carolina, the Coast Guard going out to save a sinking ship.  They sent a rescue swimmer out, and the rescue swimmer said, “Hi, I’m Dan.  I understand you guys need a ride.”  That kind of spirit of resilience and strength, but most importantly looking out for one another, that's why we always bounce back from these kinds of disasters.

This is a tough time for a lot of people -- millions of folks all across the Eastern Seaboard.  But America is tougher, and we’re tougher because we pull together.  We leave nobody behind.  We make sure that we respond as a nation and remind ourselves that whenever an American is in need, all of us stand together to make sure that we’re providing the help that's necessary.

So I just want to thank the incredible response that we’ve already seen, but I do want to remind people this is going to take some time.  It is not going to be easy for a lot of these communities to recovery swiftly, and so it’s going to be important that we sustain that spirit of resilience, that we continue to be good neighbors for the duration until everybody is back on their feet.

Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you, Red Cross.  (Applause.)

END
2:28 P.M. EDT

President Obama Signs New Hampshire Emergency Declaration

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of New Hampshire and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Sandy beginning on October 26, 2012, 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 all counties in the State of New Hampshire.

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 Kevin L. Hannes as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.