Bush On The Air: Wildfires, War And Child Health
October 27, 2007, 8:08pm
Having learned a lesson from the criticism leveled at him after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, President Bush this week traveled to California to see firsthand the damage wrought by ongoing wildfires there. He talked about the trip and his efforts to help the state recover in the weekly radio address.
Bush praised state and local officials for moving quickly to evacuate people in danger and to provide shelter for them. He also noted the efforts of firefighters. “Many of these brave men and women have battled the blaze in triple-digit heat,” Bush said. “Some have worked around the clock. And more than once, firefighting teams were forced to take emergency shelter in their fire tents when threatened by approaching walls of flame.”
The president further outlined his own official responses to date — two emergency declarations over a short time to bolster the state and local responses to the wildfires and to help families recover. “I went to Southern California with a message: We want you to know the country cares for you,” he said. “We’re concerned about you, your neighborhoods, and your homes. Things may look dismal now, but there is a better day ahead. And we will not forget you in Washington, D.C.”
Democrats, meanwhile, continued their fight to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean taking Republicans to task for fighting S-CHIP legislation while continuing to fund military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“The Republican leaders have made their choice,” Dean said. “They want to stay in Iraq and deny our kids health care. It is wrong for the Bush Republicans to stand in the way of legislation needed to protect the wellbeing of our kids.”
Categories: Military, Iraq, Health, Weekly Radio Address, Natural Disasters
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