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CNN Live Today

New Orleans Begins Recovery Efforts; Bush Not Ready for Blame Game; Congress to Take Action on Hurricane Relief, Investigations

Aired September 06, 2005 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The latest now on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Plans to move 4,000 evacuees from Houston to cruise ships off Galveston are on hold. Officials say many evacuees have told them they'd rather stay where they are right now and focus on finding loved ones. The officials say another relocation so soon after the storm is simply too much, too soon. A live report is coming up on that.
In the flood-ravaged city of New Orleans, pumps are hard at work clearing the water from the city's downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. The commander of the Army Corps of Engineers talked about a time frame for the project in an interview on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. CARL STROCK, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Fortunately, the downtown area that has been so much focused, we think that's going to be one of the less challenging areas. We bracketed this on the outside about 24 days to drain. And we'll work to make that even quicker. However, there are areas that may take up to 80 days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Authorities in New Orleans are getting tough with stragglers who refuse to leave the city. Mayor Ray Nagin says they will no longer be provided with water. A police official estimates that fewer than 10,000 people are left in New Orleans.

I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. There are signs of progress today in New Orleans. Water being pumped out of the city into Lake Pontchartrain. The progress, however, is small. It's an encouraging sign that recovery efforts are on track.

Our Jeff Koinange joins us. He is in New Orleans with the very latest -- Jeff.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Daryn. Recovering signs definitely on track.

We're actually standing by Jackson Square, which demarcates the edge of the French Quarter. French Quarter extending about a couple of blocks to my right over there.

Now Daryn, we have a couple of fires to talk about this morning. One of them raging in the uptown area of New Orleans, on Magazine Street, not too far from Canal Street. And the helicopters that you're hearing overhead is the Coast Guard.

What they're doing is actually getting buckets of water from the Mississippi River, going and dumping it at that site because, as you all know, emergency services have been stretched to the limits. Fire hydrants are literally dry.

Now, if we could talk about the French Quarter. Jackson Square behind me, I don't know if you can see that statue, but, if you can, that is General Andrew Jackson. He was actually the American general who helped defeat the British in the battle of 1812, the battle of New Orleans in 1812. He went on to become the seventh president of the United States.

Behind him, the St. Louis Cathedral, one of the oldest active cathedrals in the United States, built in 1824. As the fire truck passes by me, emergency services heading toward that fire that I was talking about.

Now, the other thing about St. Louis, or rather, sorry, about New Orleans, the first thing that comes to mind when someone tells you, Daryn, Cafe DuMonde. You think about chicory flavored cafe au lait with some vinier (ph). This is where it happens, Cafe DuMonde.

As you can see, a ghost town. Empty. When you talk about the city losing billions and billions of tourist dollars, this is what -- this is what we're talking about. And it's going to take a long time for recovery.

Earlier on, CNN had an interview with Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, and this is what she had to say about what it's going to take to get this city back on its feet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: The first five days of the recovery were heroic. We had -- we were the people who took control. The National Guard took control of the city, brought order out of chaos, because we have law enforcement authority. The federal troops do not. I was very concerned about giving up law enforcement authority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOINANGE: And Daryn, another sign that the city is being well protected by various law enforcement agencies, look right here in front of me. Some law enforcement agencies on horseback.

There are thousands of National Guardsmen on the ground. There are thousands of other law enforcement agencies from different states. We've seen some from Tennessee, from Kentucky, some from Texas. It's a joint effort here to get this very historic city back on its feet, Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeff, it's just so ironic that in some parts of the city they're saying it's going to take up to three months to drain the water, and in some parts, like the Garden District, there's no water in the fire hydrants to put out a house fire.

KOINANGE: That's right. Isn't that an irony right there?

But I'll tell you what. Yes, it's going to take somewhere between 36 days and 80 days to drain the water, because New Orleans is basically like a bowl. So all the water has accumulated and stagnated somewhere in the middle.

That's why the French Quarter behind me has been mostly unaffected. And that's why beyond the CBD, it's all a stagnant pool, or a lake, if you will, and that's going to take awhile to dry out.

Once that happens, then a massive clean-up effort of the entire city. Hopefully then, after a couple of months, maybe a little longer, people will be allowed to come back, and businesses along these very busy streets will hopefully come back to normal at some point, Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeff Koinange, live from New Orleans. Thank you.

The Bush administration has attempted to counter the criticism over the federal response with high profile events showcasing relief efforts. And that continues today, President Bush holding four separate sessions dealing with the storm's aftermath.

Our national correspondent, Bob Franken, is at the White House to explain that. Also, an upcoming visit from Vice President Cheney to the region.

Good morning.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That was the news -- that was the news, Daryn, out of the first event, which was a meeting with the cabinet. The vice president will be going down on Thursday to assess the damage. To assess, as the president said, how the bureaucracies can be overcome to serve the people who so desperately need people.

And there were inevitable questions about what has gone wrong thus far. And whether some of the people who are leading the administration's effort should be replaced.

The president responded by saying he would not play the blame game yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I intend to do is lead a investigation to find out what went right, and what went wrong. I'll tell you why.

It's very important for us to understand the relationship between the federal government and the state government and the local government when it comes to a major catastrophe. And the reason it's important is, is that, we still live in an unsettled world. We want to make sure we can respond properly if there's a WMD attack or another major storm. So I'm going to find out, over time, what went right, and what went wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: The president has been meeting now with nongovernmental organizations. The charities are going to be so much a part of the recovery effort.

There's going to be an appearance in the Rose Garden by the president this afternoon talking about schooling for all the displaced children.

And later in the day, there are going to be other meetings as the president tries to get a handle on matters and will be sending his vice president down to the region to try and be, in effect, on the ground, the eyes and ears for the president up here.

KAGAN: Bob Franken at the White House. Thank you.

The federal government's initial response to the disaster has drawn a fire storm of criticism from some members of Congress. Hearings are now planned on the issue. We check in now with our congressional correspondent, Ed Henry, on Capitol Hill -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Daryn.

That's right. The focus this week as Congress returns from its August break was supposed to be all about John Roberts, the start of those Supreme Court confirmation hearings. They, instead, have now been pushed back until next Monday.

And today Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said, of course, that is the right course. It would have been unseemly to start these hearings while the funeral services are going forward tomorrow for Chief Justice William Rehnquist. But also, while there is still the pain and suffering over Hurricane Katrina.

And just a short while ago, in fact, Senator Leahy grew very angry and very emotional as he discussed what he calls a very slow response by the federal government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: You know what drives me up the wall? When you look at what is happening at the Superdome.

They couldn't get water in. They couldn't get doctors in. They couldn't get support in. The press and the press, thank God for the press, putting a light to that.

The press was able to go in and out, and they asked a legitimate question: if we can come in here, we can go in and out with our trucks, our cameras, our satellite crew, where in God's name were the people who were supposed to give water, support? People were dying there. They were losing hope there. And it just, I find it -- I find it extraordinary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: That anger felt on both sides of the aisle. And that's why several congressional committees are now announcing various hearings probing what went wrong.

First of all, the Senate Energy Committee today holding a hearing about alleged price gouging by gas stations across the country.

Also, senators Susan Collins and Joe Lieberman from the governmental affairs and homeland security committee saying that they are going to hold oversight hearings. They 'e going to zero in on what went wrong at FEMA. They said that they would not comment on questions about whether or not FEMA director Michael Brown should be fired.

But Senator Lieberman said that as he watched the pictures coming in from the Gulf region, he started out with concern that then went to grief, then anger and then embarrassment as he said he saw the slow government response. They want to probe that.

As well as tonight, there will be a closed door briefing for lawmakers from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. You can bet he's going to get some very tough, pointed questions from lawmakers in both parties.

Also, this afternoon, congressional leaders going to the White House to meet with the president to discuss the relief efforts. And there's a whole slew of legislation that lawmakers are talking about now, an economic stimulus package, as well of tens of billions of dollars in more federal direct relief. Also, possibly, a second energy bill to deal with those gas prices.

Lawmakers have been talking about wrapping up their work for the year by October 1 so that they could go home. They're now saying they'll probably be here possibly as late as Thanksgiving to get all this done, Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill. Ed, thank you.

I want to talk to somebody who is right there on the ground, knows a lot about the rescue and help efforts going on. Brigadier General Michael Fleming with the Florida National Guard joins us now from Baton Rouge.

General, good morning. Thanks for taking time to talk with us.

BRIG. GEN. MICHAEL FLEMING, FLORIDA NATIONAL GUARD: Good morning. Thanks for having me on.

KAGAN: We want to get on to the latest efforts of your National Guard troops. I understand now having the chance to get into some of the harder to reach areas. What are your troops finding, sir?

FLEMING: Well, we've got right now about 22,000 troops on the ground. And what they are doing primarily is looking at security. I don't have the specifics about each event. But they're going to start working with local law enforcement. And see what they can do as they're working with the evacuation peace.

We have those forces in the National Guard on the command of General Landrineau (ph), under the command of the governor here. And Lieutenant General Honore has about 7,000 active duty forces that are here. And that entire force, almost 30,000 military, are just working closely with the federal, state, and local officials to make sure we provide as much support as we can.

KAGAN: I'd like to get some personal perspective from you, sir. As we said, you're with the Florida National Guard. You've worked six previous hurricanes in recent years, including Katrina. And let's not forget, it hit the southern tip of Florida before it went into the Gulf coast.

How would you compare with what you've seen in the past with what you're seeing there along the Gulf Coast?

FLEMING: Yes, ma'am. A lot of hurricane damage. I think the one fact, when I've been asked that, is really the water in New Orleans. Because in Florida, we obviously would have had flooding after a hurricane but by and large we have some people who are scientists, and they look and they say, within a certain amount of time, the water will end up receding.

But in Louisiana, obviously, the water really is a factor that is very, very difficult to work with, because not only for the military operations, but obviously, you have some great people who want to clear the transformers and bring electricity back, but until the water goes down, they can't do what they want to help the people of Louisiana.

KAGAN: And what about those people who are critical of the amount of time it took the National Guard in large numbers to get in place, sir?

FLEMING: Well, one of the challenges, as you can imagine, Daryn, is that the first thing Louisiana National Guard had 4,000 troops on station prior to the storm. But one of the challenges is the changing storm path of hurricanes.

We saw that in Florida. We try to preposition troops, but one of the challenges is the fact that just a little bit of change in the storm track might put the troops you're pre-positioning into harm's way. So that adds to the challenge, is really the uncertainty of that.

The Louisiana National Guard starting Monday evening when the hurricane hit and the next day were on the ground doing great things. One of our challenges really was because they were working so hard on supporting the people of Louisiana. We really didn't have a way to communicate that to either the people of the Louisiana or the American people. KAGAN: You are doing -- I'm sorry, General. You're doing really important group. I only cut you off because the president is speaking. Brigadier General Michael Fleming, thank you.

Here is tape of President Bush meeting with charitable organizations. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: ... volunteers who are in the midst of helping save lives. You know, there's a debate here about refugees. Let me tell you my attitude and the attitude of the people around this table. The people we're talking about are not refugees; they are Americans. And they need the help and love and compassion of our fellow citizens. And the people at this table are providing that help and compassion and love.

If you want to help, support the Red Cross, or the Salvation Army, or your church or the United Way. Houston, for example, is going to kick off a United Way campaign. And that money's going to help with the costs of the displaced persons inside of Houston.

So please give cash money to organizations that are directly involved in helping save lives. And save the lives that have been affected by Hurricane Katrina.

We have spent time talking about how we can make sure we continue progress, make sure people get -- not only continue to get the affection and love of people in the private sector, but also to make sure that the government gets people their Social Security checks, or their veteran's benefits checks and checks that -- their unemployment checks. And we'll do that. We'll do that.

Out of the darkness will come some light. And the light I saw yesterday at the program at Baton Rouge with T.D. Jakes was so apparent to me. And it's based upon the fact that we've got citizens who are willing to take time to love somebody like they'd like to be loved themselves, welcome a stranger in their midst.

And for those of you that have done that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You're part of the strength of this country. You're what makes America a great place.

And in the meantime, we'll continue to work together to do our duty and to help our citizens who hurt. And help this great part of the country rebuild. God bless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you all. Thank you all very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: President Bush has been meeting over the last hour with members of charitable organizations, the president long believing that faith-faced organizations are a key part of addressing social issues, not to mention what the United States faces along the Gulf Coast right now. Much more from the White House and a number of events meant to showcase efforts to address the problems along the Gulf Coast throughout the day.

Also, we get back to the military mission along the coast. We'll show you what's being done in Mississippi to restore the basic services of destroyed by Katrina.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: One of the heartbreaking stories that we continue to tell over and over again are parents who have been separated from their children because they were evacuated from their homes at different times. And that search still goes on to try to find those kids and bring Mom, Dad and children back together.

One of those mothers we have with us right now. She is Laura Hilton. She has been -- she is at the Astrodome in Houston. And she is looking for her son, Roy, who, as I understand, Laura, is 7 years old?

LAURA HILTON, EVACUEE: Yes, he is.

KAGAN: Tell us the last time you two were together.

HILTON: Last time me and Roy was together was on Tuesday, a week before this week. I'm looking for my 7-year-old son. I've been looking for him since I got here.

KAGAN: And how did you become separated in the first place?

HILTON: We were getting ready to load the bus. to get on the bus to get here and the pusher -- by the pushing and shoving we got separated. I'm looking for my baby. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) If anybody here knows Roy Hilton, or know where Roy Hilton is at, please contact me in Houston, Texas, at the arena.

KAGAN: So you are going to -- are you going to plan on staying at the Astrodome -- are you going to plan on staying at the Astrodome until you find your son so that you stay in one place?

HILTON: I'm not going no place until my baby gets by me. I'm not leaving until my baby comes by me.

KAGAN: Understandable.

HILTON: I'm not going nowhere until my baby gets here.

KAGAN: Because I know they've talked about perhaps moving folks into more comfortable quarters, like a cruise ship or other shelters. But I know there's other mothers and other parents like you. You don't want to go anywhere until you find your son.

HILTON: I'm not going no place. I ain't worried about no shelter or no work or nothing right now. I'm worried about my baby. I want my baby here to me. Y'all don't know how this feels. You can't hold your child at night. You can't look over in a bed and say, "Baby, you OK." Or, "Let me put some clothing on you." You can ask your child if he's OK and stuff. I want my baby.

KAGAN: You're absolutely right. We have no idea how that feels. And we send incredible sympathy your way. Are you getting any help there at the Astrodome in trying to track him down perhaps in other shelters?

HILTON: People are on the computer and on paper. We got to -- if you're missing someone, you've got to fill out a little piece of paper with his name and all that stuff. I put it on the wall. I went in the computer. And after I leave here, I'm going to go back to the computer and see if there are any updates. I want my baby with me.

KAGAN: So once again, he's 7 years old. His name is Roy Hilton. And you, Mom, are going to stay put right there at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, until whoever he's with finds you and brings you back together. And we hope we've been a little bit of a help in making that reunion take place. We wish you well, Ms. Hilton.

HILTON: Thank you.

KAGAN: Good luck. Laura Hilton looking for her son, 7 years old there. Absolutely heartbreaking stories to hear over and over again of mothers in incredible pain and despair. They were separated as they were getting on the bus and the crowd pushed them in different directions. We're doing what we can to bring parents and children back together.

Coming up next, the other news of the day is remembering the late William Rehnquist. A closer look at his life and his legacy as memorial services take place in the capital. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A steady stream of visitors has been lining up at the Supreme Court paying respects to the late chief justice, William Rehnquist. A casket bearing Rehnquist' body will lie in repose today and tomorrow at the Supreme Court, where Rehnquist devoted more than three decades of his life.

Our Joe Johns is there -- Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A steady stream is right. Well- wishers, regular folks and some dignitaries, as well. Just a couple of minutes ago I saw House Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi go in to pay her respects.

Of course, the chief justice spent 30 years in this building, 19 of those years as the chief justice. He was brought here around 10 Eastern Time in a casket.

There were eight pall bearers to take the casket up the stairs of the Supreme Court. Seven of those pallbearers, former clerks to Justice Rehnquist. Among them, John Roberts, who happens to be the man who has been named to replace Chief Justice Rehnquist. On into the building where a number of clerks will stand vigil next to the casket throughout the day into the night. I spoke with John Roberts inside the Supreme Court just a little while ago, asked him whether he would be one of those clerks who would actually stand vigil next to the casket. He said, no, that they were dividing up the duties.

Also talked about the fact that over the next few days, it's going to be very busy days for him. He essentially said, "We'll just focus on the chief for the next few days."

Now, the funeral scheduled for tomorrow in Washington at St. Matthews Church. It's a Catholic church, even though Justice Rehnquist was Lutheran. His Lutheran pastor gave a prayer briefly inside in a service here at the court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rest here now, child of God, William Hubbs Rehnquist. Rest here now with all that you knew so well, here to be honored by a nation as you served so well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: We now know more about the timetable for the hearings for John Roberts. Just across the street at the United States Capitol, the Senate Judiciary Committee has set 12 noon on Monday for the start of those hearings for the confirmation of John Roberts -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And, of course, Congress and the White House trying to meet the deadline of when the Supreme Court goes into session in just a few weeks now.

JOHNS: That's right, October 3. There have been a lot of jockeying back and forth about the date for the start of the hearing, simply because the Republicans, who are pushing this nomination didn't want any delays that would cause them to go past that October 3 deadline. It sounds like they have some agreement to try to still meet that deadline and get him on the court -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Joe Johns at the Supreme Court. Joe, thank you for that.

We go back to our Hurricane Katrina coverage. You could live nowhere near the Gulf Coast, and this is going to affect you. From coffee to construction, why you don't need to live on the devastated Gulf Coast to feel Katrina's economic punch. That's coming up.

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