West Wing Week: 11/02/12 or "What's Brightest in America"
Uploaded by whitehouse on 01.11.2012
Transcript:
♪♪ (Drum and Bugle Corps) ♪♪
Narrator: Welcome to the West Wing Week!
Your guide to everything that's happening at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue.
This week, with the arrival of the "Historic Superstorm Sandy,"
the President worked alongside FEMA officials and the American
Red Cross; addressed the nation and federal agencies
on emergency preparedness and recovery; and visited with some
of those affected by the storm.
That's October 26th to November 1st or
"What's Brightest in America!"
The President: I think we also saw what's brightest in America.
Narrator: On Friday, in anticipation of the upcoming holiday,
White House staff brought their kids and family members
into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to participate
in the "Family Trick 'Bo' Treat" event with the halls
of the building filled with fun costumes scary bowls of
candy and Bo-inspired decorations!
(children giggling)
Child: Trick or treat!
Adult Voices: Trick or treat!
Narrator: On Sunday, with the storm approaching, the President
traveled to FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C. to ensure that
federal resources were pre-positioned and plans
were in place to move quickly in support of state and local
response efforts.
The President: We have to take this seriously.
The federal government is working effectively with the
state and local governments.
It's going to be very important that populations in all the
impacted states take this seriously.
Listen to your state and local elected officials.
My message to the governors as well as to the mayors is
anything they need, we will be there.
Narrator: On Monday, as the storm neared landfall, the President urged
residents in the path of Hurricane Sandy to heed
warnings from local officials.
The President: The most important message that I have
for the public right now is please listen to what your state
and local officials are saying.
When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate.
Narrator: On Tuesday, the President met with his senior Homeland
Security team in the Situation Room.
Then visited the Washington headquarters of the U.S.
Red Cross --
(applause)
-- where he expressed his condolences to the families of
those who were lost in the storm and urged Americans across the
country to come together in support of those whose lives
were upended by the storm.
The President: 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.
Narrator: On Wednesday, the President traveled to New Jersey where
he and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate met with New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie and spoke to residents whose homes
were damaged by the storm; praised the efforts of first
responders who risked their lives to protect
their communities --
(cheering and applause)
-- and vowed to continue working closely with state and local
officials who are responsible for leading the storm recovery
and response efforts.
The President: And we go through tough times but we bounce back.
And the reason we bounce back is because we look
out for one another.
And we don't leave anybody behind.
And so my commitment to the people on this block, the people
of this community, and the people of this state is that
that same spirit will carry over all the way through until our
work is done.
Narrator: To find out more information on any of these topics or to
see complete videos of these events, go to WhiteHouse.gov.
And thanks again for checking out your West Wing Week!
Craig Fugate: That's two things that are on right now.
One is FEMA assistance where you can call 1-800-621-FEMA.
And start registering --
The President: You said do one thing.
Now, what does "registering" mean, Craig?
Configure Fugate: You're going to talk to a person who is
going to start getting you information, find out where you
live, find out what's going on and get an inspector out there
to take a look at your home and see what the damages are.
The second thing is for everybody who has businesses,
boats or other types of commercial operation, Small
Business Administration Disaster Loans.
We'll be working together to get a center set up here.
But the thing I wanted to do is let you know, make the call, get
started, we can start helping people find a place to stay
while we figure out how long it's going to take to fix and
repair your homes --
(applause)
-- whether you're a renter or a homeowner, make the call!
Narrator: Welcome to the West Wing Week!
Your guide to everything that's happening at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue.
This week, with the arrival of the "Historic Superstorm Sandy,"
the President worked alongside FEMA officials and the American
Red Cross; addressed the nation and federal agencies
on emergency preparedness and recovery; and visited with some
of those affected by the storm.
That's October 26th to November 1st or
"What's Brightest in America!"
The President: I think we also saw what's brightest in America.
Narrator: On Friday, in anticipation of the upcoming holiday,
White House staff brought their kids and family members
into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to participate
in the "Family Trick 'Bo' Treat" event with the halls
of the building filled with fun costumes scary bowls of
candy and Bo-inspired decorations!
(children giggling)
Child: Trick or treat!
Adult Voices: Trick or treat!
Narrator: On Sunday, with the storm approaching, the President
traveled to FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C. to ensure that
federal resources were pre-positioned and plans
were in place to move quickly in support of state and local
response efforts.
The President: We have to take this seriously.
The federal government is working effectively with the
state and local governments.
It's going to be very important that populations in all the
impacted states take this seriously.
Listen to your state and local elected officials.
My message to the governors as well as to the mayors is
anything they need, we will be there.
Narrator: On Monday, as the storm neared landfall, the President urged
residents in the path of Hurricane Sandy to heed
warnings from local officials.
The President: The most important message that I have
for the public right now is please listen to what your state
and local officials are saying.
When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate.
Narrator: On Tuesday, the President met with his senior Homeland
Security team in the Situation Room.
Then visited the Washington headquarters of the U.S.
Red Cross --
(applause)
-- where he expressed his condolences to the families of
those who were lost in the storm and urged Americans across the
country to come together in support of those whose lives
were upended by the storm.
The President: 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.
Narrator: On Wednesday, the President traveled to New Jersey where
he and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate met with New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie and spoke to residents whose homes
were damaged by the storm; praised the efforts of first
responders who risked their lives to protect
their communities --
(cheering and applause)
-- and vowed to continue working closely with state and local
officials who are responsible for leading the storm recovery
and response efforts.
The President: And we go through tough times but we bounce back.
And the reason we bounce back is because we look
out for one another.
And we don't leave anybody behind.
And so my commitment to the people on this block, the people
of this community, and the people of this state is that
that same spirit will carry over all the way through until our
work is done.
Narrator: To find out more information on any of these topics or to
see complete videos of these events, go to WhiteHouse.gov.
And thanks again for checking out your West Wing Week!
Craig Fugate: That's two things that are on right now.
One is FEMA assistance where you can call 1-800-621-FEMA.
And start registering --
The President: You said do one thing.
Now, what does "registering" mean, Craig?
Configure Fugate: You're going to talk to a person who is
going to start getting you information, find out where you
live, find out what's going on and get an inspector out there
to take a look at your home and see what the damages are.
The second thing is for everybody who has businesses,
boats or other types of commercial operation, Small
Business Administration Disaster Loans.
We'll be working together to get a center set up here.
But the thing I wanted to do is let you know, make the call, get
started, we can start helping people find a place to stay
while we figure out how long it's going to take to fix and
repair your homes --
(applause)
-- whether you're a renter or a homeowner, make the call!