WASHINGTON — President Bush mobilized the federal emergency assistance establishment Tuesday on behalf of Southern California officials struggling with devastating wildfires that are forecast to get bigger, and scheduled a visit to the region on Thursday.
“The president wants to travel to California to witness firsthand what the people there are going through with these wildfires,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said. “He wants to ensure that the state and local governments are getting what they need from the federal government and he wants to make sure to deliver a message in person to the victims that he has them in his thoughts and prayers.”
Bush is canceling previously scheduled events in St. Louis to make the trip, but Vice President Dick Cheney will stand in for him to deliver remarks on the budget and headline a fundraiser for the national Republican Party.
Earlier Tuesday, Perino said that it was premature to talk about a presidential visit to California, saying: “The last thing California needs right now is a trip from the president to take away assets.” Later, she said Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed during a phone call that Thursday was the best day for Bush to come.
Perino also announced that Bush was convening a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning for a briefing from FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison and his boss, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. The top federal disaster officials were arriving in California on Tuesday night to see what more could be done from Washington and were to address the president and the Cabinet via secure video conference.
Earlier Tuesday, Bush briefly departed from his scheduled war on terror speech at the National Defense University to offer prayers for those losing houses and businesses — or about to lose them.
“All of us across this nation are concerned for the families who have lost their homes and the many families who have been evacuated from their homes,” he said. “We send the help of the federal government.”
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