Bush To Congress: Push Katrina Aid

Legislative Action Urged To Boost Economy, Gulf Coast Recovery

(CBS/AP)  President Bush says Washington lawmakers have a lot of "important work" to do to help the Gulf Coast recover from the hurricanes.

In his first full news conference since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, Mr. Bush said Congress needs to cut spending elsewhere to pay for recovery. He promises to work with lawmakers to identify areas where spending can be cut.

He says America's heart is "big enough to be generous and responsible" at the same time.

While government action is needed to help rebuild, Mr. Bush says businesses will be the "engine that drives" the recovery. He says policies will be needed to attract private investment to create jobs.

But the president said the nation will continue to spend whatever it takes to support U.S. troops in Iraq.

At his rose garden press conference, Mr. Bush again said he takes "all the responsibility for the failures at the federal level."

He says there is "a lot of analysis going on" to learn from the disaster and make any fixes needed.

When the storms hit the Gulf Coast, the entire country felt an economic hit due to stymied oil production.

"They highlighted a problem I've been talking about since I've come to Washington: We need more refining capacity," Mr. Bush said. He highlighted his own heightened awareness by citing a few facts, such as that the U.S. hasn't built a new oil refinery since the 1970s.

"And so I look forward to working with Congress to pass a reasonable law that will allow current refineries to expand and to encourage the construction of new refineries," Mr. Bush said.

Meanwhile, in New Orleans, officials ended their door-to-door sweep for corpses finding far fewer bodies than once feared and some schoolchildren returned to classes as the Big Easy revved up efforts to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

The search for Katrina victims ended in Louisiana with a death toll substantially less than the 10,000 victims some officials feared. A private company hired by the state to remove bodies was on call if any others were found. The toll Tuesday stood at 972, eight more than Monday, the state health department said.

The death toll probably will continue to rise, but authorities have said sweeps yielded fewer bodies than feared, and that the toll was likely to be well below the dire projections. Mayor Ray Nagin said soon after Katrina struck that New Orleans alone could have 10,000 dead.

"There might still be bodies found — for instance, if a house was locked and nobody able to go into it," said Bob Johannessen, a spokesman with the state Department of Health and Hospitals. Mississippi's death toll remained at 221.

Also this week, Evangelist Franklin Graham says a sinful New Orleans will be spiritually reborn as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

The son of the Reverend Billy Graham said there was devil worship and sexual perversion in New Orleans before the storm, but now "God is going to use that storm to bring revival" because "God loves sinners."

Graham made his comments at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. The comments were reported by The News and Advance of Lynchburg.

Five weeks after Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast., St. Andrew the Apostle elementary school in the reopened Algiers neighborhood was the first Roman Catholic school to resume in New Orleans.

"My heart is just bursting," said teacher Jewell McCartney, fighting back tears as she welcomed her class of sixth-graders. "I just want to give them all a hug."

Archdiocese officials said their schools also were reopening in areas outside the city. Some public schools in nearby parishes also opened Monday, but public schools in New Orleans remain closed. Some may resume by November.

On Tuesday, former President Bill Clinton was to travel to Louisiana to meet with hurricane survivors at a Baton Rouge shelter, get a briefing from officials on the relief effort and tour New Orleans' largely destroyed Ninth Ward. Clinton and former President George H.W. Bush are heading up the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, which has raised $100 million to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.