President Obama Extends Gulf Coast Rebuilding Office

Office of the Vice President
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For Immediate Release February 20, 2009





Obama Extends Gulf Coast Rebuilding Office; Sends Cabinet Members to Gulf Coast and New Orleans

Washington, D.C. – President Barack Obama Friday signed an executive order extending the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding. The President also announced that he has asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to tour the Gulf Coast and New Orleans in early March.



The executive order that established the office was set to expire on February 28. President Obama extended the office through the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2009.



“The residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast who are helping rebuild are heroes who believe in their communities and they are succeeding despite the fact that they have not always received the support they deserve from the Federal government,” President Obama said. “This executive order is a first step of a sustained commitment by my Administration to rebuild now, stronger than ever.”



Demonstrating the Obama Administration’s commitment to rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the President also announced that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan would tour the Gulf Coast on March 5 and 6 to assess rebuilding efforts.



“In the coming weeks, I will dispatch Secretaries Napolitano and Donovan to see first-hand the progress made in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and report back on the needs they see in the region. We must ensure that the failures of the past are never repeated. My Administration is committed to strengthening our preparedness, response, and recovery efforts,” President Obama said.



The mission of the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding is to identify and help address the priority needs for long-term rebuilding by working with the people on the ground and with decision makers in Washington.