Bush visits Gulf Coast to ease fears

NEW ORLEANS — Surrounded by evidence of the incomplete recovery from Hurricane Katrina, President Bush on Thursday tried to calm fears across the Gulf Coast that another monster storm could be lurking in the upcoming hurricane season.

"We pray there is no hurricane this coming year, but we are working together to make sure that if there is one, the response will be as efficient as possible," said Bush, whose administration has been faulted for a flawed response to Katrina that exacerbated the hurricane's destruction.

Sensitive to voters' anger over soaring gasoline prices, Bush also said he wants Congress to give the Transportation Department the power to increase auto fuel economy standards — an idea proposed in an energy plan by Senate Republicans. The department already has such authority over pickup trucks, SUVs and vans.

Later Thursday, Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta wrote a letter to House and Senate leaders of both parties urging "prompt action" on the president's request. Mineta wrote it was "imperative that (fuel-economy) standards be set through an administrative process based on sound science and data."

The 2006 hurricane season begins June 1, and the president said his administration is working with local officials to make sure communications are clearer and supplies are effectively positioned in advance.

Don Powell, Bush's liaison to hurricane relief efforts, said the restoration of New Orleans' levees to their pre-Katrina condition is expected to be completed by June 1.

Bush's comments, on his 11th visit to the Gulf Coast since Katrina struck in August, came as a seven-month Senate inquiry indicated the United States still was woefully unprepared for a storm of that scope. The Senate review followed a House investigation that was similarly critical of Bush and other top federal officials, and milder White House conclusions that blamed the Homeland Security Department for most of the breakdowns.

"We are far better prepared today than we were this time last year," said Frances Fragos Townsend, Bush's homeland security adviser. "And we will be far better prepared by June 1."

The president said, "All of us in positions of responsibility appreciate those who are working to help us to understand how to do our jobs better."

Bush's trip to still-devastated Louisiana and Mississippi was intended to encourage volunteers to pitch in on the massive reconstruction effort.