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Release Date: December 6, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Press Office
(202) 572-8890
Washington, DC. -- Thank you for that introduction, Mark, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to share a few thoughts.
It’s a privilege to be with such a distinguished group of Americans. I’ve spent countless days with the citizens of the Gulf Coast. And the folks assembled here represent some of the most impressive and inspiring New Orleanians.
Like each of these individuals, the past two years has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. However, more than anything else, my prevailing sentiment remains one of hope and optimism.
Every week, I see more progress. Critical infrastructure is being restored and rebuilt. Failing schools are reopening as hopeful new charters. More and more citizens are coming back to once-devastated neighborhoods that are returning to life. Perhaps most importantly, the New Orleans area now has the best flood protection in its history, even as work continues on further improvements.
The Federal government has worked to honor our responsibilities and to support this progress by providing the resources necessary for local leaders to lay a solid groundwork for the future. To date, the President and Congress have provided almost $117 billion for relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts, 84% of which has been disbursed or made available to state or local leadership.
To better distinguish between the responsibilities at all levels, we have instituted a Transparency Initiative that will make all information on where the federal funds are, available in a clear and understandable way to the general public. This will be a great tool that will further accelerate rebuilding. The first phase of this will focus on mapping recovery schools in New Orleans so parents, teachers and local activists will know the status of individual schools in their community.
But the real reason I’m optimistic—the reason I have hope for New Orleans—has nothing to do with government. It has to do with the people sitting in front of you. Government harnesses tax dollars and administers programs. In this country, it has never been and never will be a substitute for the creativity and can-do spirit that individuals possess.
There are few guiding principles I brought into this job. A few truths that I believe are deeply relevant to New Orleans today and relevant to these grassroots leaders.
The first is from the classic Chinese text, The Art of War. I can remember going through the banking crisis of the 1980’s, and quoting Sun Tzu to my staff, when he said:
“The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat.”
Well, these grassroots leaders are doing just that. Before Katrina, New Orleans before Katrina was a declining city that, frankly, was on the brink of defeat.
These leaders recognize that they have been given a clean slate and a fresh start. They have a chance not only to build their communities back as they were before the storms—but to make them better and stronger.
My second guiding principle is that the most effective form of leadership is servant leadership. You have to be selfless.
As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Every man is proud of what he does well; and no man is proud of what he does not do well.”
Each of these individuals has a day job—they are not employed by the State of Louisiana, or the City of New Orleans, or FEMA.
But they care enough about the city that they love that they are willing to be selfless and to offer their time, talents, and energies to serve their neighbors in this rebuilding. That kind of servant leadership is absolutely critical to this effort.
Finally, I’ve always been a private sector guy, so it’s clear to me that there are limits to what government can do.
When it comes to performance, the private sector is always going to surpass the government. When it comes to leadership, the private sector—private markets and active citizens—often wield even more power than those in government.
That’s why I’m so excited about what is happening in New Orleans.
The reality of the situation is that the future of New Orleans lies in the hands of its local leadership. And when I talk about local leadership, I mean regular citizens, more than elected officials. Grass roots leadership.
True transformation—the kind of change that everyone hopes and dreams about for New Orleans and Louisiana—will not happen without sustained, grassroots leadership.
It’s the kind of leadership that is already on display in the education arena. Heroic leaders—and Leslie Jacobs is one of the best—are working to redeem a system that was failing by every measure before Katrina.
Under the astute leadership of Secretary Margaret Spellings, the Department of Education has been an active supporter of this change by investing $45 million in a new network of charter schools. But true change is happening because local leaders are acting with courage, vision, and determination to end the old way of doing business. These leaders are working against considerable obstacles to chart a new course for public education in New Orleans—one that will have a truly transformative effect for this city.
That is heroic leadership. And it’s that kind of heroic leadership that is needed in all areas of recovery. Criminal justice; workforce development; health care reform; neighborhood planning; safer, smarter land-use; diversifying the regional economy. Each of these areas is crying out for local leaders who will drive the positive change needed to make New Orleans the city that it can be.
That’s not to say that the Federal government will not continue to be active and engaged: we will continue to meet certain direct responsibilities as appropriate, and we will continue to be a supportive partner to the local government which, frankly, needs to show more proactive leadership and initiative.
But this kind of transformation will not happen without heroic grassroots leadership.
Folks, I still believe that when history writes the book on Hurricane Katrina, it’s not merely going to be a tragedy. It’s also going to be a story of renewal, rebirth, and redemption. It’s going to be a redemption story.
Today, New Orleans stands in the middle chapters of that renaissance story. But each day, we move a few pages closer. And thanks to the committed service and selfless leadership of these grassroots leaders, I am confident that we will reach that hopeful end. Thank you.
This page was last reviewed/modified on December 6, 2007.
