Joe Biden Federal Response to Tornadoes Briefing Transcript

Joe Biden: (00:00)
Well folks, as you can see, I just met with my team here and Secretary Mayorkas Homeland security and my FEMA administrator, Criswell, they’re on the ground in Kentucky yesterday. I asked for a detailed briefing in which they were able to see what they’ve found. They shared to me what they learned and we discussed how we can do more, especially so many of the people are facing immense, immense loss.

Joe Biden: (00:35)
We talked about how we can accelerate and expand federal assistance to those in desperate need. You saw, I mean, some of you’ve been there and you’ve seen, you’ve been reporting on television the devastation before and after, and this is Mayfield, Kentucky. I mean, it’s just devastating.

Joe Biden: (00:59)
We’ve already approved an emergency declaration and a major disaster declaration for Kentucky. I’ve spoke with the governor several times thus far. This gives me the tools to provide everything that we can from the federal level, from experts, search and rescue teams to immediate and longer term help with housing and clean up, the whole range of things. I stand ready to do the same for the governors of other states.

Joe Biden: (01:28)
Matter of fact, I’m about to sign an emergency request from Illinois, the governor of Illinois went literally when I finished the trip and signed that. We’ve also ask FEMA and the key departments, surge federal resources. The thing they most need are power, water, communication systems to get back to some sense of being able to communicate with one another as rapidly as they possibly can.

Joe Biden: (01:59)
As I said, I intend to travel to Kentucky on Wednesday. With each passing day, the human impact of this devastation is just the depth of the losses are becoming more and more apparent. This is a town with a relatively low average income of under $20,000 a year. It’s a town that has been wiped out, but it’s not the only town. It’s not the only town.

Joe Biden: (02:26)
That path you see moves all the way up well over 100 miles. There’s more than one route that goes. We’re also seeing destruction met with a lot of compassion I’m told. Everywhere they’ve, they have people volunteering, talking, asking for that they not only get help, but how they can give some help. We continue to pray for everyone in Kentucky and the other states that were affected. Particularly my heart goes out to the governor of Kentucky who’ve lost family himself. It’s pretty rough stuff.

Joe Biden: (03:08)
But we’re going to get this done. We’re going to be there as long as it takes to help. The combination of state, federal, and volunteer organizations do everything from eventually not only clear the debris, but provide the necessary means to move, get schools reopened, making sure that homes are able to be rebuilt, et cetera. There’s a lot, a lot that needs to be done and mostly Kentucky here, but not only Kentucky.

Joe Biden: (03:37)
Just wanted to let you know that’s what I was doing. Haven’t decided where I’m going yet. We’re working out what I indicated to the government when we talked about this two days ago was that I don’t want to be in the way. There’s a lot going on. When the president shows up, there’s a long tail of follow up from awful lot of folks. I just don’t want to do anything other than be value added. But I want you to know that this administration has made it clear to every governor, whatever they need, when they need it, when they need it, make it known to me, it will get it to them as rapidly as we can. That’s what we’re doing here in Kentucky.

Joe Biden: (04:22)
We’re going to have to go beyond what is available to the federal government. For example, we’re able to … FEMA can come up with up to $35,000 in housing restoration. Well, not a lot of $35,000 homes. In the meantime, we can provide everything from hotel rooms and places where folks can live in the meantime, but there’s a lot to be done and we’re just getting it underway. But we’re going to work with all the governors to make sure that we can. Yes.

Speaker 1: (04:51)
Mr. President, what do you believe your own visit there can do for the people who are affected by this? What is your concern about the longest term problems? Is it housing? What part of recovery do you worry about most?

Joe Biden: (05:03)
Well, what I worry about most in a circumstance like this, because I’ve been involved in responding to a lot of disasters as a Senator, as vice president, now as president just this year, is the peace of mind and people being able to actually put their head on a pillow, lie down on a bed, be able to know their kids are going to be okay. This is a narrow path. The devastation is just stunning. I mean, there’s nothing left standing basically along the path that goes all the way through.

Joe Biden: (05:39)
Do you have that other … let me ask, show that other in terms of housing, because I think this is the best way to illustrate just how precise [inaudible 00:05:54]. Go to the one that goes all the way up. This is takes you. If you take a look. Why don’t you point out where we are here. You take a look where Mayfield is and Bowling Green is, we’re not talking about Mayfield now, but all these yellow dots here along the way are residences, and they’ve been wiped out. They’ve been wiped out. Commercial and government historical sites and industrial sites, it’s been wiped out.

Joe Biden: (06:28)
Would you mind putting the one back up for Mayfield? If you take a look, Mayfield sits in that where that square is in the left. Well, look at all … This is just the city of Mayfield, residential, commercial, exempt, government, and historical, agriculture, cetera, just, I mean, they’re the God.

Joe Biden: (06:54)
Some of you [inaudible 00:06:55] already down there. It’s just devastating. I worry quite frankly, about, how can I say it, the mental health of these people. You come home and you see that if you made it, and if you haven’t, if you lost someone in the meantime, thank God it doesn’t seem like the numbers are quite as high as were anticipated, but they’re high. You come home, you’ve lost your husband, wife, mother, father, children, somebody along the line. What do you do? Where do you go? It’s not like if you’re making $ 16,000 a year, you get in a plane and head to your relative in Washington.

Joe Biden: (07:38)
I mean literal. That’s what worries me most, the uncertainty. It really is something that I’ve observed in every major disaster I’ve watched and been on the ground to see. It just, you can see it in people’s faces. We just want them to know that we’re going to stay as long as it takes to help them. There’s three ways to begin help. One is the federal agencies that are available and …

Joe Biden: (08:03)
One is the federal agencies that are available, and that’s already underway. And for example, they’re setting up in all these places. For example, there’re going to be roughly how many disaster centers you think we’ll have in the state?

Speaker 2: (08:16)
We’ll have disaster recovery centers and all the major impact [inaudible 00:08:22] .

Joe Biden: (08:21)
There’ll be one place a citizen can go. There will be essentially an ombudsman. What I said to the governors, and it surprised me that they, pleased me, but surprised me, that they repeated it, is that, for example, I told the governor of Kentucky, I’m not expecting you to know all you need. Let us tell you what you can ask for, that you haven’t asked for. Let us do our job.

Joe Biden: (08:47)
I mean, these large government agencies, like the federal or state governments, it’s hard for people to understand sometimes. Let me go in and tell you what you can ask for. And so, there is the federal government, the state government. There’s also the nonprofits out there that have been in fact involved in all these disasters around the country, and they can provide help and assistance.

Joe Biden: (09:10)
Right now, for example, I’m told, I hope I’m not misspeaking, that the school in Mayfield is being used for shelter now. It didn’t get wiped out, but it is not going to be able to be functioned as a school soon. So, how do you get these kids back in school rooms? How do you get some semblance of normalcy again? And so, we’re working like the devil.

Joe Biden: (09:33)
I’m very, very pleased with the work that FEMA director, Criswell has done. And I know that Homeland Security’s reached out to these folks. They know we’re there. And I just want to make sure there is no sense in the part of anyone in these affected areas that they are asking something that they shouldn’t ask for. Ask for whatever you think you need and we’ll find. And if we can’t provide it through a government agency, we’ll do our best to find out private agencies that can help, from churches to Red Cross, to a whole range of institutions.

Joe Biden: (10:15)
But it’s like when I was walking through the neighborhoods in Louisiana. See the looks on people’s faces. You go to the corner where there were houses just gone. People standing in their yards crying. And this was two days after the storm went through. So, it really is devastating. This is the United States of America, though.

Joe Biden: (10:42)
The thing that pleased me, every one of my staff who were down there came back, [inaudible 00:10:48] called me on the phone and said, “People already help each other. They’re already asking, ‘How can I help, too?'” So, that’s what I worry most about. It’s just getting some peace of mind and say, “Look, there is a way to get from here to there. There’s disaster now, but there’s a way to get there.” We’re going to do everything we can. And I believe the Congress will respond for that extraordinary need we don’t have. Yes, sir.

Speaker 3: (11:16)
How much of a factor do you think that climate change was in this? And do you think that will be part of the argument you make people, like Senator Manchin, about why to Build Back Better about bill is needed for approval?

Joe Biden: (11:28)
No. I’m not going to make that argument with him about this. Look, Joe understands. Joe has as much empathy and concern for these folks. I mean, he’s been through some real of disasters in West Virginia. He understands.

Joe Biden: (11:42)
And the honest to God truth is, we’re discussing this. I’ve spent a lot of time on climate issues. And I said we have to be very careful. We can’t say with absolute certainty that it was because of climate change. So, I’m going to be talking with the Environmental Protection Agency, and I’m going to talk with other agencies to determine. Matter of fact, some of it has to do with El Niño.

Joe Biden: (12:07)
There’s a lot of things that we don’t know for certain. And I don’t want to say anything that is not precisely true. What is certain? It is one of the worst tornado disasters we’ve had in the country. And the second thing is certain is that it is unusual. It is unusual how it happened, how many places it touched down, and the length of the path. So, that’s all I’m prepared to talk about right now. Yes, ma’am.

Speaker 4: (12:33)
Thank you. Mr. President, this is all happening in the middle of a pandemic. How are you thinking about will these places need more resources because they’re also going to be dealing with possibly rising cases, possibly hospitals being overloaded, things of that nature?

Joe Biden: (12:51)
Yes. Look, I have the entire federal team, not just the folks going in and making sure we’re not leaving anybody still breathing under debris. That’s the immediate, immediate, urgent, urgent thing. And just to get the food, water to people who don’t have it, and there’s no place to get it. So, that’s number one.

Joe Biden: (13:15)
But number two, there’s a whole range of things, including the virus and the hospitals. I’ve gotten a report, but not the detail I need, about the hospitals along the path of this tornado. But I’m sure I’m going to be asking my team to set up sites for booster shots, and the whole range of things that people still…

Joe Biden: (13:50)
The worst part is their life has to go on as if nothing happened, because they’ve still got to take care of those needs from their kid going to get into school, to whether or not they’re going to be able to collect an unemployment check. Are they going to be in this… All those issues. But one of those issues will be public health as it relates to COVID.

Joe Biden: (14:13)
[Crosstalk 00:14:13]

Joe Biden: (14:13)
I’ll take this one question.

Speaker 4: (14:19)
Mr. President, are you willing to share anything more about what the message to Senator Manchin will be about why you would like him to agree to that Build Back Better bill?

Joe Biden: (14:28)
No, look, I told you. When I speak to senators or house members, or governors, or any other elected official, to try to convince them that what I’m proposing makes sense, and it’s not inconsistent with what they believe, I do that. And then I’ll discuss it afterwards.

Speaker 5: (14:45)
Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 6: (14:50)
Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Speaker 7: (14:56)
[inaudible 00:14:56].

Speaker 6: (14:56)
My first one, no.

Speaker 7: (14:56)
All right, then. Thank you, sir.

Joe Biden: (15:04)
Thank you. [crosstalk 00:15:04].

Joe Biden: (15:04)
(silence)

Joe Biden: (16:06)
Everybody in?

Speaker 8: (16:06)
Yes, sir.

Joe Biden: (16:08)
Well, folks, as you can see, I just met with my team here and Secretary Mayorkas of Homeland Security and my FEMA administrator, Criswell, they’re on the ground in Kentucky yesterday. And I asked for detailed briefing at what they were able to see, what they found. And they shared to me what they learned. And we discussed how we can do more, especially so many of the people were facing immense, immense loss.

Joe Biden: (16:44)
And we talked about how we can accelerate and expand federal assistance to those in desperate need. And you saw, I mean, some of you’ve been there and you’ve seen, you’ve been reporting on television the devastation before and after. And this is Mayfield, Kentucky. I mean, it’s just devastating. And we’ve already approved an emergency declaration and a major disaster declaration for Kentucky.

Joe Biden: (17:13)
I’ve spoke with the governor several times thus far. And this gives me the tools to provide everything that we can from the federal level. From expert search and rescue teams to immediate and longer term help with housing, and clean up, a whole range of things. And I stand ready to do the same for the governors of other states.

Joe Biden: (17:36)
Matter of fact, I’m about to sign an emergency request from Illinois, from the governor of Illinois, literally, when I finish, get up and sign that. And we’ve also asked FEMA and the key departments, Surge, federal resources, the thing they most need are power, water, communication systems to get back to some sense of being able communicate with one another as rapidly as they possibly can.

Joe Biden: (18:08)
And as I said, I intend to travel to Kentucky on Wednesday. And with each passing day, the human impact this devastation is just the depth of the losses are becoming more and more apparent.

Joe Biden: (18:24)
This is a town with a relatively low average income of under $20,000 a year. It’s a town that has been wiped out, but it’s not the only town. It’s not the only town. That path you see moves all the way up well over 100 miles. And there’s more than one route that goes. And so, we were also seeing destruction, met with a lot of compassion I’m told. Everywhere they’ve gone, they had people volunteering, talking, asking for that they not only get help, but how they can give some help. And so we continue to pray for everyone. And Kentucky and the other states are affected. And particularly, my heart goes out to the governor of Kentucky who lost family himself. It’s pretty rough stuff. But we’re going to get this done. We’re going to be there as long as it takes to help. And the combination of state, federal, and volunteer organizations do everything from eventually not only clear the debris, but provide the necessary means to move, get schools reopened, making sure the homes are able to be rebuilt, et cetera.

Joe Biden: (19:38)
So there’s a lot, a lot that needs to be done. And it’s mostly Kentucky here, but not only Kentucky. I just want to let you know, that’s what I was doing. I haven’t decided where I’m going yet. We’re working out what I indicated to the governor when we talked about this two days ago, was that I don’t want to be in the way. Was a lot going on.

Joe Biden: (20:02)
When the President shows up, there’s a long tail to follow, awful lot of folks. And I just don’t want to do anything other than be value added. But I want you to know that this administration has made it clear to every governor, whatever they need when they need it, when they need it, make it known to me, it will get it to them as rapidly, as rapidly as we can.

Joe Biden: (20:27)
And that’s what we’re doing here in Kentucky. We’re going to have to go beyond what is available to the federal government. For example, we’re able to, FEMA can come up with up to $35,000 in housing restoration. Well, not a lot of $35,000 homes. In the meantime, we can provide everything from hotel rooms, and places where folks can live in the meantime. But there’s a lot to be done, and we’re just getting it underway. But we’re going to work with all the governors to make sure that we can. Yes?

Speaker 1: (21:01)
Mr. President, what do you leave your own visit there can do for the people who are affected by this? And what is your concern about the longest term problems? Is it housing? What part of recovery do you worry about most?

Joe Biden: (21:12)
Well, what I worry about most in a circumstance like this because I’ve been involved in responding to a lot of disasters as a Senator, as Vice President, now as President just this year is the peace of mind of people being able to actually put their head on a pillow, lie down on a bed, be able to know their kids are going to be okay. This is a narrow path. The devastation is just stunning.

Joe Biden: (21:41)
I mean, there’s nothing less standing, basically, along the path that goes all the way through. Let me ask, show that other, in terms of housing, because I think this is the best way to illustrate just how precisely. Go to the one that goes all the way up. This takes you.

Joe Biden: (22:07)
So if you take a look, well, I want you point out where we are here. You take a look where Mayfield or Bowling Green is. That’s not, we’re not talking about Mayfield now. But all these yellow dots here along the way are residences. And they’ve been wiped out. They’ve been wiped out. Commercial and government historical sites, and industrial sites, it’s been wiped out.

Joe Biden: (22:36)
You mind putting the one back up for Mayfield? If you take a look, Mayfield sits in that where that square is in the left. Well, look at all, this is just the city of Mayfield. Residential, commercial exempt, government, and historical agriculture, et cetera. I mean, they’re gone. And some of you probably already down there. It’s just devastating.

Joe Biden: (23:08)
And I worry, quite frankly, about… How can I say it? The mental health of these people. You come home and you see that if you made it, and if you haven’t, if you lost someone in the meantime, thank God it doesn’t seem like the numbers are quite as high as they’re anticipated, but they’re high.

Joe Biden: (23:28)
You come home. You’ve lost your husband, wife, mother, father, children, somebody along the line. And what do you do? Where do you go? It’s not like if you’re making $16,000 a year, you get in a plane and head to your relative in Washington. But I mean, literal, that’s what worries me most, the uncertainty. And it really is something that I’ve observed in every major disaster I’ve watched and been on the ground to see. You can see in people’s faces. And so we just want them to know that-

Joe Biden: (24:03)
… you can see in people’s faces. And so we just want them to know that we’re going to stay as long as it takes to help them. And there’s three ways to begin help. One is the federal agencies that are available, and that’s already underway. And for example, they’re setting up in all these places. For example, they’re going to be roughly how many disaster centers you think we’ll have in the state?

Speaker 9: (24:30)
We’ll have disaster recovery centers with all the major impact [inaudible 00:24:30].

Joe Biden: (24:30)
There’ll be one place a citizen can go. There will be essentially an Ombudsman. What I said to the governors and it surprised me that they, it pleased me, but surprised me that they repeated it is that, for example, I told the governor of Kentucky, “I’m not expecting you to know all you need. Let us tell you what you can’t ask or that you haven’t asked for. Let us do our job.”

Joe Biden: (24:55)
I mean, these large government agencies like the federal or state governments, it’s hard for the people understand sometimes. Let me go in and tell you what you can ask for. And so there is the federal government, the state government. There’s also the nonprofits out there that have been in fact involved in all these disasters around the country, and they can provide help and assistance.

Joe Biden: (25:19)
Right now, for example, I’m told, I hope I’m not misspeaking that the school in Mayfield is being used for shelter now. It didn’t get wiped out, but it is not going to be able to be functioned as a school center. So how do you get these kids back in school rooms? How do you get some semblance of normalcy again? And so we’re working like the devil. I’m very, very pleased with the work that the FEMA director Criswell has done. And I know that Homeland Security’s done reached out to these folks.

Joe Biden: (25:55)
They know we’re there. And I just want to make sure there is no sense in the part of anyone in these affected areas that they are asking something that they shouldn’t ask for. Ask for whatever you think you need and we’ll find out. And if we can’t provide it through you through a government agency, we’ll do our best to find out private agencies that can help. From churches, to Red Cross, to a whole range of institutions.

Joe Biden: (26:27)
It’s like when I was walking through the neighborhoods in Louisiana, I mean, see the looks on people’s faces. You go to the corner where there were houses was gone. People standing in their yards crying, and this was two days after the storm went through. So it really is devastating.

Joe Biden: (26:49)
Now, this is the United States of America though. The thing that pleased me would every one of my staff were down there came back and at least today called me on the phone and said, “People are all ready to help each other.” They’re already asking, “How can I help, too?”

Joe Biden: (27:03)
So that’s what I worry most about is just getting some peace of mind and say, look, there is a way to get from here to there. It’s disaster now, but there’s a way to get there. We’re going to do everything we can. And I’m sure, I believe that Congress will respond to that extraordinary need we don’t have. Yes, sir?

Speaker 3: (27:25)
How much of a factor do you think that climate change was in this? And do you think that would be part of the argument you make people like Senator Manchin about why the Build Back Better bill needs his approval?

Joe Biden: (27:36)
No, I’m not going to make that argument with him about this. Look, Joe understands. Joe has as much empathy and concern for these folks. I mean, he’s been through some real disasters in West Virginia. He understands. And the honest to God truth is we were discussing this. I’ve spent a lot of time on climate issues. And I said, we have to be very careful.

Joe Biden: (28:00)
We can’t say with absolute certainty that it was because of climate change. So I’m going to be talking with the Environmental Protection Agency, and I’m going to talk with other agencies to determine. Fact, matter of fact, some of it has to do with Albania.

Joe Biden: (28:15)
There’s a lot of things that we don’t know for certain. And I don’t want to say anything that is not precisely true. What is certain, it is one of the worst tornado disasters we’ve had in the country. And the second thing is certain is that it is unusual. It is unusual how it happened, how many places it touched down, and the length of the path. So that’s all I’m prepared to talk about right now. Yes, ma’am?

Speaker 4: (28:42)
[crosstalk 00:28:42] Mr. President, this is all happening in the middle of a pandemic. How are you thinking about will these places need more resources because they’re also going to be dealing with possibly rising cases, possibly hospitals getting overloaded, things of that nature?

Joe Biden: (29:00)
Yes. Look, we have, I have my, the entire federal team, not just the folks going in and making sure there’s still people… We’re not leaving anybody still breathing under debris. That’s the immediate, immediate, urgent, urgent thing. And just to get the food, water to people who don’t have it, and there’s no place to get it. So that’s number one.

Joe Biden: (29:24)
But number two, there’s a whole range of things, including the virus, including the virus, and the hospitals. I’ve gotten the report, but not the detail I need about the hospitals along the path of this tornado. We’re going to have to, I’m sure I’m going to be asked to, I’m going to be asking my team to set up sites for booster shots and the whole range of things that people still… The worst part is their life has to go on as if nothing happened, because they’ve still got to take care of those needs from either their kid going to get in school, to whether or not they’re going to be able to collect an unemployment check, or they’re going to be in the… All those issues. But one of those issues will be public health as it relates to Covid.

Reporters: (30:23)
Thank you. [crosstalk 00:30:24].

Joe Biden: (30:24)
I’ll take this one question.

Speaker 10: (30:34)
Mr. President, are you willing to share anything more about what the message Senator Manchin will be about why you would like him to agree that Build Back Better [inaudible 00:30:37]?

Joe Biden: (30:37)
No. Look, I told you. When I speak to Senators to try to, or House members, or governors, or any other elected official, I try to convince them that what I’m proposing makes sense and it’s not inconsistent with what they believe. I do that. And then I’ll discuss it afterwards. Okay?

Reporters: (30:57)
Thank you.