Home Consumer President Biden On Ian: Rebuilding Southwest Florida Is ‘Going To Take A...

President Biden On Ian: Rebuilding Southwest Florida Is ‘Going To Take A Hell Of A Long Time.’ (Video)

BY: 

President Joe Biden traveled to Fort Myers Wednesday afternoon, promising to use all of the power of the federal government to rebuild the Southwest region of FL following the devastating effects of Hurricane Ian.

The Category 4 storm made landfall six days ago, resulting in at least 72 deaths and a swath of destruction.

“I want the people of Florida to know – you have my commitment and America’s commitment that we’re not going to leave,” the president said in his concluding remarks at Fisherman’s Wharf in Fort Myers Beach. “We’re going to see you through this entire process. And it’s going to take a hell of a long time.”

“It’s going to take years for everything to get squared away in the state of Florida,” he said few moments later.

The president and first lady Jill Biden arrived from Washington, D.C. via Air Force One at approximately 12:45 p.m., and Biden then surveyed storm damage by helicopter as he pledged that federal, state and local governments will work together to help the people of Southwest Florida recover from the massive disaster.

“We have one job and one job only, and that’s to make sure that the people of Florida get everything that they need to fully, fairly recover,” Biden said.

The president met with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after taking an aerial tour of the ravaged region, and DeSantis said that so far, the state and federal government are working in concert. The two men spoke at a briefing around 3 p.m.

“I think that we’ve worked as well across state, local and federal of any disaster that I’ve seen. I want to thank administrator (Deanne) Criswell from FEMA for being on the ground for being supportive, and being very responsive,” the governor said at a press briefing. “We are cutting through the bureaucracy. We are cutting through the red tape.”

DeSantis and Biden are political rivals who potentially could be running against each other for president in 2024, and have spoken critically of each other, most recently after the DeSantis administration sent two planes of nearly 50 Venezuelans to Martha’s Vineyard last month.  Biden accused Republicans of “playing politics with human beings.”

But there was no apparent animosity exchanged between the men on Wednesday. When asked by a reporter how he thought DeSantis had handled the crisis, the president said, “I think he’s done a good job,” according to a travel pool report provided by the White House.

“We worked hand in glove. We have very different political philosophies and – but we worked hand in glove,” the president was quoted as saying. “And he’s been on – on things related to dealing with this crisis, we’ve been completely lockstep. There’s been no difference.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House announced that they were extending the time period for federal funding for debris removal and other emergency protective measures from 30 to 60 days. And during his remarks, the president said that it’s likely that the disaster declaration could be extended further.

“I think he’s going to have to come back and ask for some more beyond those 60 days,” Biden said. “Because it is consequential. Unless you clear the area there isn’t that much you can do.”

The following video is courtesy of C-SPAN. It is a rough cut video.

The post President Biden on Ian: Rebuilding Southwest Florida is ‘going to take a hell of a long time.’ appeared first on Florida Phoenix.

[vc_message message_box_color=”blue”]Florida Phoenix posted on SouthFloridaReporter.com

Video courtesy of C-SPAN

Republished with permission[/vc_message]

This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.

The Phoenix is a nonprofit news site that’s free of advertising and free to readers. We cover state government and politics with a staff of five journalists located at the Florida Press Center in downtown Tallahassee. We have a mix of in-depth stories, briefs, and social media updates on the latest events, editorial cartoons, and progressive commentary. Reporters in many now-shrunken capital bureaus have to spend most of their time these days chasing around after more and more outrageous political behavior, and too many don’t have time to lift up emerging innovative ideas or report on the people who are trying to help solve problems and shift policy for a more compassionate world. The Florida Phoenix does those stories. The Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.