On Saturday, August 14, 2010 the First Family will travel to Florida’s Gulf Coast and spend the weekend in Panama City Beach, Florida. It will be the president’s first visit to the area since oil has stopped pouring into the Gulf and the BP leaking well has been plugged. The family will depart the Gulf Coast on Sunday afternoon.
While in Panama City Beach, the President and First Lady will join area small business owners, elected officials, and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for a roundtable discussion of the recovery. In June, the President asked Secretary Mabus, a former governor of Mississippi and a son of the Gulf Coast, to develop a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan.
Upon release of details of the president’s visit, announced last month, Representative Alan Williams (D-Tallahassee, District 8) issued a statement expressing the hope that Obama’s visit to the Panhandle would be viewed as sincere.
“President Obama’s stay here offers opportunity to put aside partisan bickering and to focus on the Gulf Coast’s recovery from one of the worst ecological disasters in U.S. history,” said Williams. “On this occasion, we can prove that our beaches are just as beautiful as ever, and show that we are open and ready for visitors.”
Meanwhile, the White House announced today that the President will travel to New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The visit will include remarks by the President at Xavier University of Louisiana. Members of the President’s Cabinet who have worked on recovery and restoration efforts will also be on hand in the region to mark the anniversary.
