Bush Offers Same Aid to Rita Victims

President Bush said Tuesday that each family displaced by Hurricane Rita would receive a $2,000 check from the federal government.

Victims of Hurricane Katrina, which struck before Rita, were already eligible for the payment. “Last night, we made the decision that the people affected by Rita would be treated the same way,” the president said in Lake Charles, La.

Bush made the announcement during his seventh visit to the coastal regions of the Gulf states in the wake of the two hurricanes. First Lady Laura Bush also traveled to the area, visiting a Biloxi, Miss., shelter to participate in the filming of an episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” a reality TV show.

“This area is hurting,” the president said after taking a 50-minute helicopter tour over Beaumont, Texas, and Lake Charles. The area is home to many oil refineries.

Bush also flew over an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that was idled by Rita.

Following up on his call Monday for Americans to conserve gasoline, Bush issued new directives aimed at curbing energy use by the federal government, including the White House.

Scott McClellan, the president’s press secretary, said all staffers were being told to turn off lights and electrical appliances at the end of the day.

“We’ll continue to move forward on more e-government, paperless systems that would reduce the use of faxes and copiers and printers and things of that nature, encouraging all government vehicles to try to consume less,” McClellan said. “That would include people sharing rides in government vehicles.”

Staffers and traveling reporters were squeezed into minivans as a way to cut down on vehicles.