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GWENIFILL:OurnextstorytakesustotheJerseyShore. That'swherethepresidentheadedtodaytotakealookatitsrecoveryintheaftermathoflastfall'ssuperstorm. Today'svisitwasalesssomberoccasionthanhislastNewJerseytour.
JudyWoodruffhasthestory.
JUDYWOODRUFF:Rainandgrayskiesdidn'tstopPresidentObamaandGov. ChrisChristiefromtakinginthenewlyrebuiltPointPleasantboardwalk. AndinnearbyAsburyPark, thepresidentpraisedtherecoveryefforts.
PRESIDENTBARACKOBAMA:Youarestrongerthanthestorm. Afterallyouhavedealtwith, afterallyouhavebeenthrough, theJerseyShoreisbackanditisopenforbusiness. AndtheywantallAmericanstoknowthatthey'rereadytowelcomeyouhere.
JUDYWOODRUFF:ThevisitcamesevenmonthsafterHurricaneSandybatteredtheGardenStateandcaused $38 billiondollarsinoveralldamage. NowGov. Christieisbusytoutingthestate'scomeback, partofa $25 milliondollarmarketingcampaignaimedatenticingtouriststoreturnforthesummer.
But, ashetoldNewJerseyPublicTelevisiononFriday, thereisunfinishedbusinessaswell.
GOV. CHRISCHRISTIE,R-N.J.: Iwillgotobedtonightfeelingreallygoodaboutthefactthatalltheseboardwalksaredone, thebusinessesareopenandpeoplecancometotheshoreandbringtheirfamilies, butalsofeelforthosepeople, that 10 percentorsoofpeoplewhoarestillaffected.
JUDYWOODRUFF:Thepresidentsharedthatsentimenttodayjust 48 hoursafterhevisitedthetornadozoneinMoore, Okla.
PRESIDENTOBAMA:PartofthereasonIwantedtocomebackherewasn'tjusttosendamessagetoNewJersey, butsendamessagetofolksinOklahoma. Whenwemakeacommitmentthatwehavegotyourback, wemeanit. Andwe'renotgoingtofinishuntiltheworkisdone.
JUDYWOODRUFF:TheOctoberdisasterinitiallybroughtRepublicangovernorandDemocraticpresidenttogether, asChristiewelcomedtheassistance.
CHRISCHRISTIE:Ithinkheisdeterminedtoworkwithustomakesurethatwerebuildthethingsweneedtorebuild. AndIamgratefulforhispartnership.
JUDYWOODRUFF:ThepraisedrewfirefromotherRepublicans, whosaidithelpedthepresident'sreelection.
But, today, thegovernorinsistedagainthatthestate'srecoverywasabipartisanendeavor.
CHRISCHRISTIE:Everybodycametogether. Republicans, Democrats, independents, weallcametogetherbecauseNewJerseyismoreimportantandourcitizens'livesaremoreimportantthananykindofpoliticsatall.
JUDYWOODRUFF:Thestatestillfacesalongperiodofrebuildingallthatwaslost, includingsome 360,000 homesandapartmentsdamagedinthestorm.
WegetmoreaboutthestatusoftherecoveryintheGardenStateandtheproblemsthatremain. MikeSchneideristhemanagingeditorandhostof "NewJerseyToday" onNewJerseyPublicTelevision.
WelcometotheNewsHour.
So, Gov. ChristieissayingthatNewJerseyiscomeback. He'sencouragingtouriststohitthebeachesthissummer. Hasitcomeback?
MIKESCHNEIDER, NewJerseyPublicTelevision: Inmanyways, ithas.
Ifyougodowntotheshore, asIdidacoupleofdaysago, andinterviewthegovernorthereinPointPleasant, exactlywherehewastodaywiththepresident, yougetthesensethatanawfullotofdamagethathasbeendonehasbeenrepaired. Thebeacheslookquitesimilartothewaytheydidlastsummerinsomeplaces. Theboardwalkhasbeenrepaired. Theshopsareopenonceagain. Theactivitiesarethere.
And, infact, thecrowdsasofFridaywhentheweekendbegan, theMemorialDayweekendbegan, werethere. Theywerethereingoodnumbers. Theywereenthusiastic. Andtherewasageneralsensethatwegotthroughsomethingreallybad. Hereweare, we'reabouttobeginthesummerandalliswell.
That'snotthecaseupanddowntheshoreentirely. Thereareplaceswherethedamageisstillprofoundandlong-lasting. Butformuchofthestate, asthegovernorispronetosay, formaybe 80 percentto 90 percentofthepeopleinthestate, lifeiscertainlybacktonormal.
JUDYWOODRUFF:So, Mike, whoarethe 10 percentto 20 percentwhoarestillwaiting?
MIKESCHNEIDER:AlotofthosearethepeoplethatyouseeinthesehorriblydamagedhomesinplaceslikeOrtleyBeach, placesthatreallyborethebruntofthisstorm, placesthatarewaitingnowforthedeterminationofinsurancecompaniesorFEMA, floodmapstobefinalized, thingslikethat, tomakea -- makeadecisionastowhethertheyhavethemoneyandtheresourcesandperhapsthetemperamenttowanttorebuildandtogobackwheretheywere, orwhethertheywanttotaketheirmoney, cashout, andgosomeplaceelse.
Thosepeopleinmanycasesarestillwaitingnowinrentalunits, beinghelpedalongbysomeshelteringfundsandwhathaveyou. Butthosearethepeoplewhoarestillwaitingandwondering. Andthere'snoclearindicationjustyetwhentheirstorieswillturn.
JUDYWOODRUFF:Overall, Mike, isthegovernor, arethepeopleofNewJerseypleasedwiththerolethefederalgovernmenthasplayedinallthis?
MIKESCHNEIDER:Byandlargeyes, becauseyouhavegottoremember, thegovernorwenttobattotrytohelpthepresidentgetthatmoneythroughCongress, that -- thosebillionsofdollarsthatweresocrucialtorebuildingNewJersey'sinfrastructure.
Andthere'sasenseherethatthepresidentdeliveredonhispromisesandthegovernorhasmadeanaggressiveanddeterminedefforttomakesurethemoneyiswellspentandgoestotheplacesitneedstogotoasquicklyaspossible. Therearesomeplaces, though, wheretherestillaregreatquestionsaboutwherethemoneyis, whenthemoneywillgettothem.
SomepeopleareveryunhappyaboutthesituationwithFEMAandthefloodmaps, becauseanumberoftheseplacesupanddowntheshore, many, manyhomesweretoldthatthey'regoingtohavetoelevate 10 feetorpaywhatcouldbeprohibitivefloodinsuranceratesinthefuture. Sothosekindsofquestionsstillloomoutthere.
Butthatnotwithstanding, mostofthepeopleseemfairlyenthusiasticandfairly -- Imean, ifyoutakealookatthegovernor'spopularityinthepollsrightnow, youwouldhavetosaythey'rehappywiththejobhe'sdoneinregardstothiscrisis.
JUDYWOODRUFF:Andtheinsurancecompanies, youmentioned, they're -- thatit'smixed, itsoundslike, whatyou'resaying.
MIKESCHNEIDER:Well, whatyouhaveis, youhavemostoftheinsurancecompaniesrightnowsaytheyhaveclosedoutthevastmajorityoftheclaimsthatwerefiledwiththem. Insomecases, we'rehearing 98 percentoftheclaimshavenowbeenclosed.
But, insomeinstances, that'saproceduralsituation, wheretheclaimshavebeenclosedwithoutpaymentsgoingout, becauseforsomepeopleinordertogetthemoneythattheirpoliciesthemselveswouldn'tcover, theyhavetogotoFEMA. ButbeforetheycangetthefundingfromFEMAorsomealternativesourcefromthefederalgovernmentdisasterfunding, theyhavetohavetheirinsurancecompaniessay, no, you'renotentitledtoit, wecan'thelpyou.
Thecaseisthenclosed, andtheymoveontothenextstep.
JUDYWOODRUFF:Mike, therewasalotofattentionpaidtothepoliticsofthepresident'svisittoNewJerseylastfallrightafterSandy, thefactthatGov. Christiewaseffusiveinpraisinghimandthankinghim.
Today, firsttimethepresidentgoesback, wastheresomethingmorebehindtoday'svisit? Whatdoyouknowaboutthat?
MIKESCHNEIDER:Well, Imean, youknowaswellasIthatthere'salwaysalittlebitof -- intheolddays, whenpresidentshadproblemsathome, theywouldgooverseas. MaybeNewJerseyinawayistheclosestthingPresidentObamacangetrightnow.
Thegovernorhimself, ofcourse, isrunningforreelection. He'swayaheadinthepolls, he'swayaheadinfund-raising. Buttheyseemtohavecarvedoutaverycomfortableworkingrelationship. Thegovernor, aRepublicangovernorinaheavilyDemocraticstateandapresidentwhomayhavesomeissuesattheWhiteHouserightnowwerecomingbackherewherehecansay, Isawyourpain, Ifeltyourpain, Igotyouthemoney, let'stakealookandseewhatourtaxdollarshavereallygotten.
Therecouldbesomethingtothataswell. ButforthepeoplehereinNewJerseytoseethetwoofthembacktogetheragain, thegovernor'snotwearinghisfleece, sothedisasterapparentlyisover. Andthepresidenthadabroadsmileonhisface. Thepeople, inregards -- inregardstothisvisit, seemtothinkit'sasignthatwehavecomeback, thattheshoreisreadyandthatMotherNaturewillcooperateandwewouldgetsomegoodweather, thatallwouldbewell.
JUDYWOODRUFF:Well, IknowalotofpeoplearegladtoseeNewJerseybacksoquicklyafterthatterriblestorm.
MikeSchneider, thankyouverymuch.
MIKESCHNEIDER:Thankyou, Judy.