SACRAMENTO, April 21 (UPI) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met with President George W. Bush Friday, but failed to get Bush to declare the California Central Valley a disaster area.
Schwarzenegger's staff put a positive spin on the meeting, saying a disaster declaration in advance was always unlikely, The Los Angeles Times reported. Earlier in the day, a Bush aide told reporters the administration would speed environmental permits for repair of 29 levees and might provide some financial assistance to help pay for damage from recent flooding.
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, a Democrat, said Bush's response was the equivalent of "Bush to California: Drop Dead."
The governor joined Bush for a 15-minute ride to Cisco Systems in San Jose, where the president talked about his plans to boost math and science education.
Schwarzenegger told the Times he would assure Bush that "our levees need a comprehensive repair job before something terrible happens."
Bush plans to spend the weekend in California. His schedule includes an address on energy-saving fuel cell technology, marking Earth Day in Sacramento on Saturday, a Republican fundraising dinner Saturday evening in Palm Springs and a speech Monday on immigration in Irvine.
