President Bush leaves the White House for day trip to Texas and Louisiana

President Bush has arrived in Texas and will later travel to Louisiana Tuesday, to survey the damage from Hurricane Rita and to get briefed on recovery efforts.

A number of refineries in the area remain shut after being hit by two major hurricanes in the past four weeks. Mr. Bush has said he is willing to tap the national emergency oil reserves to make up for energy supply shortfalls.

Hurricane Rita caused widespread flooding and major damage to many towns. Its death toll is at least seven, including five people in Texas who died from carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator. Twenty four elderly people fleeing the storm in a bus were killed when their vehicle caught fire and was engulfed in flames.

Michael Brown (file photo)

Meanwhile, the political fallout from Hurricane Katrina continues. The former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Michael Brown, testifies before Congress Tuesday about the government's initial response - widely viewed as slow and inadequate. Mr. Brown resigned amid a storm of criticism, but is still receiving full pay for a transitional period to help assess what went wrong after the hurricane.

Some information for this report provided by AP.