President Bush has declared Friday, September 16th as a national day of prayer and remembrance for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
He has also announced steps that he promised would "cut through the red tape" to provide vital help to hurricane victims.
Mr Bush said every affected household would be given $2,000 to help with immediate relief. By registering for the cards victims will also be making themselves applicable for longer term aid, he said.
"More than 400,000 families have already been registered," he said. "There are tens of thousands more." The President said everyone living in declared disaster zones would get "evacuee status" making it easy to collect state benefits anywhere in the country.
"These are just some of the steps we are taking in what will be a long relief effort," he said. "We have many difficult days ahead, especially as we recover those who did not survive the storm.
"I have asked all agencies to honour their memory by treating them with the respect they deserve."