Whoever wrote this appears to be totally ignorant of the political power at stake right now.
The situation in New Orleans, even though I blame Blanco & Nagin and terrible planning for the horrible aftermath, was ultimately caused by a natural catastrophe.
I do believe that relief at that time is a requirement of the Federal Government which is mandated to ensure "the general welfare."
And, I also believe that if this President and this Congress do nothing, that the conservatives will lose miserably in the next election....maybe even at levels that would change the balance of power.
See my post #2.
If we're going to spend $200 billion for this, we should cut it from other spending.
He's not even proposing to do that.