Disaster fund not allotting money

BATON ROUGE, La. More than six (m) million dollars has poured into Governor Kathleen Blanco's Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation in the past four weeks, but hurricane victims have yet to receive any of the money.

The holdup? The governor hasn't appointed a committee to distribute the contributions.

The foundation's Web site says the fund was established "to help provide immediate assistance."

The governor's press secretary, Denise Bottcher, says the foundation actually is meant to meet more long-term needs.

Organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army are providing day-to-day help. Bottcher says the foundation is designed to kick in when that money starts to taper off.

Maris LeBlanc, executive counsel for Commissioner of Administration Jerry Luke LeBlanc, said she hopes the foundation's board is up and running by next week -- more than a month after Hurricane Katrina struck.

The 10 or more members of the board will be appointed by the governor, Maris LeBlanc and Jerry Luke LeBlanc.

Blanco created the fund September second, four days after the storm hit, to meet the immediate and long-term needs of hurricane victims.

Date: 9/2/2005

Contact:Denise Bottcher or Roderick Hawkins at 225-342-9037

Governor Blanco Establishes the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation

Baton Rouge, LA--Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today announced the creation of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, a non-profit foundation established to accept donations that will be used to meet the immediate and long term needs of the thousands of Louisiana citizens whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Donations should be made payable to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and sent to: PO Box 94095, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095. Credit card donations will also be accepted online at www.louisiana.gov.

“People from all over Louisiana and the nation are heartbroken at the sight of death and destruction in southeastern Louisiana," said Governor Blanco. "In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we have received an overwhelming outpouring of support by phone, fax and e-mail from people throughout Louisiana and the United States. This fund will give people a tangible way to help their fellow citizens in need.

“The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation will allow us to respond to those offers and help us quickly, efficiently and effectively move these donations to those who need it the most," Governor Blanco added.

The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation has been established in order to help provide immediate assistance to our citizens in need through a network of Louisiana charities, non-profit and governmental agencies, including clearinghouses like the Louisiana VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster). The Foundation is also designed to support long-term family restoration and recovery by focusing on education, housing, health care, legal assistance and jobs for Louisiana families whose lives have been altered by Hurricane Katrina.

Louisiana Secretary of State Al Ater has certified the paperwork creating the foundation. Representatives from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have also promised to expedite the process for certifying the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation as a non-profit, tax-deductible foundation under Section 501(c)(3). Pending IRS certification, donations will be tax deductible.

For additional information visit www.louisiana.gov.

Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Inc.
Fed. Tax ID No. 20-3399944
c/o Division of Administration
1201 North Third Street, Suite 7-240
P.O. Box 94095
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095
Inquiries may be directed to: LouisianaRecovery@la.gov

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Disaster fund not allotting money

Blanco to name panel to distribute to victims

By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON

Capitol news bureau

More than $6 million has poured into Gov. Kathleen Blanco's Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation in the past four weeks, but hurricane victims have yet to receive any of the money.
The holdup? The governor hasn't appointed a committee to distribute the contributions.

The foundation's Web site says the fund was established "to help provide immediate assistance."

The governor's press secretary, Denise Bottcher, said the foundation actually is meant to meet more long-term needs.

Organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army are providing day-to-day help. The foundation is designed, she said, to kick in when that money starts to taper off.

Bottcher conceded that the use of the word "immediate" could be misinterpreted.

"It depends on what your definition of 'immediate' is," she said. "This foundation will come in to fill the gaps."

Maris LeBlanc, executive counsel for Commissioner of Administration Jerry Luke LeBlanc, said she hopes the foundation's board is up and running by next week -- more than a month after Hurricane Katrina struck.

The 10 or more members of the board will be appointed by the governor, Maris LeBlanc and Jerry Luke LeBlanc.

"We got sidetracked when Rita hit because we needed to expand the fund and the board representation to include the southwest part of the state," Maris LeBlanc said.

Blanco created the fund Sept. 2, four days after the storm hit, to meet the immediate and long-term needs of hurricane victims.

"The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation … will help us quickly, efficiently and effectively move these donations to those who need it the most," the governor said at the time.

State officials quickly set up ways to contribute to the fund.

Callers to the Division of Administration are given the option of pressing a number to donate. A Web site, http://www.louisianahelp.org, accepts electronic contributions. There's also a 24-hour hotline and a mailing address.

The Web site reiterates that the foundation was established "to help provide immediate assistance."

Contributions won't go directly to hurricane victims. Instead, the money will go to charities, nonprofit groups and governmental agencies.

So far, the state has received as little as a dollar and as much as $2 million in single donations.

For the most part, the contributions are from the business world and, in some cases, from Louisiana's business partners.

Shintech, which is building a $1 billion plant in Iberville Parish, contributed the $2 million. Union Tank Car, whose railroad tank car manufacturing facility is under construction near Alexandria, donated $25,000.

Other big contributors include:

Moffett Holdings, $250,000

Richard C. Adkerson, $250,000

FM Services, $1 million

Rio Tinto America, $250,000
n Jack Graham of GlaxoSmithKline, $250,000

Click here to return to story:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/093005/new_fund001.shtml

WHAT BLANCO SHOULD HAVE SAID BUT FAILED TO DO
BY ROY FLETCHER

Members of Senate Finance Committee and Fellow Americans,

Today, I come before you representing a state and a people who have been recently ravaged by two hurricanes and, historically, ravaged by years of political corruption.

I am well aware of the suffering caused by both.

While I am part of the political system of Louisiana that led to this suffering in both cases, I must tell you that I have heard the anguish of our people.

Let me assure you that we cannot rebuild Louisiana if we do not change it. The corruption of our state will not allow it. If we rebuild tolerating this corruption, the money you provide will only lead to more suffering for the people of Louisiana who chose to call it home.

I cannot tolerate this and neither should you.

Therefore, I do not come here today asking for a handout. I come asking for a helping hand.

If you provide this helping hand, I cannot promise you that Louisiana will be as prosperous as it once was, because Louisiana has never been prosperous.

However, I can promise you this: the helping hand you provide will not be stolen…it will not be squandered…and it will lead to a political change as well as change in the destroyed infrastructure of our state.

Our congressional delegation has acted irresponsibly by making demands upon the people of our nation for over a quarter of a billion dollars.

I am not part of this, and I do not support it.

I appreciate their eagerness, but I cannot support allowing taxpayers’ money to be poured into a political system that has demonstrated its priorities are wrong and its method of operation is corrupt.

At the outset of the aftermath of Katrina, I made a serious mistake that I intend to correct today.

One of my first acts was to terminate the educational accountability program for the school children of our state. Our accountability plan, as you may know, has been hailed as the best in our nation.

Rather than retaining this program, demanding standards even in the times of difficulty, I allowed the voices of mediocrity to win out.

This cannot happen. We are going to educate our children, and we are going to continue to demand that our teachers and our schools live up to real and meaningful standards. No hurricane…no storm…and no tragedy will keep us from our appointed responsibility to give our children a future.

I do not ask for a handout. Rather, I only ask for a helping hand. Here’s what Louisiana needs today:

First, if New Orleans is to be a community again, we must have new levees that can defeat the wrath of a Cat 5 hurricane.

Does this mean the levees we currently have should be repaired?

No, they must be rebuilt. It is quite obvious that political corruption led to faulty construction on these levees.

There is nothing more important than this. Nothing can be permanently accomplished without this reconstruction.

We must not fool ourselves into believing that alligator farms, shrimping studies, and all the other pork contained in the congressional bill is worth a warm bucket of spit without these reconstructed levees.

Secondly, like every other state that has faced crisis, our schools, hospitals, sewers and basic infrastructure need to be rebuilt in the impacted areas.

Thirdly, declare the Gulf Coast a tax free zone for business. No federal or state taxes for five years so these businesses can be reformed and rebuilt.

We need jobs, but we want real jobs…permanent jobs…jobs that mean something. This means we need businesses to be reconstituted.

Fourthly, help us make certain that the temporary cleanup jobs go to Louisiana citizens and businesses. Now, this does not mean that we want the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution to be violated. Rather, it means Louisiana should be given a preface.

If you do this, we will accept our share of the responsibility. By this I mean, our people must be willing to go to work in these jobs. Complaining about someone else working while people sit on their backsides is not good enough.

There is a way out of the poverty of our state. It’s working, not complaining. It means you have to hustle, accept the conditions, and make do.

Many of our people are ready and willing to do just this. Give them a chance. If they do not, then, hire someone else.

Finally, help us with our indebtness so that local governments and the state government will not go broke. We want to pay our bills, not walk away from them. We accept our obligations and we intend to meet our obligations. We are not a Third World nation. We don’t want debt relief. Let Bono worry about someone else’s debt, but do not worry about Louisiana’s.

This will not be easy on our state and people. However, in the difficulty of fighting and working our way out of this tragedy, we will learn new words and concepts. Accountability, responsibility, political priorities…these will be new to our state, but it’s time we understood exactly what these words mean. When we do, corruption will no longer be tolerated, and this will mean a new Louisiana.

We need help in one other area. I want an Inspector General, independent of state and local government, independent of Louisiana politics…a tough, mean, no nonsense Inspector General…to watch every move we make and every dollar we spend.

When I can’t say no, I will expect this Inspector General to say no. When the political pressures get too strong on me, I will expect this Inspector General to stand tough. When Louisiana politics begins to demand stealing and corruption, I will expect this Inspector General to demand honesty and integrity.

While I will expect a lot of this Inspector General, you should expect more. We will be spending the money of the bricklayer in Washington state, the insurance salesman in Ohio, and the cab driver in New York City. They do not want their money wasted or stolen anymore than our people do.

I understand this. I take it seriously. I will not forget it.

Thank You.

http://www.thedeadpelican.com

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