Posted on 01/17/2006 12:51:03 PM PST by Ellesu
GULFPORT, Miss. - Federal programs and funds to help the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Katrina do not go far enough to help, according to lawmakers touring the battered region Tuesday.
"The tools we have in our toolbox are not effective," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., on a flight to Gulfport, Miss., where blue-tarped roof dotted the city's houses. She was with a delegation of senators who also planned to tour disaster sites in the New Orleans area. "We need a new tool."
Though the federal government has set aside nearly $70 billion for emergency relief and long-term recovery plans, Landrieu said massive reforms at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which distributes disaster relief, and the Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the New Orleans levees that were breached by the storm's surge, also are necessary. And she called on Congress to approve a federally aided regional redevelopment program like the one proposed by Rep. Richard Baker, R-La.
At a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs hearing here, Donald Powell, the federal official coordinating government plans to rebuild the Gulf Coast, said he has limited authority to spur the region's long-term recovery. He said he relies on "the power of persuasion" to enact progress.
"Would it be easier to do your job if you had more specific authority over the allocation of resources and personnel?" asked Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chaired the hearing.
"At times, yes, quite frankly," Powell responded. But, he added, "To date the cooperation is extraordinary."
Several senators said they were troubled by Powell's limitations. Powell, the former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman who was tapped in November for the recovery post, is tasked with for dealing with plans by Congress, state and local governments, and private businesses to rebuild the region.
More than a half-dozen senators visited the region to examine what more Congress needs to do, four months after the Aug. 29 storm.
"The devastation is so widespread that a sustained federal commitment is going to be necessary," Collins said in an earlier interview. "I think Congress realizes that, but there's also a growing concern about whether the money is well spent."
So far, Congress has approved $67 billion for the Gulf Coast, and President Bush has called for an additional $1.5 billion to strengthen New Orleans levees. But Collins said hard-hit areas - including Gulfport, Miss., and St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana - need more federal resources and attention.
Senators will visit both of those places - nearly obliterated by Hurricane Katrina's high winds and flood waters on Aug. 29 - and tour parts of New Orleans while inspecting progress on rebuilding its levees. They also plan to conduct a hearing on recovery efforts.
Democrats, too, are watching how Congress will pay for what they called continued necessary assistance to the Gulf Coast amid a rising deficit and other high-cost expenses, including the war in Iraq.
"This is really a catastrophe of enormous proportions, and I don't think we appropriated nearly enough to help," Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said last week after reviewing damage in the New Orleans area. She is calling for Congress to repeal Bush's tax cuts to help pay for rebuilding costs.
Last month, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, chastised Congress for failing to approve emergency funding, which he said has stalled transportation, school and housing projects.
In prepared testimony for a Senate hearing in Gulfport on Tuesday, the Bush administration's rebuilding czar outlined two top priorities for Mississippi: debris removal and temporary housing for evacuees.
Mississippi has cleaned up 27 million cubic yards of debris - about two-thirds of the total, said Donald Powell, the federal Gulf Coast coordinator. He estimated that Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties in Mississippi were left with more debris after Katrina than totals after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the World Trade Center from the 2001 terror attacks combined.
Powell also estimated that fewer than 2,000 evacuated families remain in Mississippi hotels, and that 280,000 state residents have received transitional housing assistance.
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On the Net:
Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee: http://hsgac.senate.gov/
Ha ha! Where are you GETTING these?
The people in Louisiana are going to keep up the whining and folks are just going to get tired of it and turn their backs on them. The problem with that is, the charities that are helping out down there help in a lot of other situations too. If people stop giving, folks all over are going to be hurt by it.
Tell Gov. Blank0 to return the money she spent upgrading her offices to Taj Mahal standards.
We need more … Calgon!
(Ancient bayou secret …)
Screw you Senator. Until folks like Nagin can shut up until he's willing to be thankful he's an American - and all the rest who think it's their right to everyone else's help, for that matter.
Of course the Republican majority congress is all too happy to oblige and give her whatever money it takes to cajole, capitulate & appease a DimWit. Not to say a liberal DimWit at that!
The Repubs are gladly throwing our money at this sinkhole, but it doesn't bother them either. I would love to stop the handouts 100% right now, and say to LA & NO... "you're on your own now"!
I'm not too good at math, but somebody tell me; wouldn't 70 billion be enough to allow every family that lost a home $100,000 to rebuild a home? The money would not go to the politicians or directly to the families. It would go to the builders after the home was completed and inspected by the gov. What is so hard about rebuilding if the folks still own the property and enough builders take part in construction?
I totally agree. Plus, if NO is to be a Chocolate City I think Chocolates ought to pay for the reconstuction. Surely we can't expect the non-chocolates to pay for it. Isn't there something in the Bible that say's, the Lord help's those who help themselves?
Also, the Mayor say's the media scrutinises every word He says. When one tries to scam the non-chocolates for $200 billion I believe one can expect scrutiny.
"We need a new tool."
-----What you need is a brain.
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