In a statement on Monday, Sen. Landrieu outlined her reasons for approving the now controversial Emergency Supplemental Spending bill, H.R. 1591, which will dedicate $2.38 billion to the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and which ties Katrina and Rita to the U.S. troops in foreign wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, which bill President Bush promises to veto .  Here are her statements:

WASHINGTON – United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., and other Senate and House Appropriations Committee members today completed a conference report on the Emergency Supplemental Spending bill, H.R. 1591, which will dedicate $2.38 billion to the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“This Supplemental addresses the critical aspects of the ongoing recovery in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast,” Sen. Landrieu said. “Most of the key provisions for our communities were retained when the Senate and House worked out their differences today.

“Unfortunately, the President has threatened to veto the bill because of ‘excessive and extraneous non-emergency spending.’ But I do not view the $2.38 billion for Louisiana and the Gulf Coast in this bill to be excessive or extraneous. There is a very real, domestic emergency going on where Katrina and Rita struck, and I will continue the fight to keep these provisions in the bill if the President chooses to veto it.”

FAIR Funding

Sen. Landrieu secured language in the bill that would waive for Katrina- and Rita-affected communities provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Act that require localities to match 10 percent of the cost for disaster recovery projects before the remaining 90 percent is filled by the federal government. This provision has been waived 32 times since 1985 when per capita rebuilding costs have been excessive.

Levee Funding

Sen. Landrieu secured $1.3 billion for east and west bank levee projects in the New Orleans area. When cost overruns created a $1.3 billion shortfall in the projects, originally authorized by the 3rd Supplemental bill passed last year, the Bush Administration sought to shuffle the money away from other levee projects authorized in the 4th Supplemental bill. The funds secured by Sen. Landrieu would address the shortfall with direct funding, rather than simply borrowing funds and creating a shortfall in another set of levee projects instead.

Disaster Loan Forgiveness

Sen. Landrieu secured language in the bill that would make Katrina- and Rita-affected Gulf Coast states eligible for the same Community Disaster Loan forgiveness option made available to all other disaster-stricken communities. The Stafford Act has historically required forgiveness of such loans when independent audits determine the fiscal recovery of affected local communities is insufficient to repay the loans after a three-year grace period.

Shortly after the hurricanes, Sen. Landrieu proposed making $1 billion in unspent FEMA funds available for Community Disaster Loans under the same terms as had been afforded to other communities.  But the version that was passed in October 2005, sponsored by Senators David Vitter, R-La., and Bill Frist, R-Tenn., specifically prohibited the federal government from ever forgiving the loans if communities were unable to pay them back.

Education

Sen. Landrieu also secured $30 million to recruit teachers and principals to K-12 schools in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and another $30 million to assist colleges and universities recovering from the storms.