NEW ORLEANS – Today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced that Bush Administration will extend repayment terms of 1.8 billion dollars for Louisiana’s share of certain levee reconstruction costs from three years to 30 years.

House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, when she was in New Orleans in July with over twenty members of the Democratic delegation said the House had approved the thirty years reimbursement instead of the three year reimbursement because they were concerned that President Bush would veto the shorter reimbursement program as part of the Supplemental Appropriations bill.  Pelosi said President Bush had the authority under the WRDA bill to reduce the match, which he did today. 

Governor Jindal said in making the announcement late Thursday afternoon, “Today, we are announcing that the President will grant us the flexibility to pay the required match for levee construction over 30 years.  This announcement marks a significant step in the recovery of this region and our state.  Not only do our citizens rightly deserve the flood protection they were promised, but just as importantly, they deserve this protection in a way that will not financially undermine our state budget.

Governor Jindal also said that all members of the Louisiana delegation was behind the program to extend the reimbursement period to thirty years compared to the three-year burden. 

“This flexibility will relieve us of a heavy financial burden that would have been very difficult to meet.  It is a real commitment to the rebuilding of our levee protection and system and allows us to work aggressively on other hurricane protection and coastal restoration projects.

“The administration deserves great credit for this decision.  This agreement signals just how strong the President's support is for helping this state recover.  On behalf of the citizens of this great state, we say, "thank you."  Additionally, I must thank General Odell for working so closely with me on brokering this deal with the administration.  He has been tireless in his efforts.

“I have said all along, that all we were asking for is what we rightly deserved.  Without this agreement, our ability to continue to effectively plan for our future, improve our schools, train our workforce and improve health care would have been burdened due to huge levee payments each year.

“Since 2005, we have invested billions of dollars in restoring our communities and rebuilding the lives of those affected by Hurricane Katrina and Rita. It only makes sense that we build strong levees to protect our people and America's investment in our State.

“This announcement will allow the state to aggressively move forward on comprehensive coastal restoration as was authorized by Congress in the Water Resources Development Act last year.

“The agreement today will free financial resources for important hurricane protection measures such as the Morganza to the gulf, larose to Golden Meadow and important Restoration and hurricane protection projects in Southwest Louisiana.

“Again, I appreciate the efforts of the administration and General O'Dell, along with the hard work of countless others, to keep this issue alive and lead us to today's announcement.”

After the announcement, US Senator Mary Landrieu D-La, released this statement:

"Tonight’s announcement by the Administration, while overdue, is very welcome news,” said Sen. Landrieu, who last month wrote the President, urging him to exercise his authority to extend the terms.  “These repayment terms will allow our state to more smartly prioritize its resources and dedicate them to other immediate, unmet recovery needs still at hand.

“I of course would have preferred that the President had taken this step sooner, and worked with our delegation rather than against us on the Supplemental bill, but am nonetheless grateful for this decision.”

Congress passed on June 26 a supplemental spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that included $5.8 billion to rebuild federal levees that failed following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. From her seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Landrieu secured the 30-year terms in the version of the bill that passed the Senate.  However, the House of Representatives bowed to White House veto threats and stripped the additional flexibility, requiring instead the three-year term insisted upon by Administration officials.

In addition to cropping the payment terms, the House also accepted White House demands to raise the state share from an historically-consistent $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion and to cut more than $500 million in other recovery needs from the Landrieu-secured package.

In a June 27 letter (available here), Sen. Landrieu urged the President to use his authority under the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to give the state up to 30 years from the date of completion of a project to repay the federal government.

"Given the authority under existing law and the dramatic implications of failing to provide a long-term financing option, I urge you to direct the Corps to execute a financing plan that is agreeable to the State of Louisiana," Sen. Landrieu wrote.

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The thirty-year match was inserted into the Senate version of the Supplemental Appropriations bill by U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu.  Prior to the July visit of the Democratic delegation to the Gulf Coast, Governor Jindal had urged President Bush and Congress to extend the terms of the state match and had said in a press conference in Jackson Barracks that he had talked to the House and Senate leadership and with the Administration and while everyone was sympathetic to the idea, that nobody had provided to him a good reason for not reducing the burden on Louisiana.  At that same press conference, Jindal had emphasized that he was not asking to eliminate the reimbursement.