Has President Bush broken promises on Katrina? Yes, says the Democrats. What appears to be a battle over New Orleans--Part II, President Bush's team has issued what it describes as "Fact Sheet" and the Senate President Harry Reid has issued a list of which it calls broken promises by President Bush on Katrina and Rita.
The exchanges come at a time when President Bush is visiting New Orleans to discusss education.
Below are the comments from the Senate Democrats on the "broken promises":
What do you think? Discuss these issues on our Buzzback below.
President Bush’s Broken Promises on Katrina & RitaReconstruction
President Bush visits the GulfCoast today, where residents are still struggling to rebuild from the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Americans will hear the President speak about his commitment to reconstruction, but a look back at the President’s last visit to the region in August shows that many of the President’s commitments to the area remain unmet. Democrats are committed to helping the residents of the GulfCoast rebuild.
Broken promises on funding…
PRESIDENT BUSH: “I felt it was important that our government be generous to the people who suffered. I felt that step one of a process of recovery and renewal is money.”[New Orleans, 8/29/06]
Administration refusing to waive burdensome matching requirements for GulfCoast victims. Despite a request from Senators Harry Reid, Mary Landrieu, and Joe Lieberman, the Bush Administration has refused to waive a burdensome matching requirement on FEMA disaster assistance, even though similar waivers have been granted in many other disasters and Hurricanes Katrina was the worst hurricane disaster in the history of the United States. (Letter to President Bush, 2/9/07)
Discriminating against Katrina and Rita victims by prohibiting loan forgiveness. The Stafford Act recognizes the very real possibility that hard-hit communities may need to be excused from repayment of community disaster loans, and requires forgiveness of a loan if an independent audit determines that its recipient cannot sustain its repayment obligations after a three-year grace period. However, for the first time in the history of the program, Congress in 2005 specifically prohibited forgiveness of loans related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (Community Disaster Loan Act of 2005)
FEMA demands aid money back from hurricane victims. “Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters ruined everything Jessica Horne had in her New Orleans dorm room at Dillard University, so like more than 1.7 million other evacuees, she applied for disaster assistance… Horne eventually received $9,500 from FEMA. Now the agency wants the money back -- and is prepared to play hardball to get it, holding out the threat of collection agencies and criminal prosecution.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune 2/24/07)
PRESIDENT BUSH: “All of us agree, at all levels of government, that we got to get the money as quickly as possible in the hands of the people, so they can rebuild their lives and help this city recover.”[New Orleans, 8/29/06]
Firms handling rebuilding are “understaffed and overwhelmed.”“Their applications get lost or neglected for weeks. They can't get their calls returned. They can't get straight answers to their questions. They can't get their money. One homeowner griped that he showed up for his appointment with a housing adviser in New Orleans only to be told he wasn't on the list, and neither were nine other people who came that day -- including two families who had flown in from other states. He said he and several other applicants got in only after complaining to the media.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 1/28/07)
Broken promises on the work of the federal government…
PRESIDENT BUSH: “To the extent there's bureaucracy standing in the way, Don Powell [Federal Coordinator of Gulf Coast Rebuilding] and I will work to get rid of them.” [New Orleans, 8/29/06]
Bureaucratic nightmares delay needed funds. “In Louisiana, projects to rebuild a hospital along the western coast, a school-board building in suburban New Orleans and a prison south of the city remain suspended, the state says, as locals hunt for matching cash.” [Wall Street Journal, “In Katrina’s Wake, Where’s the Money?” 1/27/07]
Bureaucratic red tape hampering reconstruction efforts. “Even the U.S. military appeared to have had problems, as the senators were told when they visited Jackson Barracks, which divides Orleans and St. Bernard parishes, right in the middle of some of the worst flooding. Gen. Hunt Downer said that when the military tried to rebuild structures for new purposes, it, too, has been slapped with a 30 percent penalty. FEMA institutes such penalties to prevent unauthorized uses of aid.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 1/30/07)
Broken promises on rebuilding communities…
PRESIDENT BUSH: “I understand that rebuilding neighborhoods begins one house at a time, and that’s what's happening here. When somebody goes back to their home, it helps renew the community, and so part of our efforts, and part of our focus is to make sure that people can get back in their homes as quickly as possible.”[BiloxiMS, 8/28/06]
Communities are still waiting to find out if they can rebuild. “The street can't be rebuilt until an associated seawall and the adjacent pier are reconstructed. FEMA calculates the pier alone will cost exactly $1,370,256.22. To the surprise of locals, the Corps didn't request a congressional appropriation until November, more than a year after the storm.” (Wall Street Journal, 1/29/07)
Residents stranded by inaction. “The Department of Housing and Urban Development argued that more than 4,000 units in four developments should be demolished and the sites redeveloped…While thousands of apartments stood vacant, residents were forced to live with family, in trailers or outside the city. ‘We shouldn't be 16 months out trying to get back into our homes,’ said Cynthia Wiggins, president of the Citywide Tenants Association. ‘We're saying open them back up.’” [USA Today, 1/15/07]
Thousands of New Orleans residents find themselves without homeowners insurance. “But the end of Emergency Rule 23, which required insurers to keep covering a property even though its risk profile had changed because a house was damaged and unrepaired, unoccupied or in a sparsely populated neighborhood, marks an important transition in the state's shattered insurance market. For tens of thousands of home and business owners, the end of Rule 23 will be a painful moment. Getting dropped by their insurance company will force them to take out coverage with the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state's insurer of last resort, make a decision to bulldoze or repair, or go without insurance coverage altogether.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 1/1/07)
PRESIDENT BUSH: “We got to make sure they have a place to move to. Trailers are only temporary. The goal is to make sure that communities are restored because there’s new homes. That's the goal. And we will help.” [New Orleans, 8/29/06]
Impacted residents still displaced. “Among respondents living in the impacted community, 83% had evacuated prior to the hurricane. Those in the community reported that they also had moved approximately three times since the hurricane, and indicated an average tenure of a little over two years at their current home. A little over a quarter of trailer park respondents are living in the same zip code one year after the hurricane as they had been at the time of the hurricane.” (National Center of Disaster Preparedness, “The Recovery Divide,” 2/2/07)
Broken promises on help to small businesses…
PRESIDENT BUSH: “And also, we've put out small business loans.”[BiloxiMS, 8/28/06]
Major problems at the Small Business Administration. “Poor planning, staff training and logistics hampered the Small Business Administration's response to the 2005 GulfCoast hurricanes, resulting in a backlog that reached more than 200,000 loan applications, the Government Accountability Office said Wednesday. In a 41-page report on the beleaguered agency, the GAO cited recent improvements under new Administrator Steven Preston but said the SBA still lacks a timetable for completing a disaster management plan.” (USA Today, 2/15/07)
Broken promises on helping children return to school…
PRESIDENT BUSH: “For children who lost everything, their homes, their belongings, and their friends, going to school can be a place where they find stability and a familiar routine.”[BiloxiMS, 8/28/06]
Children are not in school. “The leader of Louisiana's largest school system says she believes that up to 200 children in the state's biggest hurricane evacuee camp are not registered in local schools. And she says the U.S. government — citing privacy laws — is doing little to help officials identify the youths.” (USA Today 2/5/07)
Emotional and behavioral issues among children. “Over half the parents and caregivers interviewed reported that at least one child in the household had experienced emotional or behavioral issues since the hurricane, an even higher rate than reported among displaced Louisiana residents six months after the hurricane. Furthermore, there was a near fourfold increase in the clinical diagnosis of depression or anxiety in children after the hurricane, and the prevalence of behavioral or conduct problems doubled.” (National Center of Disaster Preparedness, “The Recovery Divide,” 2/2/07)
Senate Democrats Are Committed to Helping the Victims of Katrina and Rita
Democrats have long made it a priority to help those devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Just a few examples include:
The Katrina Emergency Relief Act, introduced only days after Hurricane Katrina, proposed a comprehensive plan for emergency relief for Katrina’s victims, including health care, education, housing and financial relief. (S.1637, 109th Congress, introduced 9/8/2005).
The Local Government Disaster Relief Act of 2007, S.664, sponsored by Senators Mary Landrieu, Harry Reid, Joe Lieberman, and Ted Stevens, would eliminate the burdensome matching requirement associated with FEMA assistance.
The Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act of 2007. Sponsored by Democratic Senators John Kerry and Mary Landrieu and Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and David Vitter, the bill would create a new expedited disaster assistance business loan program, establish a Private Disaster Loan program for banks to make loans directly to victims, establish a new presidential declaration of Catastrophic National Disaster to provide nationwide economic injury loans to businesses, and create accountability measures for the Administration.
The GulfCoast Back to Business Act. Sponsored by Democratic Senators Mary Landrieu, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman and Republican Senator Trent Lott, the bill authorizes $100 million in grants for businesses affected by the storms, allows businesses to defer payments on loans for one year, and qualifies small businesses in the region as part of the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) for two years.
Audrey,
You are saying I am too republican. Bill is saying I am too Democrat. You two get together and fight it out.
Written by Stephen Sabludowsky, Publisher of Bayoubuzz
on 3/3/2007
Question: What did Lincoln say after a three day drunk?
Answer: And I freed who?
Written by What did Lincoln Say?
on 3/2/2007
Harry Reid is the Majority Leader not Senate President. Hopefully he will never have the title President of anything.
Written by Sharon
on 3/2/2007
Sorry, my name did not get posted...accidentally for the post that starts with Everyone who is Republican in Louisiana wants to Louisiana to look back...I get bent out of shape when names are not used or full names used..etc.......
This is Audrey George
Written by Audrey George
on 3/2/2007
Everyone who is Republican in Louisiana wants the Governor to look back........now that is March 2, readers and I dare the opposition to read the the successes of the 2006 Report below on the Blanco Administration to see what she has been doing:
By going on-line browzing........ louisiana pollsters etc.........your brand new article of this morning which I had not even read yet came up. Steve, that is a prime example of your really trying to focus on the negative!!!!!!!!!
I looked this up because Bayou Buzz has just dug up an old poll eight weeks old...that shows Jindal ahead of Blanco...So I sent Bayou Buzz this information asking them to stop beating a dead horse which is now up and running to the finish line....and now let's give the Governor credit by bringing out some "Pluses" of her administration........
I took the information that follows; www.gov.la.us then go to News on left side of page then to Press Releases......and then at the bottom Press Release archives.........for the 2006 Progress report of 12-29-2006
There I found it........I will attach it..........
Dec 29, 2006
Moving Louisiana Forward: Governor Blanco highlights 2006 progress
Highlights of Louisiana's Year of Progress 2006
Bringing Businesses Home to Louisiana:
Governor Blanco landed more than $6 billion in new business investment post-Katrina and created more than 7,000 new direct permanent jobs since the storms.
Governor Blanco's team is currently pursuing more than 100 leads with a potential capital investment of $9 billion and thousands of new direct permanent jobs.
Major economic development announcements in 2006 include:
Marathon Oil ($3 billion plant expansion - Garyville)
Formosa Plastics ($100 million expansion - Baton Rouge)
The Film Factory ($185 million motion picture production studio - New Orleans)
Synfuel ($5 billion coal gasification plant - St. James Parish)
Jeld Wen ($85 million new door and window manufacturing plant - Winnfield)
NuComm International ($3.5 million customer care center employing 1,000 - Lafayette)
M2 Emmdue ($6 million advanced manufacturing facility and training center - Kenner)
Dow Chemical (new, integrated Vinyl Methyl Ether (VME) facility - Hahnville)
The Governor continues the most aggressive economic development agenda in Louisiana's recent history. Current investment prospects include: a new durable goods manufacturer to St. James Parish, expansion of General Motors in Shreveport and an auto assembly plant or other major development for a megasite in Northeast Louisiana.
Leading the Way for Education Reform:
Louisiana is experiencing great progress as a result of Governor Blanco's focus on educational excellence. Key accomplishments in 2006 include:
Louisiana now ranks first in the nation for education standards and accountability (Education Week).
Louisiana ranks number one in the nation for improving Teacher Quality for the second year in a row, up from fifth in 2004 (Education Week).
Louisiana is the first state to link student achievement with the quality of individual university teacher prep programs.
Governor Blanco achieved significant pay increases of $1500 per certified teacher and $500 per support worker. These raises are particularly noteworthy given Louisiana's budget constraints following the hurricanes. As a result, Louisiana is now within striking distance of achieving our goal: reaching the Southern Regional Education Board's average teacher salary. This will be a major priority for the 2007 Regular Session.
Louisiana is nationally recognized for closing the achievement gap for minority students. (National Assessment of Educational Progress 2006).
Louisiana is a national leader in providing Pre-K for every child and ranks 11th nationally in Pre-K funding, and 13th nationally for Pre-K access (National Institute for Early Childhood Education, Rutgers University).
Louisiana ranks fifth nationally in total percentage funding increase for higher education over the past five years in a recent higher education funding report (Illinois State University "Grapevine").
Hardball Pays Off for Coastal Protection:
Governor Blanco paved the way for Louisiana's victory in OCS revenue sharing by blocking future offshore lease sales through her successful historic lawsuit against the federal government.
The Governor established the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and pushed for passage of constitutional amendments dedicating all OCS revenues to protecting Louisiana's coast and hurricane restoration.
Governor Blanco took politics out of levee board appointments by supporting a constitutional amendment to consolidate levee boards and is actively involved in selecting experts to take over levee protection.
Fighting for the Gulf of Mexic Governor Blanco demanded that Louisiana's newest planned offshore Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant use closed-loop rather than open-loop technology. As a result of the Governor's demand, the company changed its design to incorporate this environmentally safer technology.
Building a Healthier Louisiana:
Over 90 percent of Louisiana's children now have health insurance, despite national trends showing increases in the number of children without health insurance. Governor Blanco is pushing for coverage of 100 percent of Louisiana's children in 2007. This is a key step in Governor Blanco's effort to achieve statewide universal coverage.
Louisiana catapulted from 49th to 32nd in the nation for the number of child immunizations under Governor Blanco's leadership, up eleven spots this year alone.
Governor Blanco's Health Care Reform Plan calls for a shift to primary preventative care and improved access to quality care for all citizens.
Governor Blanco is eliminating frustration for patients and saving time and money by insisting on streamlined electronic records. Under her direction, Louisiana is a national leader in establishing portable health information records.
Determined to see a teaching hospital return to New Orleans, Governor Blanco pushed for the re-opening of LSU's University Hospital. She supports and is funding the hospital's innovative partnership with the VA.
Moving Louisiana Toward Long-Term Insurance Reform:
Through the December 2006 Special Session, Governor Blanco delivered $292 million in relief this year alone for home and business owners hit with the Louisiana Citizens Insurance assessments resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Louisianans who pay the assessment are eligible for state tax refunds beginning this fiscal year.
Governor Blanco continues to work with consumer groups, insurance companies, re-insurers and Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon to attract more insurance companies to Louisiana in order to have affordable insurance rates.
Emerging as a National Leader in Juvenile Justice:
Louisiana has continued its aggressive efforts to totally reform juvenile justice across the state.
A significant sign of success was Louisiana's dismissal this year from an eight-year federal juvenile justice settlement agreement. During court proceedings, U. S. Department of Justice officials, as well as the federal judge, cited Louisiana as an emerging national leader in juvenile justice reform.
Louisiana's innovative approach was rewarded with a $7.5 million MacArthur Foundation Grant to strengthen local juvenile justice efforts.
Continuing Louisiana's Unprecedented Recovery:
Governor Blanco refused to accept second-class treatment from Washington after learning of disproportionate recovery funding from Congress. She successfully demanded and secured an additional $4.2 billion in federal aid for Louisiana.
In July 2006, HUD approved these funds for Louisiana and the Governor immediately launched the Road Home, the largest housing rebuilding program in U.S. history.
Governor Blanco is directing $350 million for programs providing grants and loans to small businesses, workforce training, technical assistance, tourism marketing and research institutions in the devastated areas.
To date, the State has delivered more than $2 billion in recovery aid to local communities and is expediting disbursement of additional funds.
Louisiana established the state's first-ever emergency fund with $150 million to keep our people safe.
Governor Blanco fought to keep the LA Swift transportation program moving this year when FEMA funding ended. More than 234,937 rides have been provided by this service that gives people a way to get to New Orleans for work and school.
Governor Blanco streamlined New Orleans area government by reducing the number of clerks, sheriffs, and courts. She supported and passed constitutional amendments consolidating levee boards and reducing the number of tax assessors over time.
Governor Blanco led the charge of taking over New Orleans' underperforming schools. The state's Recovery School District focuses on improving student achievement and turning around failing schools.
In June 2006, Governor Blanco ordered 300 members of the Louisiana National Guard and 60 Louisiana State Troopers to New Orleans to secure the city and keep residents and tourists safe. They remain on duty for the foreseeable future.
Through the Governor's Executive Order, the reconstruction of the Louisiana Superdome was completed on time and on budget. Instead of reading about the "San Antonio Saints", Louisiana is celebrating the unprecedented accomplishments of the New Orleans Saints!
Written by
on 3/2/2007
You are wasting your breath Mark. It matters not how many billions would be sent. It will never be enough. No one wants to admit that the governors of Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida did a better job "going forward". Most Democrats believe that they are "victims". It is just a political convenience that the other governors are Republican. Blanco caused much of the "red tape" by her stubborness. She will use this Dem vs Republican governor to help her re-election. The taxpayers around the country will pick up the tab for the matching money. Louisiana will not have a 6% Hurricane deductable as they do in Florida because Louisiana is a "victim".
Written by Sharon
on 3/2/2007
Donald, I understand your frustration, but by concluding your statement by saying that New Orleans' problems were caused by the Government, you are falling into the trap wherein the "other" is at fault and "somebody's (always the other) gonna' pay." What good will that litigious attitude do you and your community? Brown is long gone from the scene, so how does pointing to his incompetence now help out present day New Orleans? Perhaps you should examine your words for telltale signs of self-degenerating victimization. You said that Louisiana was victimized . . . these are your words. I rather think you and your fellow Louisianans will have a hard time contributing to the rebuilding effort with the burden of being a victim hanging over your heads. Since you use the language of legal torts ("the federal government . . . should pay for these damages"), what happens if you put all your effort into "winning" your "suit," but have the final decision go against you? To whom will you turn for recourse then? My guess is that once John Edwards drops out of the presidential field in 2008, no other political figure will be scrambling to shovel dirt in the Ninth Ward.
In essence, I believe that there is no national political solution for the damages caused by the storms of 2005, but there are local political solutions that require careful consideration and hard work––i.e., ensuring that your party of choice selects local candidates that look to––as Booker T. Washington admonished––"cast down their buckets where they are." My central point was that politicization at the national level demeans us all, and acts as a stumbling block for the job ahead that we must undertake for ourselves. Of course the Administration played politics to some degree, but the hyperbole used by the new Democratic leadership and batted back by the White House and GOP leaders is no more than a grand pissing match between self-serving combatants––and the whole endeavor does nothing to produce substantive change.
As for the charge that Mississippi "got more" than Louisiana (surely the only time anyone in Louisiana has made that assertion), my reading has indicated that many fiscally conservative members of Congress were aghast by the $225B wish list dreamed up by the LA legislature in September 2005. Thad Cochran went to bat for all the Gulf states, and LA has seen more total set-asides than Mississippi, Texas, or Alabama. Unfortunately, because our region is known for its political corruption, no state affected by Katrina and Rita is exempt from the type of rigorous oversight that tends to slow the flow of funds. (Thank Tom Tancredo and Tom Coburn for that.) This is a constraint that all the states are laboring under, but it is intended to make sure that the federal government doesn't put the taxpayer's money into projects that locals have so little stake (or faith) in that they themselves fail to fund without a sense of conviction.
So here's to all each state's efforts to rebuild; ultimately, the work will be done by the citizens willing to take a stand despite the machinations of the denizens of the Beltway.
Written by Mark S.
on 3/1/2007
Mark, I know that a lot of what you said it true. Much must come from us. But, I do want to point out that Mississippi was favored because Haley Barbour is a republican and in the words of FEMA man Mike "heck of a job Brownie" Brown, the administration in Washington wanted to "rub Blanco's nose in it". There was rank politics from the week of the storm which is shameful. It has held back our recovery in New Orleans by us not getting funding until months after Mississippi and pennies on a dollar compared to them. It is a little late to say that we shouldn't be talking politics when we in Louisiana were victimized by the hurricane and the republican administration in Washington. You don't even want me to get into the Corps of Engineers incompetence. This was not a natural disaster for us...it was a MAN MADE disaster and the federal government is culprit. And they should pay for these damages!!!
Written by Donald Harris
on 3/1/2007
Politicizing our recovery like this does nothing to hasten it. I understand the concept of political grandstanding, and the age-old process of rhetorical stone-throwing. But we must all stop and ask: is it really the government's responsibility to put everything back in place in light of what nature dished out to us? Trust me, I'm quite skeptical about the amount of spending that has already reportedly taken place. I live on the Mississippi Coast and see the debris-free but barren beachscape everyday (not to mention the other messes away from the beach itself). I daily see fire stations without walls, and city officials operating out of trailers. I'm sure those who drive I-10 everyday through New Orleans East get pretty suspicious about how $53 billion could have been spent despite the amount a clearing obviously still needed. However, we shouldn't kid ourselves: what needs to be cleaned up now is the responsibility of property owners––not taxpayers in Des Moines. Perhaps we should exorcise the mentality that government should take our hands and walk us through every shadowy valley, and rely more on our own resources. Is the Mississippi Coast worth rebuilding? If so, invest in it. Is New Orleans capable of experiencing a renaissance? Then put local money to work and put the collective shoulder to the grindstone; but don't make our lives contingent upon the outcome of a game of political football. Who cares if Haley Barbour or Mary Landrieu's political stock rises or falls when the most important indicator of our success is how much the citizenry takes responsibility into its hands and heads for the goal line.
Politicizing our recovery like this does nothing to hasten it. I understand the concept of political grandstanding, and the age-old process of rhetorical stone-throwing. But we must all stop and ask: is it really the government's responsibility to put everything back in place in light of what nature dished out to us? Trust me, I'm quite skeptical about the amount of spending that has already reportedly taken place. I live on the Mississippi Coast and see the debris-free but barren beachscape everyday (not to mention the other messes away from the beach itself). I daily see fire stations without walls, and city officials operating out of trailers. I'm sure those who drive I-10 everyday through New Orleans East get pretty suspicious about how $53 billion could have been spent despite the amount a clearing obviously still needed. However, we shouldn't kid ourselves: what needs to be cleaned up now is the responsibility of property owners––not taxpayers in Des Moines. Perhaps we should exorcise the mentality that government should take our hands and walk us through every shadowy valley, and rely more on our own resources. Is the Mississippi Coast worth rebuilding? If so, invest in it. Is New Orleans capable of experiencing a renaissance? Then put local money to work and put the collective shoulder to the grindstone; but don't make our lives contingent upon the outcome of a game of political football. Who cares if Haley Barbour or Mary Landrieu's political stock rises or falls when the most important indicator of our success is how much the citizenry takes responsibility into its hands and heads for the goal line.
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