Blanco Hopeful After Trip *** Democrats Say Expect More Relief

By GERARD SHIELDS

WASHINGTON – Gov. Kathleen Blanco on Thursday completed a whirlwind trip with fellow Democrats who have promised to seek millions in hurricane recovery relief that includes everything from closing the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet and shoring up levees to funding affordable housing.

“I’m very enthusiastic about the response that we’re going to get,” Blanco said in a meeting led by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “I think the people of the Gulf Coast will benefit greatly.”

Earlier in the week, Blanco met with U.S. Senate leaders who promised to move quickly on the Water Resources Development Act.

The bill, which failed to pass at the end of the last Congress in December, contains $886 million for the Morganza-to-the-Gulf storm protection system and calls for changes in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Senate leaders said they would also support the closing of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, a little-used navigational channel blamed for causing storm surge in the New Orleans area during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

U.S. House of Representatives leaders on Thursday promised Blanco $500 million in affordable housing money and legislation that would remove a provision in federal disaster legislation requiring Louisiana to pay up to $1 billion, or 10 percent, in matching dollars for federal money.

Sitting next to Blanco in her office, Pelosi assured the governor that hurricane relief issues will get more attention under the control of Democrats in Congress.

“Under the new majority, we will be able to meet the challenges that Katrina posed to the conscience of our country,” Pelosi said.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., said Democrats would soon introduce new legislation that would waive the provisions of the Stafford Act that requires the state to match federal dollars.

“After 9/11 we waived the Stafford Act, we waived the Stafford Act for (Hurricane) Andrew, we waived the Stafford Act for the earthquakes out in San Francisco,” Clyburn said. “I don’t know why, but for some strange reason, we haven’t waived the Stafford Act for this.”

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-Minn., said the Congress also will work to address the state’s levee needs. President Bush recently proposed moving $1.3 billion in hurricane protection money from the east bank of New Orleans to the west bank.

Louisiana congressional delegation members have said both areas need to be protected and are seeking an additional $1.3 billion in supplemental money.

Oberstar, whose committee governs water resources issues and the Stafford Act, appeared sympathetic.

“Reconstruction of the levees is critical if you’re going to have housing,” he said. “There is a huge backlog of work to be done in New Orleans.”

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said his committee intends to draft a bill that would take $500 million from government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and dedicate it to affordable housing in the Gulf Coast.

“It would leverage billions,” said Frank, whose committee held a hearing earlier in the week on hurricane recovery housing.

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, complained to Blanco in a letter Thursday that her Washington efforts focused on Katrina recovery without mention of Hurricane Rita.

Though news releases issued from the governor’s office solely mentioned Katrina, she said victims from both disasters will benefit from legislative support.

“My efforts here apply to the victims of Rita and Katrina,” Blanco said. “The way we treat all this energy coming from Washington is very evenhanded.”

Blanco also fielded questions from the media about her Louisiana Road Home program. The program has paid about 500 checks, averaging $62,000, although more than 100,000 households have applied for the grants, which go up to $150,000. The governor asked congressional leaders to help ease any federal bureaucratic obstacles the project is experiencing.

(c) 2007 Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.