[StBernard] LRA Endorses Using $100 M for Bridge Loans, Recommends Use of Federal Grants

[Westley Annis]

La. Recovery Authority Endorses Using $100 M for Bridge Loans, Recommends
Use of Federal Grants to Restore Infrastructure
Mayor Nagin, Fed. Coordinator Donald Powell and Cong. Richard Baker Address
Board

BATON ROUGE, La. - In its first move toward allocating hurricane recovery
aid awarded by Congress in December, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's
recovery panel endorsed her plan to spend $100 million on small business
disaster bridge loans
<http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/assets/1-13/ResolutiononBridgeLoans.doc> . 

Blanco announced her initial plans for spending Community Development Block
Grants
<http://www.gov.state.la.us/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&catID=4&article
ID=1589>  to the Louisiana Recovery Authority Board of Director's today. The
grant program, approved by Congress in December, makes available up to $6.2
billion in federal aid for Louisiana's hurricane recovery. 

Governor Blanco asked the LRA to work with the Division of Administration to
craft a proposal for investing CDBG dollars. After presenting the proposal
to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and receiving its approval,
the Governor will submit it to the U. S. Department on Housing and Urban
Development.

"Our businesses are starving for cash. They can't put our people to work. We
quickly used up the first $10 million we made available for bridge loans.
Another $100 million will put more businesses - and more people - back to
work," Blanco said.

"I am ordering the Division of Administration to lend $30 million of our
regular CDBG funds to get this bridge loan program going NOW. This will help
businesses while we wait for the federal help that we know is coming. Once
we get the federal funds, the $30 million will be reimbursed to the regular
CDBG program to complete local projects already underway," she said. 

In other action, the LRA:

Endorsed the Governor's plan to spend $150 million to match FEMA funding for
the repair and construction of damaged and destroyed state buildings (see
resolution
<http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/assets/1-13/Resolution_state_Buildings.doc> ).



Agreed to provide an initial allocation of $100 million in Supplemental CDBG
dollars to assist local governments with the required match for emergency
infrastructure projects to be administered by the State Office of Community
Development (see resolution
<http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/assets/1-13/Resolution_Local_Government_Infras
tructure_v3.doc> ). 


Approved a resolution to call for the exploration of environmentally
responsible uses of storm debris in restoring Louisiana's coastal wetlands
(see resolution
<http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/assets/1-13/Resolution_storm_debris.doc> ). 


Approved a resolution to call for the consolidation of levee boards in
coastal areas where hurricane protection is an important aspect of levee
management (see resolution
<http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/assets/1-13/Levee_Board.doc> ). 


Supported the creation of the Louisiana Recovery Authority in statute at a
time as felt appropriate by the governor (see resolution
<http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/assets/1-13/statutes.doc> ). 


The LRA Board also heard presentations by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's
Bring Back New Orleans Commission
<http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/assets/1-13/BNOB-01-13-06.ppt> , Federal
Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding Donald Powell and Congressman Richard
Baker <http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/assets/1-13/baker_presentation.doc> . 

The next LRA board meeting will be held on February 16 in Lake Charles. More
details will be available soon and published on the LRA's website at
http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/  . 

The LRA, a 26- member body appointed by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
to identify and prioritize short and long-term needs of the recovery, is the
planning and coordinating body that will assist in implementing the
Governor's vision for the recovery of Louisiana. It will seek out and value
local input as it plans and implements the recovery.

###

The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), Louisiana's fund for
Louisiana's people, has been established by Governor Kathleen Babineaux
Blanco in order to support long-term family restoration and recovery and
help provide assistance to our citizens in need through a network of
Louisiana charities and non-profit agencies.

1-877-HELPLA1 (877-435-7521) http://www.louisianahelp.org/