[StBernard] E-mail Update from Senator Vitter

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friend, 

In light of Louisiana 's difficult path to recovery, I wrote an op-ed about
what we need from local officials and from the Bush administration to ensure
the success of our long-term rebuilding efforts. This op-ed ran in the
Washington Post on Sunday. Attached you will find a text for your
convenience. 

  

The Washington Post 

The Path to Louisiana 's 'Footprint' 

By David Vitter 

Sunday, February 12, 2006; Page B07 

  

Like most in Louisiana , I've been very disappointed by the Bush
administration's recent statements about our hurricane recovery. National
and Louisiana leaders seem to be talking past each other rather than finding
and building on common ground. 

  

And yet, amid this fracture, there are the seeds of a path to long-term
recovery. 

  

The administration recently rejected legislation by Rep. Richard Baker, a
Republican from Baton Rouge , to create a Louisiana Recovery Corp. that
would use government-backed bonds to finance the buyout of entire devastated
neighborhoods for wide-scale redevelopment. 

  

One of its most significant objections is the lack of a clear rebuilding
plan. On Jan. 26 President Bush stated, "The plan for Louisiana hasn't come
forward yet. And I urge the officials, both state and city, to work together
so we can get a sense for how they're going to proceed." And in his Feb. 2
op-ed piece in The Post, Bush's recovery coordinator, Donald Powell, wrote
that the Baker bill "is not a long-term plan" that includes "key elements,
among them: decisions on where, and where not, to rebuild." 


  

Many in Louisiana took great offense at these comments. The Baker bill is
our plan, they said, and we have numerous planning commissions at work
discussing tough issues such as the "footprint" question: where and where
not to rebuild. 

  

But all of us in Louisiana have to understand that this is not yet the
single, specific plan so many in Washington -- and the country -- are
looking for. They don't want numerous planning commissions, they want a
single plan. They don't want to listen to a footprint discussion, they want
to see a footprint -- one that doesn't include areas likely to suffer
catastrophic flooding again. 

  

There are some things that the president has to understand, too. He has to
understand that this is not as simple as saying that you can't build in a
flood plain (the White House is in a flood plain) or that you can't build
below sea level (the country would have to sacrifice a vitally important
energy hub and port system). Most of all, he has to understand that the
great majority of New Orleans's catastrophic flooding occurred because of
breaches in levees that were not overtopped by water but that failed from
below because of gross design mistakes made by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. 

  

So what is the path to long-term recovery that all of this suggests? It's
this: The governor of Louisiana , the mayor of New Orleans , parish
presidents and all of their commissions must produce one single, fully
fleshed-out, detailed plan. This must not be just another request for
billions in federal assistance in the midst of a vague discussion of the
tough local issues but a specific plan that addresses those issues head-on,
including the footprint question. In other words, a denser New Orleans with
a smaller footprint, but also one that can accommodate everyone who wants to
return and that can be defended against future hurricanes at significant but
manageable expense. 

  

This plan should also detail bold reforms, such as replacing the failed
Orleans Parish public school system with a diverse collection of charter
schools and replacing the outdated Charity Hospital system with coverage
that offers the needy solid preventative and other care through numerous
providers. 

  

For its part, the Bush administration must endorse this general path now to
encourage bold, courageous Louisiana decisions. And this endorsement must
mean that the administration will take the lead in funding a responsible
plan once it is produced. The $6.2 billion in federal block grant funds
approved in December is a great down payment. But additional federal dollars
will be needed to buy out areas that can be converted to natural flood
basins and to help rebuild others. This could be done through the Baker bill
or a state version of it with federal support. 

  

Up to now, the difficult footprint discussion has been framed almost
entirely in terms of some people not being able to return to their
neighborhoods. But the path suggested above would offer these residents much
greater financial recovery through buyouts than they could possibly enjoy
otherwise, coupled with the ability to rebuild their lives in nearby parts
of a safer, stronger community. 

  

As difficult a path as this is, I truly believe that the people will accept
it -- in Louisiana and across the nation. The real question is, will the
Louisiana and national politicians? 

  

The writer, a Republican senator from Louisiana , lives in Metairie, just
outside New Orleans . 

  


Sincerely,

Senator David Vitter
United States Senator