[StBernard] Recovery and Reform claim victory

[Westley Annis]

I sincerely hope Blanco is just being nice here.  Right now, the $4.2
billion in additional CDBG funds has so many strings attached to it that it
is just a laughable figure.

I think it may have just been a George Bush using a play out of the Bill
Clinton Playbook.  Do something to divert the attention from something else
that is happening the same day.

The day this CDBG money was announced was also the same day the Senate held
a hearing of the Baker Plan, effectively burying any news of that hearing
from reaching the public.

According to Rep. Baker, his bill is not dead yet and still has a glimmer of
life to it.  We may still it since the CDBG funds will do nothing more than
turn habitable southern Louisiana into swampland.  Won't even be able to put
a fishing pier on it if you wanted to.

Westley

-----Original Message-----


Recovery and Reform claim victory 


By Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco

We've been fighting an uphill battle to get our fair share of housing
funding and Louisiana is winning. 

Some of you may have noticed that over the past few weeks I turned up the
heat over our housing needs. We played a little hardball. 

Last week, these efforts resulted in a resounding victory for our state.
Washington reversed course, admitting that we had insufficient funding to
repair our houses and safely rebuild our communities. 

I deeply appreciate the decision of President Bush and Chairman Don Powell
to call for an additional $4.2 billion in Community Development Block Grant
funding. This will go a long way towards rebuilding safely and mitigating
hazards. 

In dealing with Washington, DC, most of us felt like we were riding a roller
coaster of emotion. There were dark days of frustration when it was hard to
believe that our voices were being heard. We began to doubt that anyone
cared. 

But the evidence was on our side. Members of the Louisiana Recovery
Authority were invaluable players of my negotiation team. We presented
compelling data and persuasive arguments. Our persistence paid huge
dividends. 

I must add a note of caution. This extra money is not yet in the bank.
Congress has to approve this request. I hope they understand that this
investment in homes for our people is desperately needed. I know that we can
count on our Congressional delegation to continue their efforts to ensure
that Congress approves this additional $4.2 billion. 

We had another victory in the special session when the Legislature voted to
consolidate our levee boards. The creation of the Southeast Louisiana Flood
Protection Authorities will help us to improve maintenance and oversight of
our levee system. 

It will also send a strong message to Washington that Louisiana is serious
about reform. We will be good caretakers of a sustained investment in
improved federal levees. 

With the exception of security, there is no greater issue facing our
recovery than the need to rebuild our homes. Katrina and Rita destroyed well
over 200,000 homes. No state has ever faced a catastrophe of this magnitude.
The old saying, "there's no place like home," has new meaning for so many of
our displaced families. 

Of the $6.2 billion in CDBG funding that we have already been guaranteed, I
have committed the lion's share to housing. 

And now I commit to adding the additional $4.2 billion to develop affordable
housing and repair homes safely. I will prioritize repairing and rebuilding
our damaged homes in a way that protects against future storms. 

In creating our housing plan, I envision a Louisiana where every person who
wants to return home can return home. 

We must tackle our rebuilding with the pace of a sprinter and the heart of a
distance runner. I promise that we are going to move as quickly as possible
to put the federal funding to work for our homeowners. 

But this process is an arduous one. It will require the endurance, patience
and heart to rebuild in a way that takes all of our families across the
finish line. 


-30-


The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's
People www.louisianahelp.org