[StBernard] Governor Blanco addresses White House criticism and further discusses Michael Brown's revelation

[Westley Annis]

Governor Blanco addresses White House criticism and further discusses Michael Brown's revelation

A Statement by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco:


"The White House indignation over Michael Brown's whistle-blowing is very revealing. He has broken the code of silence about the political conspiracy to hurt the people of Louisiana. Their target was me, but the real victims have been the people of our state. 

"For eighteen months, the Washington Republicans have consistently punished and discriminated against our people. All for partisan political purposes. A state with 80 percent of the storm damage from two hurricanes received barely 50 percent of federal relief funds. Mississippi, with far less damage, received far more money proportionately and six months earlier. Louisiana got its money for The Road Home six months later than Mississippi. 

"Although we're working hard to move The Road Home forward, the real roadblock to getting people back into their homes has been the original delay in funding. This pattern of discrimination continues to the present. 

"Just one recent example is the Katrina cottages program. We have more than 64,000 people still living in trailers, yet we received money to help only 600 of those families. Mississippi received $280 million dollars, nearly four times as much. This pattern is repeated over and over with our hospitals, our schools, and our institutions of higher education.

"It's time for Congress to investigate this outrageous partisan treatment of our state. I am formally writing to Congress today to demand an investigation into this matter, and to secure from the new leadership proportional funding in keeping with the real damage our people have sustained." 

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