[StBernard] Senate Passes Supplemental Spending Bill

[Westley Annis]

Senate Passes Supplemental Spending Bill Landrieu provisions secure more
than $3 billion for Louisiana projects, correct unfair hurricane recovery
funding rules and help protect Louisiana from flooding.

 

WASHINGTON - The United States Senate today passed by a vote of 51 to 47 the
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill, which includes more than $3
billion in key funding for hurricane recovery and other projects in
Louisiana.  Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., secured the provisions from her
seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Senate also passed key amendments to the spending bill introduced by
Sen. Landrieu that would seek a technical review of flood control pumps in
the New Orleans area that are reportedly untested or ineffective and would
allocate $60 million to recruit teachers and principals to K-12 schools in
areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and would assist colleges and
universities recovering from the storms.

"Allegations that the Corps of Engineers installed faulty pumps in our flood
control system are gravely troubling, and this provision in the supplemental
bill will allow the necessary technical review to ensure that our
communities are safe from flooding during future hurricanes," Sen. Landrieu
said.  "Louisianians must have confidence that the flood control system will
not fail.  This review is essential to ensure our communities are made safe.

"Hurricanes Katrina and Rita drove many of our teachers and principals away
from Louisiana because their homes and communities were destroyed.  My
amendment will provide the necessary incentives to bring teachers and
principals back to Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.  Without these leaders, our
education system will suffer and our students will go without the quality
education that every child deserves.  Our public school system, colleges and
universities are vital components of our recovery, and this provision will
give them the resources they need to rebuild stronger than they have ever
been before."

Last week, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.V., Chairman of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, said, "The people of Louisiana have the strength
and the spirit to rebuild their homes and their communities.  We owe them
the support to get the job done.  Senator Landrieu is working hard to make
sure that the Congress makes good on the promises made to the people of the
Gulf Coast, and I will continue to stand with her at every step of the way."

FAIR Funding

Sen. Landrieu also secured language in the bill that would waive for
Katrina- and Rita-affected communities provisions of the Robert T. Stafford
Act that require localities to match 10 percent of the cost for disaster
recovery projects before the remaining 90 percent is filled by the federal
government. This provision has been waived 32 times since 1985 when per
capita rebuilding costs have been excessive.

"The local match requirement costs our communities millions that would
better be spent recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but it also
ensnares them in insurmountable red tape, bringing our recovery to a crawl,"
Sen. Landrieu said.  "The President has the authority to move Gulf Coast
recovery forward with a single stroke of his pen.  But he has refused to use
this authority.  If he remains unwilling to remove this obstacle to
recovery, we must do it legislatively."

Disaster Loan Forgiveness

Sen. Landrieu secured language in the bill that would make Katrina- and
Rita-affected Gulf Coast states eligible for the same Community Disaster
Loan forgiveness option made available to all other disaster-stricken
communities. The Stafford Act has historically required forgiveness of such
loans when independent audits determine the fiscal recovery of affected
local communities is insufficient to repay the loans after a three-year
grace period.

"The Federal Government should not hold Louisiana and other Gulf Coast
communities to a different standard while we recovery from Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita," Sen. Landrieu said.  "This bill will remove a significant
roadblock to our recovery by correcting a major mistake made in the
aftermath of the 2005 hurricanes."

Shortly after the hurricanes, Sen. Landrieu proposed making $1 billion in
unspent FEMA funds available for Community Disaster Loans under the same
terms as had been afforded to other communities.  But the version that was
passed in October 2005, sponsored by Senators David Vitter, R-La., and Bill
Frist, R-Tenn., specifically prohibited the federal government from ever
forgiving the loans if communities were unable to pay them back.

Levee Funding

Sen. Landrieu secured $1.3 billion for east and west bank levee projects in
the New Orleans area. When cost overruns created a $1.3 billion shortfall in
the projects, originally authorized by the 3rd Supplemental bill passed last
year, the Bush Administration sought to shuffle the money away from other
levee projects authorized in the 4th Supplemental bill. The funds secured by
Sen. Landrieu would address the shortfall with direct funding, rather than
simply borrowing funds and creating a shortfall in another set of levee
projects instead.

"Without strong and effective levees, many parts of Louisiana will remain
vulnerable to major flooding during and after hurricanes," Sen. Landrieu
said.  "The Administration wants to simply move money from one levee project
to another, leaving levees vulnerable.  But levees cannot be built or
strengthened without the necessary funding.  Our communities cannot wait
while levee projects remain unfunded."

Sen. Landrieu also secured $150 million for the Southeast Louisiana Urban
Flood Control Project (SELA), which provides for engineering, design and
construction of projects for flood control and improvements to rainfall
drainage systems in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany Parishes.

Curbing Crime

Sen. Landrieu secured $70 million to curb crime along the Gulf Coast, with
$55 million designated specifically to Louisiana.  The funding is intended
to go to several projects, including nearly $7 million for the New Orleans
Common Good program, a plan proposed by a coalition of local civic and
business groups, which will give the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD)
funding it needs to fight crime as New Orleans continues to recover from
Hurricane Katrina.  The funding allows the NOPD to hire more officers and
give Orleans Parish the ability to hire eight additional prosecutors.

"Crime remains an obstacle to Louisiana's recovery, but this funding will
provide some of the resources our criminal justice system badly needs," Sen.
Landrieu said.  "Safe neighborhoods are essential to our rebuilding, and I
will continue to do everything in my power to stem crime in the New Orleans
area."

The New Orleans anti-crime package will also develop an Orleans Parish
Information Sharing and Integrated Systems project. The system will enhance
the efficiency and effectiveness of criminal justice operations by
increasing information sharing across agencies, streamlining business
processes and promoting transparency and accountability.

Of the $55 million that Sen. Landrieu secured to fight crime in Louisiana,
$38 million is intended to assist the criminal operations of five parishes
in south Louisiana.  The money would assist the Cameron, Calcasieu, St.
Bernard, Plaquemines and Orleans Parish Sheriff's Offices and the NOPD
through the Byrne Grant program at the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Other Funding

            Sen. Landrieu also secured funding in the bill for the following
projects:

*	Extension of the deadline to use $150 million in Social Services
Block Grants from September 2007 to Sept. 30, 2008;
*	$15 million for additional historic preservation grants in areas
affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita;
*	$10 million to allow local governments to use FEMA funds for utility
expenses associated with shelter evacuees for 24 months;
*	$65 million for fisheries recovery in Louisiana;
*	$25 million for Small Business Administration (SBA) economic injury
loans;
*	Extension of Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone)
status to Hurricane Katrina- and Rita-affected parishes for two years, which
can be extended to three years at the SBA's discretion;
*	$30 million in additional funding to help defray expenses incurred
by higher education institutions that were forced to close, relocate or
curtail their activities as a result of the 2005 hurricanes.  This provision
also allows the money to be used for grants to students;
*	$75 million for Federal Transit grants for operating and capital
costs for transit services impacted for Katrina and Rita, which included the
LA Swift bus from Baton Rouge to New Orleans and also waived the local cost
share;
*	Gulf Coast Public Housing Agencies in areas that received emergency
assistance after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will receive allocations based
on their 2006 funding;
*	$11 million to provide 75% of the cost of replanting trees lost due
to natural disasters in excess of 15% mortality under the Tree Assistance
Program; and 
*	$15 million for crops, including irrigated crops.  The crops are
covered up to 55 percent of the established price for a given year.

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