[StBernard] UPDATE: Four Presidential Candidates to Join Landrieu for Hope & Recovery Summit ***Note new schedule

[Westley Annis]

*** EVENT AUGUST 27 ***

Clinton, Edwards, Huckabee & Hunter to Join Landrieu for 

"Hope & Recovery Summit"
Event will feature five recovery-related issue panels and remarks/Q&A
sessions with Presidential candidates.

 

WASHINGTON - United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu will host a "Hope &
Recovery Summit" on Monday, August 27, 2007, to commemorate the second
anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the devastating flooding that
followed.  The summit will feature recovery-related panel discussions
followed by a question and answer session and remarks with Presidential
candidates, including Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., former Sen. John
Edwards, D-N.C., former Governor Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., and Congressman
Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.  Every Democratic and Republican Presidential
candidate was invited to participate, and others may join the Presidential
Forum.

"I am so pleased that four candidates for President, both Democrats and
Republicans, have joined us for the Hope & Recovery Summit," Sen. Landrieu
said.  "Hurricane recovery is a critical issue of the 2008 Presidential
election, and it is reassuring that some of the leading candidates will
fight to ensure that our region remains a national priority."

"As the second anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita approaches, we are
reminded of the significant challenges that lie ahead for our recovery,"
Sen. Landrieu said.  "The next President will bear significant
responsibility for the Gulf Coast's ongoing recovery, and this forum will
give Louisianians and the rest of the country an opportunity to hear the
candidates' approaches for reforming our national emergency preparedness and
facilitating our continued recovery."

"Two years ago, a natural disaster became a national disgrace," Senator
Clinton said.  "Rebuilding this city is not a New Orleans obligation or a
Louisiana obligation.  It is an American obligation.  And the time for
action with real measurable results is right now.  I look forward to joining
my friend Senator Landrieu at this forum to discuss how the federal
government can finally do its part to help New Orleans' recovery."

"We are not the country of the Superdome in New Orleans after Katrina," Sen.
Edwards said.  "We can do better.  We have a moral responsibility to get New
Orleans back on its feet.  I applaud Senator Landrieu for organizing this
forum and bringing New Orleans the national attention it needs and
deserves."

"Two years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, my heart still goes out to the
75,000 tired and frightened evacuees who sought refuge in Arkansas - and to
all American families who were directly or indirectly impacted by this
disaster," Gov. Huckabee said.  "As Arkansans embraced our neighbors from
the Gulf Coast, we soon learned that there was not a lack of concern or
compassion, but rather of command and control.   This forum is a great way
to continue the dialogue on improving our emergency preparedness and
enhancing communication between state and federal agencies.  I applaud Sen.
Landrieu for her leadership in organizing this important platform for
discussion."

"America is a great nation, not because of what government does for people
but because of what free people do for themselves," Congressman Hunter said.
"The rebuilding of New Orleans is an opportunity for many to become more
productive than they have ever been.  Rebuilding should allow many to move
from the welfare rolls to the employment rolls.  Many rush to characterize
New Orleans residents as long-term victims.  I reject that characterization.
Instead, in the recovery, I see the opportunity for a newer more energetic
New Orleans with citizens building a better life than before."

The all-day summit will include five panel discussions with national and
local leaders on key issues related to hurricane recovery and preparedness:
Coastal Protection, Levees and Infrastructure; Education; Business Recovery;
Rebuilding the Criminal Justice System; and Housing and Sustainable
Community Recovery.

"The intent is not to revisit old debates over fault and failure in the days
and months after the hurricanes - that is a road well tread," Sen. Landrieu
said.  "This summit is a forum for fresh ideas and new paths forward for a
great city and region."

The schedule for the "Hope & Recovery Summit" is below but is subject to
change as the event approaches.

What:             "Hope & Recovery Summit"

When:             August 27, 2007
8:45 am. CDT

Where:           University of New Orleans
Lindy C. Boggs International Conference Center Auditorium
2045 Lakeshore Drive
New Orleans, LA 70122

 

Schedule:

8:45 am. - University of New Orleans Chancellor Dr. Timothy Ryan introduces
Sen. Landrieu

 

8:50 am. - Sen. Landrieu delivers opening remarks

 

9:00 am. - Panel #1: Coastal Restoration, Levees and Infrastructure 

 

Panelists (subject to change):

 

*         J. Richard Capka, Administrator of Federal Highways, U.S.
Department of Transportation

*         Brigadier General Robert Crear, Commander, Mississippi Valley
Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

*         Mark Davis, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Institute
on Water Resources, Law and Policy, Tulane University Law School

*         Carlton Dufrechou, Executive Director of the Lake Pontchartrain
Basin Foundation

*         Randy Hanchey, Deputy Secretary, Louisiana Department of Natural
Resources; Team Leader, Integrated Planning Team for the Coastal Protection
and Restoration Authority State Master Plan.   

*         Jerome Ringo, Chair, National Wildlife Federation

*         Randy Roach, Mayor, City of Lake Charles

*         Jerome Zeringue, Executive Director of the Terrebonne Levee and
Conservation District

 

10:00 am. - Break

 

10:15 am. - Presidential Leadership Forum: Q & A/Remarks: Governor Huckabee

 

10:45 am. - Break

 

11:00 am. - Panel #2: Education

 

K-12 Panelists (subject to change):

 

*         Matt Candler, CEO, New Schools for New Orleans

*         Linda Johnson, President, Louisiana Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education

*         Hudson La Force III, Senior Counselor to the U.S. Secretary of
Education

*         Dr. James Meza, Dean of the College of Education, University of
New Orleans

*         Paul Pastorek, Louisiana Superintendent of Education

*         Paul Vallas, Recovery School District Superintendent

*         Doris Voitier, St. Bernard Parish Schools Superintendent

 

Higher Education Panelists (subject to change):

 

*         Scott Cowen, President, Tulane University

*         Dr. Norman Francis, President, Xavier University / LRA Chairman

*         Dr. Timothy Ryan, Chancellor, University of New Orleans

*         Dr. Joseph Savoie, Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education

*         Dr. Victor Ukpolo, Chancellor, Southern University at New Orleans

 

12:20 pm. - Lunch Break

 

1:15 pm. - Remarks by the Honorable Steven Preston, Administrator, U.S.
Small Business Administration

 

1:30 pm. - Panel #3: Business Recovery

 

Panelists (subject to change):

 

*         Harry Alford, President & CEO, National Black Chamber of Commerce

*         Ernest Broussard, Executive Director of Planning & Development,
Cameron Parish Recovery (AICP/CECD)

*         Eugene Cornelius, Louisiana District Director, U.S. Small Business
Administration

*         Mark Drennen, President & CEO, Greater New Orleans, Inc.

*         Darlene Kattan, Executive Director, Louisiana Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce

*         Andy Kopplin, Executive Director, Louisiana Recovery Authority

*         Ronald N. Langston, National Director, Minority Business
Development Agency

*         Tina Nguyen Owen, Chairperson, Asian Chamber of Commerce of
Louisiana

 

2:30 pm. - Break

 

2:45 pm. - Panel #4: Rebuilding the Criminal Justice System

 

Panelists (subject to change):

 

*         James Carter, New Orleans City Council

*         Terry Ebbert, Director of Emergency Preparedness, City of New
Orleans

*         Ruthie Frierson, Founder and Chairperson, Citizens for One Greater
New Orleans

*         Catherine D. "Kitty" Kimball, Associate Justice, Louisiana Supreme
Court

*         Jim Letten, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana

*         Mike Ranatza, Executive Director, Louisiana Commission on Law
Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice

*         Warren Riley, Chief, New Orleans Police Department 

*         Bob Stellingworth, Executive Director, New Orleans Police and
Justice Foundation

 

3:45 pm. - Break

 

4:00 pm. - Panel #5: Housing Recovery and Sustainable Community Development

 

Housing Recovery Panelists (subject to change):

 

*	C. Donald Babers, Deputy Regional Director for Region VI, U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
*	Ken Bacon, Executive Vice President, Fannie Mae 
*	Milton Bailey, President, Louisiana Housing Finance Authority (LHFA)
*	Ralph Boyd, Chairman, Freddie Mac Foundation
*	James R. Kelly, CEO of Catholic Charities and Providence Community
Housing
*	Mtumishi St. Julien, President, The Finance Authority of New Orleans
*	Reverend Marshall Truehill, Senior Pastor, First United Baptist
Church

 

Sustainable Community Development Panelists (subject to change):

 

*	Major General Hunt Downer, Assistant Adjutant General, Louisiana
National Guard
*	Melissa Flournoy, President and CEO, Louisiana Association of
Nonprofit  Organizations
*	Jeff Hebert, Director of Community Planning, Louisiana Recovery
Authority
*	Sean Reilly, Louisiana Speaks Champion; President of Lamar
Advertising
*	Elizabeth "Boo" Thomas, President and CEO, Center for Planning
Excellence

 

5:20 pm. - Break

 

Presidential Leadership Forum

 

6:30 pm. - Q & A/Remarks: Senator Edwards

 

7:00 pm. - Q & A/Remarks: Senator Clinton

 

7:30 pm. - Q & A/Remarks: Congressman Hunter

 

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