[StBernard] Lafayette Daily Advertiser Endorses Governor Blanco, LRA's Push for Additional Recovery Funds

[Westley Annis]

>From time to time, the LRA shares commentaries about issues surrounding the recovery. The Lafayette Daily Advertiser published this editorial Sunday, September 17, 2007, about the state's request for additional federal funds to help Louisianians rebuild their homes.



Lafayette Daily Advertiser Endorses Governor Blanco, LRA's Push for Additional Recovery Funds

Editorial: Need for recovery money is urgent
Lafayette Daily Advertiser
Sunday, September 16, 2007

Gov. Kathleen Blanco will travel to Washington next month to request an additional $4 billion to $5 billion to help Louisiana residents rebuild their homes. We hope the entire Louisiana Congressional delegation, regardless of party affiliation, stands with Blanco. While the need for the funding is real and urgent, getting a commitment will not be easy.

The governor is hopeful that the allocation for Louisiana can be tacked on to President Bush's supplemental Iraq war funding package.

Congress and the president have been generous in providing funds for hurricane recovery. In the latest move, the Bush administration has agreed to reduce Louisiana's share of funding for 100-year flood protection of the New Orleans region. U.S. Sen. David Vitter said the reduction would amount to $1 billion, but White House officials responded later that no agreement has been reached on specific numbers. There are important considerations that cannot be ignored in the quest for more funds. First, the allocation of funds has been on a less than equitable basis. According to the Louisiana Recovery Authority, Louisiana lost 10 times more businesses than Mississippi, and more than five times as many jobs. Katrina and Rita destroyed five times as many of our hospitals, and more than twice as many of our schools. Our death toll was five times that of Mississippi.
Louisiana's needs, in other words, far exceeded those of Mississippi. Yet when the hurricane aid! package was passed, Louisiana got $6.2 billion in grant money and Mississippi got $5.3 billion. Our 54 percent share was not enough to deal with the massive destruction of two hurricanes.

Mississippi and Louisiana each received $95 million in Department of Education discretionary funds for its colleges and universities destroyed or damaged by the hurricanes. Only two schools in Mississippi were lost, whereas Louisiana lost nine or 10, according to Blanco.

The second consideration is that the initial projections on destruction of homes in Louisiana fell short of the actual number. This is understandable. In the aftermath of a catastrophe as huge as the two storms of 2005, initial tabulations are seldom accurate. As the full story has unfolded, we have seen the need for assistance grow far beyond first estimates.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimated 123,000 dwellings in Louisiana were damaged by Katrina and Rita. Louisiana Recovery Authority Executive Director Andy Kopplin says FEMA identified homes under 10 feet of water as having only minor damage.

Applications to the Road Home program for housing assistance totaled 228,000, according to Kopplin. The program has given out $3.5 billion, and earmarked for approval another $6.5 billion. That doesn't include applications still being processed. Kopplin says Louisiana doesn't have the money.

The Bush administration has not endorsed allocating additional money for The Road Home program, so Blanco will need all the help the Louisiana delegation can provide when she journeys to Washington.

To view the entire article on the Daily Advertiser's Web site click here. <http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-9/119000919949860.xml&coll=1> 


Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming 1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana. 

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