Congress Finally Addresses Katrina Recovery - but with a Catch

[Wayward Episcopalian]

Cross posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans. Also put on Daily Kos and http://mydd.com/story/2007/5/27/03625/8282”>MyDD.

Finally, some good news for the Gulf Coast from Congress! (But with a catch, as described below.) The Iraq War supplemental passed by Congress wasn't just an Iraq War supplemental. It also contained $6.4 billion in funding for Katrina recovery. According to the Times Picayune and BayouBuzz.com, the funding included:

• $3 billion, by waiving the Stafford Act requirement that state and local governments pay 10% of FEMA disaster costs. The law has been waived 33 times since 1985 - makes you wonder what took them so long. This eliminates lots of paperwork, so perhaps will help cut through red tape.
  
• $1.3 billion for further repairs to New Orleans-area levees
  
• $320 million to forgive Gulf Coast community disaster loans
  
• $50 million to fight crime
  
• $35 million for public transportation hit by Katrina and Rita
  
• $30 million to attract educators
  
• $30 million for hurricane-damaged universities
  
• $110 million for the Gulf fishing industry
  
• $25 million for Southeast Louisiana drainage projects.
  
• $10 million for historic preservation grants
  
• $10 million for local governments to use FEMA funds for shelter utility expenses
  
• Various tax and business provisions
  
• One-year extension of the deadline to use $150 million in Social Services Block Grants to September 2008
  

In addition to the hurricane recovery funds, $1 billion for new National Guard equipment will help the Louisiana National Guard prepare for future hurricanes. "In a Category 1 hurricane, Louisiana National Guard has what it needs to do the job," Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said. "But as soon as it reaches a Category 3, it doesn't."

This is the first major legislation passed by Congress for Katrina victims since late 2005. Louisiana politicians of both parties praised the funding. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D), who helped craft the bill, had lots to say. "This was a landmark vote for south Louisiana's continued recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the flooding that followed. The local match requirement costs our communities millions of dollars while drowning them in thousands of forms and regulations. Louisiana needs more money and less paper." Senator David Vitter (R) added, "The people of Louisiana will finally receive the funding they need." Rep. Charlie Melancon (D) was happy the Democratic leadership didn't remove the funding from the bill as the President demanded. "I want to thank the House leadership for staying true to their word," he said.

Some of the funding also applies to Mississippi. Mississippi has been better about securing disaster relief all along, thanks to its well connected Republican Governor, Haley Barbour.

Unfortunately, things aren't looking so good for the Road Home program, the official homeowner grant program. I wrote on Thursday that the program is facing a $3 billion shortfall. It turns out federal recovery czar Donald Powell blames Louisiana for that lack of funds. Apparently, the federal government, much like the insurance companies, only helps families affected by flood damage, not by wind damage. He said, "We were always very clear that the federal government would not fund state housing programs to cover wind damage." The state of Louisiana, on the other hand, decided humanity is more important than technicalities, and awarded Road Home grants to all homeowners affected by Katrina. As a result, Powell believes it is very unlikely Louisiana will be given the $3 billion it needs.

Ironically, only half of that shortfall comes from the state's decision to help with wind damage - the other half is, no surprise, the feds' fault. According to the Times Picayune, "The rest of the problem comes from unexpected new costs and from relying on federal figures that estimated far fewer homes were totaled by the 2005 hurricanes."

According to Powell, "As elected officials have said many times, the federal government is responsible for this hurricane damage because of the failure of the levee system. And now nearly half of the federal funding is going to homeowners that experienced no levee-related damage." What about 9/11, says I? Or Hurricane Andrew, or Midwestern tornadoes? The federal government handles disaster relief whether or not it's too blame, why should New Orleans be any different? But that aside, the basic premise of Powell's position is immoral and anti-community. He is, in sum, saying, "I'm sorry, Fred. I know you need help, and I know your house was under ten feet of water, but because Louisiana decided to help the equally hard-hit John when I told them not to, I'm not going to help you after all! That's right, Fred, through no fault of your own, I'm gonna screw you over good!" Louisiana can make up some of the Road Home shortfall with the money Congress approved this week, but that's hardly an ideal solution. The money is currently planned for local community rebuilding needs, not individual homeowner needs. KATC reports, "Redirecting money to Road Home could severely limit local rebuilding efforts in places like New Orleans and hard-hit St. Bernard Parish, officials said." The Governor is likely to allow the redirection of funds, but only after lobbying Congress to do its job and provide the additional funding.

In addition to the Road Home problems, I don't believe there's any funding for Louisiana's disappearing wetlands, and I don't know what this bill does to address red tape issues outside the matching funds. You can allocate all the money in the world; it won't do any good if it gets bottlenecked in the system. Please, write your Congressman and Senators to thank them for the supplemental funding, and remind them that the job isn't done.

Cross posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans

[uppityperson]

1. Thank you for posting this. Off to read it all.

No wind damage, just flood damage covered by insurance? I thought they were saying the storm surge isn't covered, and the flooding of NO isn't covered because they were not hurricane (ie-wind) damage. Do I have it backwards? thanks for posting this.

The Road Home, another poorly named program.

[Wayward Episcopalian]

3. Depends

I haven't followed the insurance mess too closely, it often gets too complicated for me to understand. Some companies did claim they levee flooding wasn't covered by hurricane insurance, and I'm pretty sure there were "wind damage isn't covered by flood insurance" claims, too. Like I say, I didn't follow that mess too closely, but regardless, a federal judge rolled his eyes and called bullshit, ordering the insurance companies to do their job and pay up. Don't you hate it when the good news comes from the judiciary instead of the populace or the legislature?

Road to Nowhere is more like it.

[intheflow]

2. K&R and thanks for posting, Wayward Episcopalian!

The relief of loans is key here in Mississippi. We may have gotten more money, but it's been VERY slow to trickled down out of Gov. Barbour's office, and even that money is earmarked for pre-storm homeowners. The towns most hard hit have been freaking out wondering how they will pay back the massive loans they needed to take out just for debris removal. And there's been almost no money for affordable/rental housing. We're spending these obscene amounts to bomb Iraq, but we've given only pennies on the dollar to the Gulf Coast for them to rebuild infrastructure so that people and locally owned businesses can come back.

[PDJane]

4. Well, actually...........

Since the damage to NO was NOT caused by the storm, but by the levees breaking, it would appear to me that the government is liable for the damage, especially since they didn't tell anyone on the ground the levees were leaking...which they knew 18 hours before they told anyone.

This government is criminal.