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Billions of relief dollars secured for state
Landrieu helps seal deal on Senate bill
Friday, June 09, 2006
By Bruce Alpert
Washington bureau
WASHINGTON -- Ending a tortuous
three-month process, congressional negotiators reached agreement
Thursday on a $94.5 billion emergency supplemental spending bill that
includes $4.2 billion for housing and $3.7 billion for levee upgrades
sought by Louisiana officials.
"After several long days and nights of bipartisan negotiations and
waiting, I was proud this afternoon to sign the conference report that
will bring so many Louisianians one step closer to hope for their
rebuilding and protection," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., a member of
the conference committee that worked out the final deal. "I look
forward to seeing the bill come to the floor of each chamber in the
coming days, where we expect it to be passed easily and be signed into
law shortly thereafter."
The deal came together late Thursday when two Democratic senators,
Landrieu and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, signed on to the final package
that was being opposed by most Democrats and two moderate GOP senators
demanding that more money be added for health, labor and education.
The bill, which was proposed by President Bush in February, provides
money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as for Gulf Coast
hurricane relief efforts. Final congressional approval is expected
early next week.
Until the final agreement was signed, Louisiana officials were most
concerned that portions of the $4.2 billion in Community Development
Block Grant money earmarked for the state's housing recovery program
would be redirected to other states, mainly Texas and Mississippi.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, at the White House on Thursday for a
meeting with the president and governors on the administration's
line-item veto proposal, said the financing wouldn't have materialized
without Bush's strong backing.
"It's very important because obviously we have a very large request on
the table and we could not reasonably expect the money to be coming to
one state . . . with all the pressing needs, without the president's
assistance," said Blanco, who had some major conflicts with White House
officials, including the president, in the first days after Hurricane
Katrina.
Blanco said she thanked the president twice for his support: once
during a public session with other governors and a second time during a
private meeting.
Money for homeowners
Under Louisiana's Road Home program, the state will use the $4.2
billion in block grants and $6.2 billion already approved by Congress
to pay homeowners for their uninsured, uncompensated damages -- up to
$150,000 -- to repair or rebuild their homes.
There is a 30 percent penalty for homeowners who failed to purchase insurance for their homes.
Homeowners who sell their homes and leave the state would receive 60
percent of their pre-storm value, minus insurance and payments from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency. There also is a program to
encourage construction of replacement rental housing.
The levee financing includes $170 million for armoring critical areas
of the levees in New Orleans and $495.3 million to raise levee heights
in the New Orleans area for the Lake Pontchartrain and West Bank levee
projects, a project whose costs will be shared with the state of
Louisiana.
It also provides $1.6 billion to reinforce or replace floodwalls in the
New Orleans area and $530 million for levee closures and new pumping
plants in New Orleans, $250 million for flood-proof interior pumping
stations, and $350 million for construction of navigable closures on
the Industrial Canal and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
Also in the bill is $550 million for replacement of the Veterans
Affairs Medical Center in New Orleans, although construction must await
passage of a separate authorizing bill; $400 million for a pilot
program in which private agencies can apply for financing to build
"Katrina cottages" instead of the trailers traditionally used for
emergency housing; $500 million for farms and $150 million for
fisheries affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; and $50 million in
grants to colleges that suffered hurricane damage.
"I think this is a really super result," said Sen. David Vitter, R-La.
"It really gives us what we need for the recovery in every major
category."
Debris extension sought
Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Kenner, said he is pleased with the bill,
particularly the $4.2 billion for housing. But he added that the
congressional delegation will have to closely examine the
still-unpublished report language to make sure flood-control financing,
particularly for pumping stations in the Lakeview area, are adequately
financed. Vitter said he worries that the corps lowballed some of the
cost projections, but he expressed confidence that the Bush
administration will help offset any deficiencies.
Blanco said that during her visit to the White House she asked aides to
the president to consider another six-month extension of 100 percent
federal financing for debris removal efforts in parishes still facing
substantial work. The Democratic governor said she suspects the
officials want to get the supplemental spending bill through before
responding to her request. The most recent extension of 100 percent
federal financing expires at the end of the month, Blanco said.
For much of Thursday, an agreement on the supplemental bill proved
elusive, causing tempers to flare. At one point, Vitter complained that
Landrieu hadn't signed the conference report and he expressed concern
that any delay in the agreement might give officials from Texas and
Mississippi a chance to grab a share of Louisiana's housing money.
Landrieu's aides insisted that she had committed to signing the
conference report and was just awaiting delivery of the support letter
to her office.
Vitter also complained that Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a fellow
Republican, had sought some of the $4.2 billion that the president had
requested for Louisiana despite what the senator said was Barbour's
personal commitment not to seek any of that money. In the end, though,
Vitter said he's just happy the final deal preserved the full housing
and levee dollars for Louisiana.
Frist boasts about costs
The lengthy negotiations were prompted in part by the insistence by
Bush and House Republicans that the Senate agree to trim $14 billion
from the $109 billion supplemental spending bill it passed last month.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said keeping the costs down was a great accomplishment.
"Congress is cracking down on excessive Washington spending, and this
supplemental spending bill proves that we're on the right track," Frist
said. "It adheres to my calls for a conference report that's limited to
the president's request for true emergency spending. It focuses
resources on important priorities. It provides funding to bolster
border security, conduct the war on terror, aid hurricane recovery and
improve our nation's preparedness against the threat of avian flu --
all while exercising fiscal restraint and responsibility."
. . . . . . .
Bruce Alpert can be reached at bruce.alpert@newhouse.com or (202) 383-7861.
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