This article originally appeared in Gulf Coast
Reconstruction
Watch.
On March 16, by a vote of 348-71, the House passed
a bill to provide $19.1 billion for cleanup and rebuilding of the
Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. H.R. 4939,
"The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense,
the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery," passed six
and a half months after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, despite the
efforts of key Republicans to remove Katrina funding from the bill
entirely.
The House bill includes welcome, if belated, funding
for housing, debris removal, and other important needs. But the
package falls woefully short in providing the resources needed
to address critical barriers to Gulf rebuilding, and comes way too
late to help most survivors. What’s more, the House Republicans
voted along party lines to kill key amendments that would have boosted
money for stronger levees and rebuilding homes.
No Money To Make Levees Safe:
With the 2006 hurricane season just 76
days away, House Republicans killed an amendment to the bill that
would have provided $430 million to fortify levees in New Orleans
to withstand a hurricane as strong as Katrina (Category 3). The
Army Corps of Engineers is now only authorized to rebuild the city’s
levees to Category 2 - even though some experts predict the chance
of a "major" (Category 3 or higher) hurricane hitting
in 2006 has increased by 18% over last year. (Sources: Baton Rouge Advocate,
3/17/06; St. Petersburg Times,
3/16/06)
Way Too Late:
The House bill, passed over half a year after the
hurricanes, comes too late to help many Gulf survivors. For example,
the measure includes $4.2 billion in Community Development Block
Grants to address housing needs, including $1 billion for rebuilding
affordable rental housing - important because renters make up the
bulk of storm survivors. But New Orleans tenants have been facing
evictions since October 2005, and the House rejected an amendment
that would have barred FEMA from evicting residents from temporary
housing until suitable alternatives are available. What’s more,
the Senate isn’t planning a vote on its version of the package until
May - 9 months after Katrina hit. (Sources: Thomas, 3/17/06; NY Times, 3/17/06; Times-Picayune, 3/17/06)
Pits Gulf States Against Each Other:
The White House had targeted all of the $4.2 billion
in housing assistance for Louisiana, which bore the brunt of the
2005 storms. Yet Republican leaders insisted the money be split
with Mississippi and Texas. Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-LA) amendment
to add $2 billion to meet Texas housing needs without short-changing
Louisiana almost passed, until Republican lawmakers twisted arms
to defeat it. "This has put us in a competition for the pittance,
the few dollars," said Rep. Charlie Melancon. (D-LA). (Sources:
NY Times, 3/17/06; Times-Picayune, 3/17/06)
Ignores Major Barriers To Gulf Rebuilding:
The measure does nothing to address many of the most
urgent problems that have stalled rebuilding in New Orleans and
the Gulf. For example, Congress has yet to allocate money for reviving
the Gulf’s devastated health care system. Out of 22 hospitals in
New Orleans pre-Katrina, only 7 are open now. There are no plans
to re-open Charity Hospital, the only facility aimed at serving
poor residents and where 2/3 of uninsured New Orleans patients received
their health care. The bill also includes little or no money for
re-opening schools, cleaning up soil and water toxins, and stimulating
job creation - obstacles that all need to be tackled if New Orleans
and the Gulf are to come back. (Source: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch/Institute
for Southern Studies, 2/28/06)
Fails To Protect Voting Rights:
The House also voted down an amendment to provide
$50 million to help New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities
organize elections. New Orleans will be holding elections April
22, yet only 45% of residents have been able to return thanks to
lack of housing and jobs. 75% of the displaced are African-American.
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice approved the April elections,
despite a call from civil rights groups urging the state to provide
satellite voting centers and other measures to reach displaced voters.
(Sources: Times-Picayune, 3/17/06;
Greater New Orleans Community Data
Center, Feb. 2006; Washington Post, 3/17/06]
Gulf Coast officials were clearly dismayed by this
latest example of Washington’s response to the 2005 storms, which
they have viewed as slow and inadequate. Rep. Melancon (D-LA) expressed
his frustration about his colleagues this way: "They're hoping
we disappear off the radar screen. People who wear Christ
on their sleeves and vote against helping people are the biggest
hypocrites."
Chris Kromm is Executive Director of the
Institute
for Southern Studies, a non-profit research center based in
Durham, N.C., and co-author of "The Mardi Gras Index: The State
of New Orleans Six Months After Katrina." Gulf
Coast Reconstruction Watch, a project of the Institute, was launched
in November 2005 to investigative and document the rebuilding process
in the post-hurricane Southern Gulf. Mr. Kromm can be contacted
at [email protected]. |