Hurricane Katrina: Recovery Still in Progress
August 29, 2006 marks the one year anniversary of the natural disaster that changed the lives of Americans all across the country, Hurricane Katrina. As we reflect on the aftermath of this deadly event, we remember the things that did happen, the things that should have happened, and especially the things that didn't happen. On September 15, 2005 President Bush stood in New Orleans' Jackson Square and pledged to make this "one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen," yet the recovery effort has been everything but.
Appointed by the President, the federal coordinator of Gulf Coast recovery, Donald Powell, recently briefed the President and met with reporters to discuss how $110 billion dollars are being spent. Among things mentioned, he disclosed that $15 billion was spent on flood insurance, and $5.7 billion was spent on the failed levee system, which he says has fixed 220 miles of breaches in the system. With the exception of insurance money, where is the support for the victims?Leaders of the recovery effort said Tuesday that although progress had been slow in some areas, success can be pointed out in some New Orleans neighborhoods, including the famed French Quarter and the Garden District. However, neither area was damaged as severely as the Lower 9th Ward. Mayor C. Ray Nagin told the National Association of Black Journalists on Friday in Indianapolis that billions of dollars of federal aid are going to contractors.More then one third of the debris still remains in New Orleans. There is very little debris left in Mississippi, also affected by Katrina, and no debris left in the President's home state of Texas, which was affected by Hurricane Rita. With leftover debris, and the delay of federal funds, the rebuilding process will continue to be prolonged.
Minor Sinclair, who heads the U.S. regional office of Oxfam America, a charitable organization points out that $17 billion has been approved by Congress to rebuild homes in Louisiana and Mississippi, but not one house has been rebuilt with that money in either state.Delays are spread throughout the rebuilding effort. Not only are people waiting for money to rebuild their homes, but they are also waiting on money to rebuild businesses as well, money that has already been allotted by the Federal Government.
A report from the Democratic members of the House Small Business Committee found that 80 percent of small businesses on the Gulf Coast have not yet received loans promised by the federal government. The Small Business Administration has approved loans in excess of $10 billion, but only $2 billion has found its way to business owners.The area most affected by the lack of support from the Bush Administration, is the lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. This is the location where most of the debris still remains, an area which was heavily populated with African Americans. Blacks in both Louisiana and Mississippi are disproportionately affected by the lack of federal funding. In the two areas, members of the African American community were more likely to rent than own, according to census data. However, only a fraction of post Katrina redevelopment funds has been earmarked for rental units.
A report by the Mississippi conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said the lack of rental aid will have long-term impacts on places like Biloxi, Miss., where 70 percent of renters were black, and Pascagoula, where 75 percent were black. A report by the Brookings Institution in Washington argued that with rents having risen 39 percent in New Orleans, the need to repair affordable rental units is crucial.While efforts to rebuild are underway, support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina is nowhere near the level of being viewed as one of the largest reconstruction efforts in the world like President Bush would like us to believe. Democrats have become directly hands on in the rebuilding efforts. The Party held its spring meeting there bringing more revenue to the city and participated in several community service activities through the three day meeting. Engineers are heading down next week to review and discuss the lessons learned from the disaster. And at the end of the day, the President did complete one task, he made sure that oil and gas companies and refineries are back to pre-Katrina production levels.
