New Orleans Since Katrina

    As you all well know, our esteemed Idiot in Chief made a trip (14th) down to New Orleans to assure the residents and himself that he is committed to the restoration of the area.

   There was the usual press briefing aboard Air Force One on the way to the area with Don Powell ( President's Federal Gulf Coast Coordinator ) doing  most of the Q&A session.

The White House      March 1, 2007

MR. POWELL: Good morning. As Dana indicated, this is the President's 14th trip, and I think, again, as evidence of his long-term commitment to rebuild the Gulf Coast area. In that regard, I think there's been lots of progress since the last -- over the last 18 months. Children are in school; "help wanted" signs are up; the port is 100 percent back; restaurants are open; hotels are open; building permits have increased; self -- (inaudible) -- revenue is, in some cases, at record highs. So there's been lots of progress.

Q  I read an editorial in the paper today, read an editorial in the Post today that said the recovery has been painfully slow and that more than half of the schools remain closed. Another report said tens of thousands of people remain displaced. Is that true, and does that worry you?

MR. POWELL: Well, we all have a sense of urgency about the recovery; we want it to be -- but I think it's important to look and put it in perspective about the size of the storm and how overwhelming this storm was. So I think there's been some good progress. As I mentioned, 53 schools are open. There's 28,000 kids in school. They're there. By some of their own testimony, the schools are better than they were before Katrina. I've heard that from teachers, from administrators.

Q  Is the federal end of this -- are you guys doing all you can do? Is that your feeling? Is there anything you can do to get money into the hands of the people who are frustrated that their house is still in shambles, or whatever, more quickly?

MR. POWELL: I ask that question myself all the time. That's a constant question that I'm always asking. At the same time, are we being responsible to the taxpayers? Are we doing everything we can to make sure that we're giving the resources

-- the necessary resources to rebuild the Gulf Coast? And with the leadership of this President, and obviously, Congress, the American taxpayers have poured a lot of money into that area. It's important that the locals -- that the local people began to push and process that money and clothes and put it in the appropriate hands of people.

 

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