Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Bush Appeals For Billions For Louisiana
NEWSWIRE
President Bush has appealed to Congress to approve billions of dollars to help return life to normal in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.Mr Bush made the plea while on a visit to the hurricane battered Gulf Coast.
"I'm getting a view of the progress that is being made," Bush said after a tour by air and on the ground six months after Katrina struck.
"There's still a lot of work to be done, no question about it," he told reporters.Congress is poised to allocate $4.2 billion in flexible community development funds to all states affected by Katrina.
But President Bush says Congress must allocate the $4.2 billion to Louisiana alone to help residents whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.
The House Appropriations Committee is reportedly set to adopt Bush's request for $19.1 billion in new money for hurricane relief and rebuilding.
Included in that legislation would be $1.5 billion in various Army Corps of Engineers water projects, with the money now directed chiefly toward rebuilding levees, canals and pumping stations in New Orleans.
