Bush seeks $40 billion for Katrina aid....penny wise?

[rfranklin]

Bush cut levee repair budget by a few hundred million, now has to spend $40 billion or more. Is this the MBA president in action? Or is this just another excuse for no-bid cost-plus contracts for cronies?

Bush to seek another $40 billion for Katrina aid
With the pumping of New Orleans comes the grim task of collecting bodies


NEW ORLEANS - Eight days after Hurricane Katrina struck, President Bush was preparing to ask for $40 billion more in aid for the stricken region, a congressional official said Tuesday. The news came as engineers struggled to pump floodwaters from New Orleans, making way for finding and removing the city's dead.

Congress approved a $10.5 billion first installment in funding last week. Bush described that money as a down payment on the relief and rebuilding effort, amid criticism that the federal response to the disaster was too little and too late.

Following the initial focus on rescuing survivors from flood zones and evacuating people to temporary homes, officials will be working to identify, count and remove the bodies of the dead, and try to alleviate waterborne health risks.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9156612/