Dean: Bush Still Out Of Touch With Reality In The Gulf Coast

[MaineDem]

For Immediate Release
March 1, 2007
Contact: Stacie Paxton/Mark Paustenbach - 202-863-8148

Dean: Bush Still Out Of Touch With Reality In The Gulf Coast

Washington, DC - President Bush is in Louisiana and Mississippi today,
eighteen months after his Administration's incompetence following
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita further devastated the Gulf Coast. The
American people watched in horror then as pictures of the disaster
filled our TV screens, yet immediately following the disaster, the
American people also saw their President playing the guitar and eating
birthday cake while their fellow Americans suffered.

Even now, President Bush remains out of touch with reality, declaring
last month, "I think the federal bureaucracy responded pretty quickly
for Katrina...We set up the funds. Put people in place. The moneys were
spent. The moneys were distributed." Yet according
to a report by the Brookings Institution, more than half of New Orleans'
schools remain closed, only seventeen percent of buses are running and
rebuilding money is being distributed "one coin at a time." Post, Editorial, 3/1/07] Bush recently said it's hard to see from his
"beautiful White House" but that is no help to the more than a hundred
thousand Gulf Coast residents who are still living in temporary housing.


Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following
statement:

"Today as President Bush leaves the comfort of the 'beautiful White
House' to tour the Gulf Coast, he should open his eyes to the brutal
consequences of the Administration's failure to fulfill its promises to
the people in the region. Too many of our fellow Americans are still
struggling to rebuild their lives as they await assistance the Bush
Administration promised but has yet to deliver. This is the legacy of
the Bush presidency: incompetence, broken promises, and an inability to
lead our country. Democrats will never forget the people of the Gulf
Coast and will continue to work hard to honor our commitment to
rebuilding the region."

President Bush Promised To Get Residents Back Into Their Homes Quickly:
"When somebody goes back to their home, it helps renew the community,
and so part of our efforts, and part of our focus is to make sure that
people can get back in their homes as quickly as possible." Bush, 8/28/06]

110,000 Families Still Displaced And Living In Temporary Housing.
"Eighteen months after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is still a
'disaster,' according to a report released today by a Southern research
group tracking the recovery. ... About 110,000 displaced families are
still living in temporary government-issued trailers or receiving rental
assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, the
report said. Some rental aid has been extended to August 2007 - two
years after the storm made landfall - but 'tens of thousands have
already been cut from the rolls,' said the report, titled 'A New Agenda
for the Gulf Coast.'"

President Bush Promised To Crack Down On Violent Crime: "If you want
there to be renewal and recovery, like we all do, you got to crack down
on violent crime. You got to send a message that the streets of New
Orleans are safe. And we'll help you do so."

Crime Has Led To Fear, Exodus From New Orleans. "Murders, robberies and
carjackings are some of the horrors visited upon a people who have
suffered enough. Fear and uncertainty about the future have contributed
to the acceleration of the departure of the middle class and educated
professionals, who were already bidding the city adieu before Katrina
blew ashore in 2005. And the population that has been left behind --
half of what it once was -- needs meaningful employment." Post, Editorial, 3/1/07]

Violent Crime Has Surged, Health Care Is Limited; "Parts of New Orleans
Still In Ruins." "Spurred by the determination of residents, the city
has made some progress since Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, but
recovery has been slow and parts of New Orleans still lie in ruins.
Health care is limited. Violent crime has surged, along with rental
costs. Many public schools have re-opened, but some are still struggling
to hire enough teachers."

President Bush's Promised To Provide Funds For Rebuilding: "The role of
government here, first and foremost, is to provide enough money to say
that the rebuilding effort will be robust."

Gulf Coast Residents Still Waiting For Rebuilding; Funds Remain
Unspent. "It's been almost 17 months since Hurricane Katrina pounded
coastal Mississippi and southeast Louisiana, and about a year since
Congress authorized the bulk of its rebuilding aid for the region. More
than four months have passed since President Bush visited New Orleans on
the anniversary of the storm and extolled the 'amazing' reconstruction
effort. But a review of the devastated region shows that rebuilding is
in a deep stall. Tens of thousands of residents remain displaced as
authorities dither over how to disburse housing assistance. Many crucial
infrastructure projects have yet to start. Of the tens of billions
appropriated by Congress, half remains unspent." 1/30/07]

Rebuilding Has Been Slow. "Despite $89 billion from the federal
government to rebuild the devastated Gulf Coast, New Orleans's recovery
has been slow. Painfully slow. ... More than half of the city's schools
-- 56 percent -- remain closed. And rebuilding money from Baton Rouge
under Louisiana's "Road Home" program seems to be distributed one coin
at a time. Only 632 applications had been approved out of the 107,739 on
file as of Feb. 12. Guarding against fraud is commendable, but it does
not excuse the continual delay in helping those who lost everything and
are eager to get on with their lives." 3/1/07]

Federal Bureaucracy Preventing Rebuilding. "Adding to the burdens of
dealing with anti-fraud regulations, Bay St. Louis also must deal with
an army of sometimes impenetrable federal agencies. The $50 million
reconstruction of Beach Drive, the city's long-admired main drag, has
yet to start, even though it has the attention of the state highway
department, the state attorney general's office, the federal highway
commission, FEMA and the Army Corps. The street can't be rebuilt until
an associated seawall and the adjacent pier are reconstructed. FEMA
calculates the pier alone will cost exactly $1,370,256.22. To the
surprise of locals, the Corps didn't request a congressional
appropriation until November, more than a year after the storm.
Spokesman Patrick Robbins says the project was submitted to Congress as
part of a package of other jobs, following agency policy." Journal, 1/30/07].

###

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any
candidate or candidate's committee.

[madfloridian]

1. Powerful statements. Kicking for more recommends.

I already did.

I got sick seeing Bush's photo ops there today. Our local news was showing him getting hugs and kisses, and oohing over his being there..

Sickening.

[ellisonz]

2. Kick

[JNelson6563]

3. Dean still speaks for me!

K&R! :kick:

I just love how plain spoken Dean is.

Julie