Press Conference to Discuss President's Request for New Katrina Housing Funds, Washington, D.C., February 15, 2006

Release Date: 02/15/06 00:00:00

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact:  DJ Nordquist, (202) 357-8150
February 15, 2006

MODERATOR POWELL:  Good afternoon.  How are you all?  I thought maybe I said something wrong.

GOVERNOR BLANCO:  You thought you were in church.

MODERATOR POWELL:  Yes.  I thought I was in church.  We're not going to pass the offering plate, I promise you.

            As you know and you have heard me say many, many times, today marks another event that gives evidence that the President is committed to rebuilding the Gulf Coast area.

            Sometime about December 15th, we were in the Capitol.  And we had another press conference after I had been to Louisiana many, many times.  And I recall coming back and talking with the President. I said there are three issues in Louisiana.  One is levees.  Two is levees.  Three is levees.  What I was really telling the President is safety was of the utmost importance to the people of Louisiana.  In order for the people to come back to their homes, in order for business to establish operations, in order for city government to be up and going, it was critically important that the people felt safe.

            Thus, the President requested and Congress obliged $3 billion for building the levee system better and stronger than it has ever been before.

           I'm happy to report today that work has commenced.  Shovels are in the ground.  I visited with the Corps, some members of the Corps yesterday.  And they say they are on time within their time frame for a target date of 1 June of this year to complete that work.

            The second issue that became very apparent to me visiting with the good people in Louisiana was housing.  Housing was critical.  It's home.  It's the heart.  Jobs, health care, education, infrastructure.  Without housing, it was an academic exercise.  Safety first, housing second.             Jobs, education, health.   All of those are very important.  But if I don't have a place to live or I feel like there's hope for me to come back in my home or to repair my home, it's not.  It's not.  So I'm not thinking about jobs.  So housing was extremely important.

            That's the United States Congress at the request of the administration approved $11.5 billion of CDBG money.  6.2 was allocated to the people of Louisiana.  And we look at a variety of scenarios from Louisiana.

            It became very, very clear after visiting with a lot of my new acquaintances and friends in Louisiana that there were really two challenges as it relates to housing in Louisiana.  One was to protect, to protect against future flooding disasters and not just simply to repair.  So in the $6.2 billion, there was allocation, we felt like enough money to speak to the issue of repairing the damaged homes.

            As I said, there are two challenges in Louisiana.  And one is to protect against future flooding, mitigation issues, hazard mitigation.  Strategies of where and how to rebuild will be the state and the local decisions.  And the CDBG money provides a flexible source of funding to implement their plans as it relates to rebuilding homes in Louisiana.  Again, not simply to repair but to protect.  So the $4 billion relates to the mitigation issues in housing and infrastructure.

            We have been in constant dialogue, constant dialogue with the leaders representing the region.  And I am encouraged, terribly encouraged, I was going to say, by the progress that we have made.  I visited with people in the parishes; the mayor and the mayor's office; the governor; members of the LRA, the Louisiana recovery Association.  It was a series of meetings to come to some conclusions describing their needs to me, describing their needs to rebuild Louisiana.  Thus, we conveyed those needs to the Administration.

            And the President is committed.  And we're announcing today that an additional $4.2 billion will be part of the supplemental that will go to Congress tomorrow requesting these monies.

           MODERATOR POWELL:  We would be happy to take some questions, but I am going to ask the senator if he would like to make a comment and then the governor and the mayor and whoever else. Senator?

            SENATOR VITTER:  Thank you very much, Chairman Powell.  I want to say two things very simply.  Number one, this is a great day for the people of Louisiana, particularly those hardest hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  This is a very, very important commitment.

            I applaud Don Powell for his leadership.  I thank the President again for his continuing commitment.  I thank everyone in this room and outside of this room who worked on this additional $4.2 billion proposal.  It's very, very important and will help meet crucial needs of folks who in some cases have lost everything to rebuild better, stronger, move on with their lives, and move on with the life of wonderful communities throughout south Louisiana.

            The second thing I want to say is just a little cautionary.  This announcement doesn't mean it is over.  We need to pass this in Congress.  And then under the terms of all of this, the administration needs to receive and approve a detailed rebuilding plan before these funds are released.

            And so I just want to pledge my commitment and encourage everyone's commitment to come together in Louisiana and develop and fully flesh out that single unified detailed plan that we need to provide from Louisiana, a lot of work that has been done on that at the state level through the LRA, at the local level, including the Mayor's Bring Back New Orleans Commission and various parish presidents, their work, so a lot of good ground work.

            But we need to put it all together, wrap it in a bow, single, unified, detailed plan.  That is the single most effective and important thing we can do to pass this through Congress, number one; and then, of course, to gain the approval of HUD and the administration in terms of the actual release of these funds.

            So I look forward to redoubling my efforts in terms of that work, as I'm sure does everyone here. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  Governor?

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  Well, I'm here to say a very special thank you to the President.  It was a dark and almost frightful evening that evening in September in Jackson Square.  It was a very quiet, eerie feeling in a place that had only known life and vitality until Katrina roared through.

            But when the President of the United States stood there that night with lights beaming on him and I sat on a warm park bench watching him commit to the nation, his making of a commitment to Louisiana and to the Gulf Coast region for its redevelopment, I sat there wondering and hoping that this promise could become a reality.

            Today I know that he is fully committed to helping our people.  And so on behalf of the people of Louisiana, I have to say a very special thank you.

            Mr. President, you are committed.  We know you are here.  We know you care.  You sent us Chairman Don Powell, who has come to know us.  We have here a number of the parish presidents of parishes that were particularly heavily impacted.  We have here members of the LRA.  And we have an outstanding congressional delegation.  They made such a strong commitment to their work here in Washington to help us in Louisiana, to help their people, our people.  And so there are a lot of hands that have labored in the fields of love trying to get us beyond the place where we are today.

             When I sat with Don Powell and Andrew Card and Al Hubbard recently, we talked about the homes of our people.  Certainly, as Chairman Powell said earlier, when we came out of the devastation, we knew that we had to have levee protection.  Levees, levees, levees, yes.  Levees, levees, yes.

            And then we knew that would be the only way that we could bring homes back.  So today it's homes, homes, homes, hundreds of thousands of homes that have been devastated but not just by Katrina.  Rita roared in less than a month later and ruined thousands more homes.

            So we've got a huge task ahead of us.  We have so many thousands of Louisiana people who are not able to get into their homes yet.  But this money is going to be directed straight to the citizenry, straight to our people, who need to be back in their homes.

            But we want them to be in a safer environment than they were in before.  That will be, of course, levees but, of course, smarter planning.  We're going to design a safer, smarter Louisiana.

            Now, I have to say that I asked a group of people to join me as LRA members, the Louisiana Recovery Authority.  And some I had never met, I only knew by reputation.  Some I knew well.

            It's a very diverse group of people who made extraordinary commitments of time and energy and focus on our behalf.  I have just a couple of representatives here, but I want to say a special thank you to our vice chairman, Walter Isaacson.  He's located here.  And he has been voicing for us for a long time; and Sean Reilly, who has carried the ball in helping us through these negotiations.

            Now, I want to say that these numbers didn't just come from the sky.  They were carefully crafted legitimate numbers, analysis after analysis, evidence after evidence.  We took it seriously.  We didn't just make up a number.  We know that that doesn't fly here in Washington.

            Now, on Monday, when the LRA meets, we're going to unfold a very detailed housing plan that we know we can deliver.  Our choice before this was to deliver a plan that maybe all of the people got to the halfway mark of need or half of the people got help all the way.

            Those decisions were too challenging for us to make anything public in our plans.  But on Monday, now we feel secure enough with the knowledge that the President is backing us that we can go ahead and announce our anticipated plans.

            We know we have got a lot of work ahead with our members of Congress here.  They have really worked magnificently with us.  And he's not able to be here, but I have to say that Congressman Richard Baker has done an extraordinary bit of work on our behalf.

            While the Baker plan, as we call it in Louisiana, is not on the drawing boards to its fullest extent, we don't know where it might up.  Congress might want to surprise us, Mr. Chairman, with a little bit extra.

            But I want to say a special thanks to Richard Baker for the hard work that he put into this effort to help us design a plan that he put forth and one whose rudiments we may be able to implement to some extent.

            Now, we think that there is a lot of work ahead of us.  We know that we have got many challenges.  We have got the City of New Orleans.  We have got these parishes in southeast Louisiana.  We have got the entire coastline of Louisiana that has damaged homes.  And we are going to address the needs of our citizens with this money.

            So I want to say a special thank you from the people of Louisiana, from those who have been displaced whose lives have been so dramatically disrupted, and whose well being is in your hands.

            This we recognize is money from all the people of the United States of America.  And for that, we are especially grateful.  We are going to do our part.  We are going to work with Congress.  And we hope to see this come to a fruitful ending.  Thank you.

            MAYOR NAGIN:  Well, good afternoon, everyone.  It is truly a great day for the citizens of New Orleans and for Louisiana.  Let me first off start by thanking the President for this tremendous commitment.  When the President gets behind something, it normally happens.

            So I was commenting earlier that I feel like I have just won the Super Bowl.  So maybe I should go to Disney World.  But this is significant.  And I want to thank the President and his administration.

            I also want to thank Don Powell and his staff I have never worked with a more dedicated group that has worked tirelessly, that has heard our cries, listened to our complaints, but at the end of the day helped us to work through some very difficult analysis; also to the governor for her outstanding leadership in putting together the LRA and its dedication and support of what we have been doing in New Orleans with the Bring Back New Orleans Commission.  I want to thank all those commission members.

            But we have a special, very extra special, group besides our congressmen and our senators from Louisiana.  We have here with us some parish leaders. We have Aaron Broussard, who is here.  We have Junior Rodriguez.  And we have Benny Roussel.  Did I miss someone?  That's it. And Kevin Davis, who is not with us.

            We had a meeting last week.  And we decided to come together and to try and craft a unified plan for the metropolitan New Orleans area because we as leaders in that area represent 75 percent of the damaged homes throughout the state.  We came together and put together what we are calling the "Failed Levee Homeowner Recovery Program."  And I think that was the genesis of what we are here today talking about.

            We now have $12.1 billion to fix the state needs as it relates to housing only.  And we think that is going to be sufficient enough for us to get the job done.

            I want to thank the American people for their generosity, for sticking with us, for coming down to see about us, to visit us, to see the devastation, and to go back and talk to their congressmen and senators to help us keep the momentum going that something like this will happen.

            I am encouraged today and I am very hopeful that the next time all of you visit New Orleans or you visit Louisiana, that it's going to be a place that is totally rebuilt, that is totally modern but respects our past, and a place that all our citizens participate in in an equitable manner. Thank you very much.

           MODERATOR POWELL:  Congressman Jindal next, please.

            MR. JINDAL:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  I want to thank my House colleagues who have asked me to just say a couple of words on behalf of the House members, the delegation.  First, I want to echo the previous speakers to thank the Chairman, thank President Bush, thank the administration.

            Chairman Powell said it right when he said our first priority was continuously levees and coastal restoration.  But right behind that, we're certainly concerned about economic redevelopment and homeowners and housing.

            The reality is we are in an awful catch 22 in Louisiana in that people want to return.  They want to put their kids back in school.  They want to come back.  They want to go back to work.  They can't do that.  There's no place for them to live.  They can't do that if they don't get quick answers in terms of how they are going to pay their mortgages, how they're going to rebuild their homes.

            And so I applaud the administration for helping us begin to address one of our top priorities after levees and coastal restoration, which is housing and homeowners.

            Governor, I want to thank the Louisiana Recovery Authority.  I want to thank your group, the Louisiana Recovery Authority, for working closely with Chairman Powell and the administration.

            One of the things we heard was that it was so important for the groups to work together to define the problem, to agree on numbers.  So I want to thank your appointees and the administration and the authority for doing that.

            And, third, I want to echo something that    I know my constituents, I know many of our constituents are going to be very excited and eagerly await the authority's work on Monday, to find out the details of the program, find out how they can get help in rebuilding their homes, they can get answers to their questions.

            I want to echo something the mayor said. In closing, you know, I have talked a lot about how hopefully out of these awful storms, out of Katrina and Rita, hopefully we can rebuild an even better Louisiana, not simply rebuild what was there before.

            One sign of that, something you heard the mayor say, was having our five parish presidents, five parish leaders in the southeastern region come together.

            I think that's a tremendously positive sign that they are able to work together.  I applaud them, not only the ones that are here, but also I know there were some that couldn't travel and be here.

            I want to applaud them for putting aside their regional differences of working together for the good of the entire region.  I think that was a very positive step that helped us to get to this day.

            But mostly I just want to thank the administration for this commitment.  I think David is right.  We still have work to do.  We have to pass this.  We have to have a plan come to the LRA, come to the legislature.  But I think today is a very good day.  I want to thank the administration for their support.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  We're also honored to have the deputy HUD secretary here today.  Secretary Bernardi, would you like to say anything?

            MR. BERNARDI:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  I'm just very pleased, obviously, with the Louisiana delegation that is here.  The fact of the matter is that President Bush, Secretary Jackson, and the entire HUD family are committed to doing our part.

            The resources of the $6.2 billion that's already been appropriated will go through the Community Development Block Grant program.  And this allocation, as the senator indicated, is approved in another $4.2 billion.  That will go through the CDBG program as well.

            The fact of the matter is we have had tremendous experience with the disaster recoveries in so many different areas:  New York City, other hurricanes.  The plan is very important.  Governor, I'm just very pleased to hear that you have a good comprehensive plan that I know all of the parish presidents have signed off on and the mayor.

            The fact of the matter is that these action plans will be presented to HUD.  We look at these action plans.  We get some input.  Obviously we're there to do what the people on the ground would like to have done.

            Housing is a top priority after the levees, as the Chairman has indicated.  And we have the resources in place.  The $6.2 billion can be going out the door very shortly.  And then, obviously, with the passage of this proposal here, that would amount to about $10.4 billion and to the good people of Louisiana and New Orleans.  We have been waiting and are very patient.

            This was a disaster of cataclysmic proportions.  And I believe the President has responded.  And we at HUD and all of the other agencies are responding as well.  So we are looking forward to doing the work. Thank you.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  Okay.  Does anybody else want to make any comments?  Questions?  I'm shocked that you have questions.

            PARTICIPANT:  Hold your ears.  Listen up. Listen up.  Is this going where we need to go?

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  We think this is a sufficient amount to do a comparable program to what the State of Mississippi is planning to do.  And our citizens will have the opportunity to get as much as I think $150,000 less insurance and FEMA payments.

            The LRA, under the direction of Andy Coplin, who is the director of the LRA, will be announcing the details of that program on Monday.

            PARTICIPANT:  Other shortcomings, though?  Will this take care of small businesses?  Will it take care of just housings that were outside the floodplain?  When we're dealing with Mississippi, does this take care of houses inside the floodplain?

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  It's going to deal with all the houses.  We're not discriminating between in and out.

            MR. COPLIN:  This doesn't fund commercial businesses.  That's not part of this program, which was part of Congressman Baker's bill.  But that's not a gap that is being filled by this legislation.

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  We'll work on that some other day.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  As the plans are developed, you'll get the details of those plans. Yes, ma'am?

            PARTICIPANT:  Four questions.  First of all, what assurances can we get that FEMA will in Louisiana see these plans come to fruition?  We heard of all this FEMA money that hasn't even been distributed.  It's been tied up in red tape. You talk about housing.  People are getting kicked out of their hotels.  Kids have to go into shelters.  So what assurances are we going to have that this money will actually come into fruition is the first question.

            The second question is what is the timetable for this?  We are now coming upon the second hurricane system.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  The $6.2 billion has been approved by Congress.  So the 6.2 has been approved by Congress.  The additional 4.2 has not been approved by Congress.  It is part of the supplemental. So we have to wait for Congress to take action on that.

            But, as the Secretary said, the onus is now in the hands of the local people.  Come with a plan.  They, we, the United States government, are ready to disburse, transfer the money subject to a satisfactory plan.  And that can be as soon as the plan is developed, but it will be the local people's, the local folks' plan.

            So the money has been approved.  It is sitting, waiting to go to the good people of Louisiana.

            SENATOR VITTER:  I will also say one piece of good news is that this whole package has absolutely nothing to do with FEMA.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  Right.  Thank you.

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  And the state has dealt with Community Development Block Grants, commonly called CDBGs.  And we know how to work those kinds of programs.  We will also have some more unique programs on top of that.

            PARTICIPANT:  And the timing?

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  Well, on the first 6.2,  I guess we're  

            MODERATOR POWELL:  Mr. Secretary, when will the money transfer?  How fast can  

            MR. BERNARDI:  It will be ready in a couple of weeks.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  Okay.  A question back here?  Yes?

            PARTICIPANT:  Yes.  How does the plan deal with the fact that some people want to rebuild in areas  

            MODERATOR POWELL:  That plan is going to be developed by the local people.  They will address all of those issues.  The plan is a bottom up.  That's a plan that good people in Louisiana will speak to.  And I think it's very important that they understand all of this because, again, this money, as I mentioned earlier, was mitigation money.  So they understand that.

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  We have workshops going on right now where people are being engaged in talking about their futures and how to rebuild safely and what kinds of decisions they should make. We also are setting up housing  counselors that are independent of any particular group to give people the best advice in a situation where there is little or no pressure, just so that they can make their own decisions based on solid knowledge.

            PARTICIPANT:  So they will be able to build, even if it's not advisable?

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  Well, you know, then they have to deal with whether they're insurable and those kinds of questions.  They need all the information possible to be able to make the right decisions for themselves.

            SENATOR VITTER:  If I can just add, the single biggest question I hear in the Senate and in Congress is exactly what you're asking.  And I think the single most important thing we can do for ourselves is address that head on, boldly, and courageously as we put together the single unified detailed plan.

            PARTICIPANT:  Do you see the state setting off its own sort of Baker bill plan with this money?

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  We'll be doing something similar.  It wouldn't be funded quite at the level of the Baker bill, which also, by the way, included businesses.  But we'll be doing something similar to that with that buyout option.

            PARTICIPANT:  Including giving people some mortgages?

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  Well, I don't know how far we can go on that, but it will help some people with their mortgages.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  Yes, sir?

            PARTICIPANT:  Did I hear you say that this could mean as much as $150,000 per household?

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  Less insurance and less FEMA payments.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  Yes, sir?

            PARTICIPANT:  Could you clarify the issue of a unified plan?  Are we talking about a plan for New Orleans and the entire State of Louisiana?  And is releasing any of this $11 billion contingent on that plan being approved?

            MODERATOR POWELL:  Yes, yes.  I'm talking about a unified plan.  I'm talking about a unified plan for the entire state, which includes New Orleans. And it will be contingent upon a plan    as the senator said, the plan needs to be well thought out, needs to be very prudent, bold, detailed, what they're going to use the money for.

            PARTICIPANT:  And is it HUD's job to approve that?

            MODERATOR POWELL:  It is HUD's job, the secretary's job, to approve that.  Yes, sir.

            PARTICIPANT:  And, Governor, did I understand you to say that that is going to be released on Monday?

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  Yes.

            MR. COPLIN:  The outlines.

            GOVERNOR BLANCO:  The outlines of the plans will be released.

            MR. COPLIN:  The outlines of how the housing money could be used will be released.  I mean, I don't know whether that is exactly what is being asked for by HUD.  We will have to get that information from them.

            I want to make the comment if we are going to be able to successfully make the very, very difficult decisions that are being faced in some communities about safety, having the resources available to offer homeowners a buyout and give them the pre storm value of their homes has been a critical part of our discussions.

            Having the resources to help our homeowners elevate in areas where they may be below the new floodplain designations from FEMA is critical. And today's announcement gives us the resources so that local leaders, like the mayor and the parish presidents standing behind us can help work with our communities to make some of those tough decisions and offer viable alternatives for rebuilding and redevelopment in ways that citizens have a chance to embrace as a way to rebuild their lives in a safe way within their communities.

            PARTICIPANT:  But we're not talking about a detailed plan, such as what the Bring Back New Orleans Commission is working on putting out on Monday.

            MR. COPLIN:  That's correct.

            PARTICIPANT:  We're talking about guidelines for how the CDBG money will be spent.  Is that  

            MR. COPLIN:  That's correct.  It's guidelines on the CDBG money.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  We've got time for one other question.

            MR. COPLIN:  I'm Andy Coplin.  I'm the executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  We've got one more question.  Yes, ma'am?

            PARTICIPANT:  Could you tell me what the dollars  

            MODERATOR POWELL:  That will be announced tomorrow.  Details of that plan will be announced tomorrow.

            PARTICIPANT:  The seven members you've got here say they didn't even know about this until this afternoon.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  We've been in constant contact with a lot of folks in the parish, the state, and obviously the congressional delegation.

            PARTICIPANT:  If that is so, then how did they not know about it until this afternoon?

            MODERATOR POWELL:  If that is so what?

            PARTICIPANT:  How is it that these members of the delegation  

            MODERATOR POWELL:  Well, you're talking about this specific meeting.  We talk to them about lots of issues leading up to this.

            PARTICIPANT:  They're saying they didn't know about the $4 billion requested, the supplemental.

            MODERATOR POWELL:  Well, the supplemental was not agreed upon by the administration within hours, within days. Okay.  Thank you very much.

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