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Politics

Nagin says will is lacking to 'really fix' New Orleans

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 30, 2007

NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin told a Senate committee Monday that the rebuilding of New Orleans is getting shortchanged in light of the billions poured into the war in Iraq, and he suggested racism is part of the explanation.

Seventeen months after Hurricane Katrina struck, Nagin said he doesn't see evidence of "the will to really fix New Orleans."

"I think it's more class than anything, but there's racial issues associated with it also," said the black mayor of the mostly black city.

Nagin told the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is looking into the federal government's hurricane response, that he has heard various explanations for why money is not flowing quickly enough to New Orleans.

"And then I look at what we're doing in Iraq and how we spend money at an unprecedented level there, how we can set up temporary hospitals and designate money to rebuild their economy, and we have this dance going on in New Orleans," he said.

He said he is not asking for more money, just that the money allocated get to the city faster.

As of Jan. 18, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had agreed to pay for $334-million for infrastructure repairs in New Orleans, but Louisiana had forwarded only $145-million to the city. State officials have said city leaders failed to provide required documentation, which Nagin called cumbersome.

"From my perspective, not having the resources at the local level is the absolute killer of this recovery," Nagin said.

The committee hearing came nearly a week after President Bush drew fire for failing to mention recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast in his State of the Union speech.

Sen. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat and presidential hopeful, told the committee that the president's failure to mention the disaster contributes to questions about whether the government is committed to helping New Orleans rebuild.

"I hope we get some answers to the questions today," Obama said.

Donald Powell, the president's coordinator for the Gulf Coast recovery effort, pledged long-term support. "President Bush is committed to rebuilding the Gulf Coast."

[Last modified January 30, 2007, 01:01:43]