Gulf Coast Recovery from Speaker Nancy Pelosi | Issues

Gulf Coast Recovery

Speaker Nancy Pelosi | Issues

Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, was the worst natural disaster in America’s history. More than 1,800 lives were lost, 1.5 million people were at least temporarily displaced, nearly 500,000 homes in Louisiana and Mississippi were destroyed or made uninhabitable, and more than 81,000 businesses were damaged or destroyed.

Unfortunately, the immediate response of the Bush Administration to Katrina was marked by failure, incompetence and cronyism. Furthermore, over the next year and a half, the GOP-controlled 109th Congress failed to respond adequately – failing to enact much of the critically-needed relief for Gulf Coast residents whose lives had been up-ended by the storm.

As a result, one of the top priorities of the New Direction Congress in 2007 was to enact a much-delayed Gulf Coast Recovery package. This package provided assistance to help bolster levees, restore the coastline, recruit teachers, keep schools open, maintain health facilities, assist farmers and fishermen, provide housing assistance, assist small businesses, and retain law enforcement and other essential government employees. In addition to this package, the New Direction Congress has enacted other key Gulf Coast recovery legislation.

Also, since taking office in January 2009, the Obama Administration has taken several steps to improve Gulf Coast recovery efforts further. For example, the Administration:

• Has cut through bureaucratic red tape and expedited gridlocked projects by implementing new processes to streamline and resolve disputes.
• Has made continued progress on levee improvements. To date, more than 220 miles of levees and floodwalls have been repaired and restored to pre-Katrina levels of protection.
• Has made progress in moving Gulf Coast residents who had still been in temporary housing into long-term housing.
• To address the shortage of medical professionals, has provided $40 million in grants to bring 944 medical professionals to New Orleans for at least three years; and has provided $7 million in grants to fund community health centers, serving 50,000 people, in New Orleans.
• Has provided over $130 million in grants to renew damaged and displaced local criminal justice systems ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
• Has enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which funds investments totaling $5.1 billion in Louisiana and $3.5 billion in Mississippi.

Over the last five years, much progress has been made – in large part due to the resilience and resolve of the residents of the Gulf Coast. And yet challenges remain. Today, the work to recover and rebuild continues throughout the Gulf Coast. The Congress will continue to work together with the residents of the Gulf Coast to complete the work of recovery.

Speaker Pelosi on the Fifth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
“Five years ago, America watched Hurricane Katrina tear through homes, communities, and neighborhoods across the Gulf Coast. This natural disaster decimated New Orleans and other cities and towns, destroyed buildings, and displaced local families. When the levees fell, a human tragedy emerged – a story of poverty too often ignored; and an uncertain future awaited those left without standing houses or schools or businesses.

“In the wake of that horrific storm, we made a solemn pledge: we would not forget the people of the Gulf Coast. Over the last five years, we have worked to keep our promise. Upon assuming the majority in 2007, the New Direction Congress passed the much-delayed Gulf Coast Recovery package. Overall, in the time since Hurricane Katrina, Congress has invested nearly $120 billion in areas where the funds are needed most – in infrastructure, housing assistance, and school repair; in small business loans; and in levee improvements and other measures to prevent future flooding and damage.

“Since taking office, the Obama Administration has improved recovery efforts, helping Gulf residents cut through red tape and expediting gridlocked projects. Moreover, the Recovery Act has provided billions of dollars in investments along the Gulf Coast.

“Today, the work to recover and rebuild continues. Remembering the day Hurricane Katrina made landfall – with shocking images of destruction still fresh in our minds – we will work together to meet the challenges that remain and make progress for those on the frontlines of the storm. Their lives were changed forever five years ago, and their resilience and resolve inspire us to this day. In their name, we commit to complete the work of recovery.”

Gulf Coast Legislation Passed by the House
Some of the key legislation that has been enacted by the New Direction Congress to respond to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and to spur a Gulf Coast Recovery:

Gulf Coast Recovery Provisions (FY 2007 Supplemental Appropriations; PL 110-28; signed into law on May 25, 2007)

• Overall, provides $6.4 billion for Gulf Coast Recovery, which is $3 billion more than President Bush requested.
• Waives local match requirement under Stafford Act, saving the Gulf Coast region $1.9 billion and allowing work on 20,000 stalled projects to begin.
  
• Provides $1.35 billion in Community Disaster Loan forgiveness, eliminating the required repayment.
• Provides $4.3 billion in FEMA disaster recovery grants ($1 billion over the request of President Bush).
• Provides $1.3 billion for levee protection and coastal restoration.
  
• Provides $260 million for agriculture and fishery disaster assistance.
• Provides housing tax relief with extension of Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
• Extends access to $550 million in Social Services Block Grant funding to meet the health care needs of the region.
  
• Provides $80 million in rental housing assistance under HUD.
• Provides $30 million to recruit K-12 teachers and administrators.
• Provides $30 million to recruit higher education professors.
• Provides $25 million in Small Business Disaster Loans.

Gulf Coast Recovery Provisions (Water Resources Development Act; PL 110-114; became law on November 9, 2007 when Congress successfully overrode President Bush’s veto)

• Authorizes $1.9 billion for the Corps of Engineers to carry out a comprehensive program for wetlands and coastal restoration along the Louisiana coast in order to prevent serious damage from hurricanes in the future.

Gulf Coast Recovery Provisions (FY 2008 DOD Appropriations; PL 110-116; signed into law on November 13, 2007)

• Provides $3 billion in urgently-needed funding for the critically important Louisiana’s Road Home Program
• Louisiana’s Road Home Program is the state’s homeowner rebuilding program for homeowners whose houses were damaged or destroyed in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, providing up to $150,000 to homeowners to help them rehabilitate or rebuild their homes.

Gulf Coast Recovery Provisions (FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations; PL 110-161; signed into law on December 26, 2007)

• Provides a total of $6.3 billion for continued assistance to areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• This includes $4.4 billion for the relief activities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $1 billion more than requested by President Bush.
• It also includes $1.4 billion in funds for the Army Corps of Engineers to work on levees and other projects. President Bush had not requested any of these funds.

Gulf Coast Recovery Provisions (FY 2008 Supplemental Appropriations; PL 110-252; signed into law on June 30, 2008)

• Provides $5.8 billion to better protect the Gulf Coast region by further rebuilding and strengthening the levee protection system.
• Provides $73 million for permanent supportive housing vouchers targeted to the extremely low-income, disabled and elderly left homeless as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Gulf Coast Recovery Provisions (Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act; PL 110-329; signed into law on September 30, 2008)

• Provides $1.5 billion to allow the greater New Orleans area to pay the local cost share of hurricane and storm damage reduction projects over a 30-year period and ensure work is done by the end of 2011.
• Provides $85 million for the Disaster Housing Assistance program, which is designed to help Katrina survivors settle in areas across the United States that were not affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Gulf Coast Recovery Provisions (FY 2009 Supplemental Appropriations; PL 111-32; signed into law on June 24, 2009)

• Provides $797 million for the Army Corps of Engineers for levee protection and coastal restoration along the Gulf Coast.
• Provides $80 million for Tenant-Based Section 8 vouchers for low-income individuals in the Gulf Coast affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Gulf Coast Recovery Provisions (FY 2010 Supplemental Appropriations; PL 111-212; signed into law on July 29, 2010)

• Provides $5.1 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund, equal to President Obama’s request. This amount is necessary to pay for known costs of past disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, as well as for addressing the needs that arise from new disasters.

Other Key Legislation

• Relieve Gulf Coast homeowners from indebtedness on their principal residence if they declare bankruptcy. (Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act; PL 110-142; signed into law on December 20, 2007)
• Provide assistance to certain Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including the Southern University of New Orleans, Dillard University, and Xavier University, allowing them to continue to receive pre-hurricane funding levels despite large decreases in enrollment. (Higher Education Opportunity Act; PL 110-315; signed into law on August 14, 2008)
• Create the Education Disaster and Emergency Relief Loan Program, providing loans to colleges and universities that have been and may be impacted by a federally declared major disaster or emergency. (Higher Education Opportunity Act; PL 110-315; signed into law on August 14, 2008)
• Require the Secretary of Education to develop and maintain a disaster relief plan to address the safety and well-being of students, faculty and staff in institutions of higher education in the event of a natural or man-made disaster declared. (Higher Education Opportunity Act; PL 110-315; signed into law on August 14, 2008)
• Provide disaster victims with increased SBA Disaster Assistance benefits, including immediate access to loans of up to $14,000 without collateral and a $500,000 increase in the disaster loan cap to businesses. (Farm Bill; PL 110-246; became law on June 18, 2008, when Congress successfully overrode the President’s veto)
• Impose new fines and prison terms of up to 30 years for committing fraud in connection with a major disaster or emergency declaration. (Emergency and Disaster Assistance Fraud Penalty Enhancement Act; PL 110-179; signed into law on January 7, 2008)