Why is the city of NO or the state of LA getting a free pass?

[nelms]

I'm totally perplexed on how our national media has given a free pass to the NO city government and the state government of LA.

Wasn't it the local and state government's evacuation "plan"?

And why didn't their evacuation "plan" call for providing transportation to those folks that could not get out on their own before the hurricane? You see the picture of hundreds of school buses sitting in flooded waters. Wouldn't it have been wise to maybe use these buses to get some of these people out to a safer area?

Wasn't it their brilliant idea to evacuate these folks to the Superdome without a "plan" on how to manage them once they got there? I mean, didn't they even think that maybe they should have a supply of food and water on hand for at least a couple of days for those staying at the Superdome. Didn't they even think that maybe having some security/police on hand to maintain law and order was a good idea?

I'm not saying the federal government shouldn't be held responsible for some of these problems. I personally think that the head of FEMA should be fired for incompetence. I also think it was a mistake to have moved FEMA under Homeland Security. But, it was the imcompetance of local government officials that was the number one factor in contributing to the mess that this natural disaster left behind.

[Xameil]

No they shouldn't be given a free pass. Neither should the people who were told to leave but decided to stay. But that's what we do...we blame the federal government first, and close our eyes to the obvious.

People like to jump and say it's the current admins fault, but, NO has been asking for federal money since the 1960's to strengthen the levees. So in a way, yes, it's the Feds fault for not giving the money from 1960 to now, but it's the French's fault for building a city under the water level....let's blame them too.

[@DCGoldPants]

ummmm,

Senate shores up La. flood control

Money would allow new construction Saturday, June 18, 2005 By Sheila GrissettEast Jefferson bureau

The tug-of-war that is the appropriations process on Capitol Hill has, for now, restored enough money to allow some new flood- and hurricane-protection construction in southeast Louisiana during the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 -- but it's only Monopoly money until the budget game ends.

This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee returned about $31 million to the proposed 2006 budget that the Bush administration and House Appropriations Committee took away from flood and hurricane work during their first bite at the budget apple earlier this year.

Later this summer, the House and Senate committees will sit down as a single conference committee to reconcile the differences in the spending recommendations for the Army Corps of Engineers, which supervises and underwrites hurricane-protection work for the Lake Pontchartrain and West Bank areas and flood-control projects under the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control program, known as SELA.

The conference bill that results will go to the president for signing, and the numbers will make a world of difference to residents who live in the geographical bowl that is the New Orleans area, according to corps supervisors and a phalanx of elected and appointed officials who have made repeated trips to Washington in recent months to plead for money.

"Today was a really good day for" us, Jefferson Parish Council Chairman Tom Capella said of the successful push Tuesday by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., to get the Senate Water and Natural Subcommittee to restore money slashed by the administration and House appropriations members. On Thursday, the full Senate Appropriations Committee followed suit.

"We feel pretty certain that it will stay through the full Senate," Capella said. "But we can't let up."

SELA contracts

If the additional $31 million remains, local corps officials said the agency should be able to award four new SELA contracts this year in Orleans and Jefferson parishes and continue project planning in St. Tammany Parish. The new contracts would likely include the final contract needed to complete the new Dwyer Road Pump Station system in New Orleans, improvements to the Soniat Canal between Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Canal No. 3 on the East Bank, installation of a diesel engine at the Westwego Pump Station, and modifications to the Cross Canal at Lapalco Boulevard on the West Bank.

"It's possible that the money would even allow us to award two contracts on Florida Avenue projects, but it's too soon to know about that," said corps' SELA project manager Stan Green.

"But if the money doesn't stick, it's unlikely that we could award any new contracts," he said. "And we'd probably have to talk to our contractors on existing (projects) about how to keep them going."

Levee work could continue

Congress gave the corps $32.7 million for the SELA program this year, but the Bush administration House appropriations panel sliced that to $10.5 million for the upcoming fiscal year. The Senate Appropriations Committee has restored SELA to $37 million.

Marcia Demma, chief of the corps' Programs Management Branch, said she believes the conference committee will settle on a figure somewhere between the two extremes.

"Of course, we hope it's closer to the Senate version because it would provide more safety during hurricanes, more flood control and be good for the New Orleans economy," said Demma, who doesn't expect the conference committee to act before July at the earliest.

There also has been money restored for more Lake Pontchartrain and vicinity hurricane protection work.

In this budget year, that program got $5.1 million, originally reduced to $2.97 million for the 2006 fiscal year, but now reset by the Senate to $7.5 million.

"This would probably allow us to do some levee work in Jefferson and St. Charles parishes and maybe get a new contract out in New Orleans -- depending on how much we actually get, " said Al Naomi, senior manager of the Lake Pontchartrain program.

"It will allow us to get out of the hole, and it will take at least some of the pressure off our local sponsors," he said of the levee districts, parishes and municipal agencies that are forced to pay for hurricane-protection projects previously covered by federal dollars.

West Bank a priority

Corps money for the separately financed West Bank hurricane protection work wasn't nearly so hard hit; the Bush administration and the House reduced it from this year's $30 million level to $28 million for the upcoming fiscal year. The Senate has proposed a further reduction to $25 million.

Demma said federal money for the West Bank work is protected largely because it is one of nine projects nationwide declared by the administration a few years ago to be "national (funding) priorities."

"The administration said it received the designation because it is an urban area where storm damage occurs," she said. "And because the West Bank is a relatively new project, it currently provides significantly less protection than the Lake Pontchartrain project provides."

Despite that national priority designation, the Senate Appropriations Committee reduced West Bank by a further $3 million.

"Congress funds what it wants to fund," Demma said.

nobody has been asking for Federal Money? Why would you even try to make that up?

[SkinsNut73]

I agree....especially on the part about the Superdome. There's nobody to blame that on except the local officials.

The mayor told everyone to bring enough food/bedding for a few days because it would take that long for the city to get those items in there. So where was HIS pre-planning on this? Bush is getting blamed because he had advance warning of the storm and "did nothing". Well, Nagin had the same advanced notice and did nothing.

The security issue is also something I've been thinking about - good point nelms. If you take 10-20K people from AnyCity, USA and stick them in enclosed quarters you are bound to have trouble. Granted, you might be using the vast majority of your police force outside the Superdome...but I would think if you plan on sending that many people there, that it should occur to you that some sort of security should be in place.

I too believe the Feds need to take some heat on this issue, but I do place more of the blame on the local/state gov't as well.

I was watching Matt Lauer on the Today show yesterday and he is the only one I have seen who even attempted to put some blame on the mayor. Most who stick a microphone in front of the mayor are just letting him air his gripes about the Governor and President. Nobody (at least not that I've seen) has specifically pinned him down yet.

[@DCGoldPants]

also from June

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20050606/ai_n14657367/print

New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers faces

Deon Roberts

In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding.

It would be the largest single-year funding loss ever for the New Orleans district, Corps officials said.

I've been here over 30 years and I've never seen this level of reduction, said Al Naomi, project manager for the New Orleans district. I think part of the problem is it's not so much the reduction, it's the drastic reduction in one fiscal year. It's the immediacy of the reduction that I think is the hardest thing to adapt to.

There is an economic ripple effect, too. The cuts mean major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now.

Money is so tight the New Orleans district, which employs 1,300 people, instituted a hiring freeze last month on all positions. The freeze is the first of its kind in about 10 years, said Marcia Demma, chief of the Corps' Programs Management Branch.

Stephen Jeselink, interim commander of the New Orleans Corps district, told employees in an internal e-mail dated May 25 that the district is experiencing financial challenges. Execution of our available funds must be dealt with through prudent districtwide management decisions. In addition to a hiring freeze, Jeselink canceled the annual Corps picnic held every June.

Congress is setting the Corps budget.

The House of Representatives wants to cut the New Orleans district budget 21 percent to $272.4 million in 2006, down from $343.5 million in 2005. The House figure is about $20 million lower than the president's suggested $290.7 million budget.

It's now up to the Senate. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, is making no promises.

It's going to be very tough, Landrieu said. The House was not able to add back this money ... but hopefully we can rally in the Senate and get some of this money back.

Landrieu said the Bush administration is not making Corps of Engineers funding a priority.

I think it's extremely shortsighted, Landrieu said. When the Corps of Engineers' budget is cut, Louisiana bleeds. These projects are literally life-and-death projects to the people of south Louisiana and they are (of) vital economic interest to the entire nation.

The Corps' budget could still be beefed up, as it is every year, through congressional additions. Last year, Congress added $20 million to the overall budget of the New Orleans district but a similar increase this year would still leave a $50 million shortfall.

One of the hardest-hit areas of the New Orleans district's budget is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes. SELA's budget is being drained from $36.5 million awarded in 2005 to $10.4 million suggested for 2006 by the House of Representatives and the president.

The project manager said there would be no contracts awarded with this $10.4 million, Demma said.

The construction portion of the Corps' budget would suffer if Congress doesn't add money. In 2005, the district received $94.3 million in federal dollars dedicated to construction. In 2006, the proposal is for $56 million.

It would be critical to this city if we had a $50 million construction budget compared with the past years, Demma said. It would be horrible for the city, it would be horrible for contractors and for flood protection if this were the final number compared to recent years and what the city needs.

Construction generally has been on the decline for several years and focus has been on other projects in the Corps.

The district has identified $35 million in projects to build and improve levees, floodwalls and pumping stations in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Charles parishes. Those projects are included in a Corps line item called Lake Pontchartrain, where funding is scheduled to be cut from $5.7 million this year to $2.9 million in 2006. Naomi said it's enough to pay salaries but little else.

We'll do some design work. We'll design the contracts and get them ready to go if we get the money. But we don't have the money to put the work in the field, and that's the problem, Naomi said.

The Appropriations Committee in Congress will ultimately decide how much the New Orleans district will receive, he said.

Obviously, the decisions are being made up there that are not beneficial to the state, in my opinion, Naomi said. Let's put it this way: When (former Rep.) Bob Livingston (R-Metairie) was chairman of the Appropriations Committee, we didn't have a monetary problem. Our problem was how do we spend all the money we were getting.

its no secret that the funding was going backwards. It wouldn't matter, even with a Trillion, there wasn't enough time to do anything for this Hurricane

[@DCGoldPants]

nobody is getting a free pass.

Everybody blew it in their own way.

State, City, Fed, Individuals.

Believe me, there is plenty of blame to go around.

Right now, how about shelving the blame.

[Burgold]

It could be because when you see the level of devestation, people know that a city doesn't have the means to deal with it, just not enough resources. However, we've seen the Federal Gov't step in many times after Hurricanes, Earthquakes, tsunamis and they've historically done a pretty miraculous job in providing immediate medical aid, support and shelter. This time, they have not done as good a job and we're starting to hear cries of, "Well, they didn't ask so we didn't help" or "No one ever thought this could happen" or "It's really all their fault." or "We didn't know they were there and needed food and water" which sounds pretty to hollow to many ears.

[Thiebear]

Bush doesnt know that Aunt May down the street has no car and relatives in Alabama.

The local parish does.. the local people do...

1st..

The Mayor comes 2nd with his preplaning and memo to that effect: Everyone that lives there should have had a designated place to go... There are a ton of schools/arena's etc.. Buses etc...

then the Emergency Personel Office people .... totally failed.

The Gov comes 3rd with other Gov's in the surrounding states with coordination.

Then theres Fema and the Feds...

[nelms]

Right now, how about shelving the blame.

That request should be addressed to the national media, media whores like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and to most Democrats who see this as an opportunity to bash the Bush administration.

I agree that now is not the time to play the blame game. But if they're going to do it, let's at least get all the guilty parties out in the open.

[RDSKNfaithfull]

The local goverment is a joke. Its a shame they point the finger:doh:

Anybody catch Clinton? said our Govermant has let the people of New Orleans down.

[SkinsNut73]

I also think the people of New Orleans are getting a "free pass".

Now, I hope this does not come across as insensitive because it is surely not intended that way. In fact, I've commented in other threads how heartbroken I feel over the people interviewed who said they had no money to get out of town.

But as the days pass and you start to think this through, I think SOME residents also have to accept blame. I have never known what it is like to be as poor as some there...I know the stats about 30% living below poverty....I've never been that poor. But this was a LIFE THREATENING storm. Even if I am dirt poor, I cannot see resigning myself to the fact that I can't get out of town. I just don't understand that mentality.

I would think my "survival instincts" would kick in and I would find some way of getting out of town. At the very least, find some way of making it to the Superdome (that turned into a whole other mess after the fact, but I'm trying to get into the thought process as the storm is bearing down on you).

In the days ahead it looks like we may find 10K dead...I can't put all of that on the gov't. It just boggles my mind to think you would resign yourself to death like that. Granted, some really did have no means of escape. But I think some blew off the storm as "it'll probably pass like all the others do...weathermen are never right". If we do find 10K dead, how many really had no means of escape...and how many got caught in an "oh ****, this is going to be worse than I thought"?

[nelms]

I also think the people of New Orleans are getting a "free pass".

Now, I hope this does not come across as insensitive because it is surely not intended that way. In fact, I've commented in other threads how heartbroken I feel over the people interviewed who said they had no money to get out of town.

But as the days pass and you start to think this through, I think SOME residents also have to accept blame. I have never known what it is like to be as poor as some there...I know the stats about 30% living below poverty....I've never been that poor. But this was a LIFE THREATENING storm. Even if I am dirt poor, I cannot see resigning myself to the fact that I can't get out of town. I just don't understand that mentality.

I would think my "survival instincts" would kick in and I would find some way of getting out of town. At the very least, find some way of making it to the Superdome (that turned into a whole other mess after the fact, but I'm trying to get into the thought process as the storm is bearing down on you).

In the days ahead it looks like we may find 10K dead...I can't put all of that on the gov't. It just boggles my mind to think you would resign yourself to death like that. Granted, some really did have no means of escape. But I think some blew off the storm as "it'll probably pass like all the others do...weathermen are never right". If we do find 10K dead, how many really had no means of escape...and how many got caught in an "oh ****, this is going to be worse than I thought"?

I think you're spot on. I'm sure there were some folks that didn't think the hurricane would be so devastating, but I still feel bad for them. It didn't help that the local government and mayor basically provided no help in the evacuation.