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Printer Friendly | E-mail to a Friend | Share on Facebook Two key senators go to bat for N.O. By Jeff Duncan The Times-Picayune Two of Congress's most fiscally conservative Republican senators, Arizona's John McCain and South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, pledged their support to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans on Friday in a whirlwind visit lauded by locals who have been attempting to lure high-powered lawmakers to the region. But only McCain said definitively that he supports President Bush's demand that Congress target $4.2 billion in housing aid to Louisiana. "I am totally in favor of that," said McCain, a leading hopeful for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. "So, the answer is, yes. I support the president." Graham, on the other hand, said he believes the federal government has a financial obligation to help the city rebuild, but wants to see a fully developed "game plan" first. When asked if he supports Bush's call to earmark the housing aid for Louisiana, he said, "I don't know yet." Speaking from the dilapidated driveway of a crumbling home across the street from the 17th Street Canal breach, the senators addressed a crowd of about 50 residents and members of Women of the Storm, a nonpartisan group of civic activists who, in conjunction with Sen. David Vitter, R-La., helped coordinate the visit. The senators were flanked by about three dozens students from the Academy of the Sacred Heart, who were invited to join the event when organizers saw them touring the debris-strewn neighborhood in a pair of school buses. The flood-ravaged three-bedroom home at the intersection of Spencer and Bellaire avenues served as a poignant backdrop for the 20-minute news briefing. To the left of the senators, an American flag hung from a rusty pipe. To the right, a waist-high mound of debris stretched the length of the muddy front yard. Behind them, a bright orange "No Trespassing" sign hung from the home's entry way, which was visible through its destroyed walls. "I leave here with renewed optimism," Graham said. "If all it takes is some money, then you all are going to get some money. Shame on us if we don't learn from this. Let's not pass on to these girls the mistakes we have made." Game plan comes first But the senators cautioned that billions in aid will be contingent upon local leaders' laying out a comprehensive, coordinated recovery plan in the coming weeks. "The game plan to rebuild this area is much more mature than I realized," Graham said. "Before we spend $4.2 billion I want to see a game plan. I will write checks, but we need to have a game plan." Graham drew the biggest reaction when he applauded the Women of the Storm and local political leadership for their work to consolidate the region's levee boards and reform what he called "the good-old-boy system." The visit came two days after Bush made a similar appearance and urged Congress to keep the money he requested solely for Louisiana. Bush also rebuked Congress for diverting $1.5 billion targeted to armor levees, add new pumping stations near Lake Pontchartrain and close off canals that failed and flooded much of the city after Hurricane Katrina. He called on lawmakers to restore that money. Congress is not expected to vote on the supplemental spending package, the fourth since the storm, until May. While adding that he thinks the needs of Mississippi, Alabama and Texas residents still need to be met, McCain said that the housing money, which is part of a $92 billion supplemental spending request Bush proposed last month, including $19.8 billion for Gulf Coast recovery aid, might not be enough. "I am for doing what is necessary -- $4.2 billion, $10.5 billion, $50.5 billion," he said after bristling at a reporter's request that he clarify his stance on Bush's statement. "The $4.2 billion is not the end of the requirement." Spreading the word McCain and Graham were accompanied on the visit by Wendy Vitter, the wife of Louisiana's junior senator. Her husband could not attend Friday's tour because of another commitment, spokesman Mac Abrams said. Anne Milling, the co-founder of Women of the Storm, challenged the senators to deliver the group's message to Washington. "We're all working together, hand-in-hand, to rebuild this wonderful city," she said. "Be ever-mindful that a great national disaster has occurred here. And we deserve a national response." By an unofficial tally, 82 of 435 House members and 40 of 100 senators have toured the region since Katrina and Rita devastated south Louisiana six months ago. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is scheduled to visit Lakeview and south Louisiana as the guest of Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., on Monday. "It's necessary for every member of Congress to come down here," said McCain, who is scheduled to visit storm-affected areas of the Mississippi Gulf Coast today. "You can't appreciate the enormity of it until you come down here. We have an enormous long-term environmental challenge here. " Friday's visit came a week after 34 House members conducted a three-day tour of the area, as well as parts of Mississippi and Alabama. Because of business in Washington, McCain and Graham spent only a single day in the city after arriving late Thursday night. Their day started with a series of briefings by civic and business leaders, including Mel Lagarde, co-chairman of the Bring New Orleans Back commission; Sean Reilly, a member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority; and King Milling, the chairman of he Louisiana Commission on Coastal Restoration. The senators were then briefed by Army Corps of Engineers officials before boarding a passenger van and embarking on a two-hour ground tour. The tour, led by Brig. Gen. Hunt Downer of the Louisiana National Guard, took the group through hard-hit parts of the Lower 9th Ward, eastern New Orleans and Lakeview. After the press conference, several residents approached both men to thank them for visiting and to voice their concerns. A better day ahead Graham told residents he could sympathize with their plight after witnessing the destruction Hurricane Hugo wrought on his home state in 1989. "Charleston is stronger, is better today. So, too, shall be New Orleans," Graham said. "At the end of the day, you'll have a new New Orleans." Debbie Landry, a Lakeview resident and member of Women of the Storm, told McCain her three-bedroom home a few blocks away was completely flooded, and that she has lived in a FEMA trailer for the past few months. The homes of her parents and children also were damaged by the flood. "We lost everything," Landry said through tears as she hugged McCain. "We have no family home. We have no family home." Another neighbor asked McCain to return to Washington and tell his colleagues "we need their help." "I think I got that message," he said. |
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