CONGRESSMAN THOMPSON TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO GULF COAST
Lawmakers Return to Region, Delivering on Promises, Establishing Partnership for the Future
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, August 10, 2007
August 10, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) today announced that he will be joining congressional delegation of 16 House members, including the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to the Gulf Coast region just prior to the two-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The trip, which runs from August 12-14, will allow Democratic Members to return to a region they visited a year ago and assess the impact of the legislation they passed in the first stage of their new majority.
“House Democrats traveled to the region last year, promising a New Direction for the Gulf Coast,” said Congressman Thompson. “In seven short months Democrats have delivered on that promise. We appropriated over $6.4 billion for Gulf Coast recovery assistance and passed a provision to waive the local fund matching requirement under the Stafford Act, which will allow access to funding for thousands of rebuilding projects in the region that have been stalled for months.”
“I look forward to assessing the progress in the region and determining the current needs around infrastructure, education, health care, public safety and housing,” continued Rep. Thompson. “We must renew our commitment to the Gulf Coast and establish a partnership for the future.”
The three-day trip will focus on the progress made and outstanding needs in the areas of education, housing, health care and infrastructure. In Louisiana, the lawmakers will hold a policy conference with local and state officials, visit the Lower 9th Ward, tour the St. Bernard Health Center, visit a New Orleans school, tour the New Orleans levee system, and visit the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans. In Mississippi, Members will tour the consolidated Pass Christian school system, visit a family living in a formaldehyde-laced FEMA trailer, take a windshield tour of Pass Christian and hold a town hall meeting in Bay St. Louis on insurance reform.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please contact Dena Graziano at (202) 225-9978
