Prepared Remarks from Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding Donald E. Powell at Senator Landrieu's Hope and Recovery Summit

Thank you, Senator Landrieu, for that kind introduction and for your partnership over the past two years.  You and I may not see eye to eye on everything, but we share the same goal and the same calling:  to stand with the good people of the Gulf Coast and help them rebuild their lives, homes, and communities.  I applaud your commitment to your state and your constituents.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share a few thoughts today at this pivotal moment for the history of New Orleans.

I’ve spent countless days with the citizens of the Gulf Coast.  Like all of you, the past two years have been a roller coaster of emotions for me.  I’ve felt the pain of loss, the encouragement of steady progress, deep frustration with the pace of recovery, and excitement at the prospect of hopeful change.  I’ve been upset by partisanship and racial division, yet uplifted by examples of unity and by the friendships I’ve formed with so many of you here in Louisiana.  

More than anything else, my prevailing sentiment remains one of hope and optimism. 

Every week, I see more progress.  Critical infrastructure is being restored and rebuilt.  Failing schools are reopening - and many as hopeful new charters.  More and more citizens are coming back to once-devastated neighborhoods that are beginning to return to life.  Perhaps most importantly, the New Orleans area now has the best flood protection in its history, even as work continues on further improvements.

The Federal government has worked to support this progress by providing the resources necessary for local leaders to lay a solid groundwork for the future.  To date, the President and Congress have provided almost $115 billion for relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts - 84% of which has been disbursed or made available to state or local leadership.

Nothing reflects this President’s commitment to New Orleans more than our efforts to strengthen and improve a comprehensive system of hurricane protection for Southeast Louisiana.  Of course, everyone in New Orleans is a levee expert, so you already know the work achieved by the Corps these past two years:  repair and restoration of 220 miles of floodwalls and levees, I-walls to T-walls, armoring of flood walls, stronger transition points, interior pump station repairs and improvements, and of course flood gates at the three outfall canals to prevent surge.

These efforts have resulted in tangible improvements as anyone who saw the recent IPET maps can attest.  But that is not enough.  It is my firm belief that we should never have to revisit this tragedy again…which is why it is so critical to get the levee rebuilding done once and done right.

So when the Corps told us about the need for an additional $6.3 billion to achieve their stated goal of 100-year storm protection by 2011, this President stepped forward to meet that commitment.  But that was not all.  This President also recognized that interior drainage was especially important for this city given its unique environment.  Therefore, he went beyond the 100-year level of exterior protection and is also seeking the Federal share of $1.3 billion for SELA, a network of drainage projects to establish a more complete hurricane protection system for the New Orleans area.  The Administration will work with Congress, and with the Senator’s help, we will provide these additional funds for the safety of the people here in Southeast Louisiana. 

In addition to these funds—which will amount to roughly $15 billion —President Bush supported Louisiana’s efforts to gain access to oil revenues from drilling along the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)–after nearly 60 years of trying to tap into this annual funding stream.  And you can thank Senator Landrieu for her leadership and help to obtain this vital source of aid.

OCS revenue will begin flowing to the state in 2010 and is expected to reach $600 million to $800 million per year by 2017.  These funds will be key to the restoration of coastal wetlands, which we all know to be a key piece of hurricane protection.

Aside from the levees, the Federal government is providing more than $18 billion to Louisiana for housing, community and economic development, and public infrastructure like schools, police stations, and roads and bridges, as well as billions more for health care, social services, education, work force development, small business recovery, and other vital needs. 

These are important investments, and we will continue to do all that we can to ensure that all Federal aid results in tangible progress. 

However, as we are all very aware, money alone does not produce results.  The Federal government does not control how fast local leaders spend the funds that come from Washington.  And as I’ve said from the start this cannot be an exercise in centralized planning.  Local leadership must set priorities, make necessary decisions, and take action to ensure that those priorities are achieved.

That’s not to say that the Federal response has been blameless.  I will be the first to acknowledge our shortcomings.  You hear a lot about the challenges that FEMA has faced, and there have been legitimate concerns, as anyone who has dealt with the Project Worksheet process can attest. 

However, I have devoted a great deal of time and energy to identifying and correcting areas where the Federal government can improve its response while improving the transparency of all areas so the general public can closely watch what is going on. 

When it comes to public assistance, we’ve streamlined processes and demonstrated creative flexibility– including the recent decisions regarding FEMA funding for the City of New Orleans’ Sewage and Water Board, as well as the effort to help Paul Pastorek get started with five new schools by the beginning of next year. 

All told, these improvements reduced time for processing grants from months to weeks. 

FEMA estimates the state of Louisiana will ultimately receive $6.3 billion in funds to repair public infrastructure (schools, town halls, sewer and water system, firehouses, etc).

As of August 24, Louisiana has access to 80% of these funds, or $5 billion.  In other words, Louisiana has $5 billion in a bank account, ready to be spent on specific infrastructure projects.  Only 53% of these funds available to the state, or $2.6 billion, have made it into the hands of local applicants.

To accelerate the process of infrastructure repair, local leaders must make decisions about what to prioritize, award the contracts for design and construction, and monitor the progress. 

As Dr. Blakely has stated, and I quote: “We have to put the plans in place before we can spend the money….we have to work with the recreation department, we have to make sure the fire station and police station is in the right place and so on.  As we’re going through that, we really can’t spend any money because we can’t spend the money until we get agreement on the plans.”

To better distinguish between the responsibilities at all levels, including the Federal, we have instituted a “Transparency Initiative” that will make all information on where the Federal funds are for specific site information available in a clear and understandable way to the general public. 

So if a mom is trying to figure out if the school down the street is going to open, and if not, where the pressure needs to be applied to get the funding where it needs to be – she will have a clear tool on her computer to answer her questions instantaneously.  This will equip citizens to hold leaders at all levels accountable for getting work done.  If it is a Federal issue that is holding up the work then we will have another tool at the Federal level to identify and attack that roadblock.  That information is available at www.fema.gov for all to see. 

Dr. Blakely’s words demonstrate the reality of the situation:  the future of the Gulf Coast lies in the hands of your local leadership, both elected officials and regular citizens.  That’s not to say that the Federal government will not continue to be active and engaged; we will continue to meet certain direct responsibilities as appropriate.  And we will continue to play a supportive role and be a good partner. 

However, true transformation—the kind of change that everyone hopes and dreams about for New Orleans and Louisiana—will not happen without sustained leadership at the local level.

It’s the kind of leadership that is already on display in the education arena.  Heroic leaders like Leslie Jacobs, Sarah Usdin, Matt Candler, Paul Pastorek, Scott Cowen and others are working to redeem a system that was failing by every measure before Katrina.  I have also been overwhelmed by the more than 1 million volunteers who have descended on the city to help without reward, to give without receiving any credit in return. 

The Secretary of Education has been an active supporter of this change by investing $45 million in a new network of charter schools, and again, you can thank Senator Landrieu for championing these funds.  But true change is happening because local leaders are acting with courage, vision, and determination to end the old way of doing business. These leaders are working against considerable obstacles to chart a new course for public education in New Orleans—one that will have a truly transformative effect for this city. 

As we all know, there are many specific areas of real job skills education that are lacking in this area.  This type of job training got a big boost this past week when I joined Secretary Chao, from the U.S. Department of Labor, to reopen the Job Corps center in New Orleans.  This center will not only equip New Orleans’ workers with the skills they need, but also match those workers with the jobs that are driving this recovery.

That is heroic leadership. And it’s that kind of heroic leadership that is needed in all areas of recovery.  Criminal justice; work force development; health care reform; neighborhood planning; safer, smarter land-use; diversifying the regional economy - each of these areas is crying out for local leaders who will drive the positive change needed to make New Orleans the city that it can be.

In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again - if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Folks, I still believe that when history writes the book on Hurricane Katrina, it’s not merely going to be a tragedy.  It’s also going to be a story of renewal, rebirth, and redemption. 

But this kind of transformation will not happen without heroic leadership at the local level. I know I’m preaching to the choir—speaking to many of you who are already leading this change.  I applaud your determined efforts.  But I ask you to press on.  And I ask you to push others off the sideline and into the arena.

There are many obstacles that remain.  Today, this city stands in the middle chapters of its renaissance story.  As we continue to move forward, may you, as heroic local leaders, embrace the opportunity to be the main characters of this story.  May those of you who assume positions of responsibility be vigilant in leading the city toward positive change.  May you demonstrate heroic leadership.  And when you do, I pledge that I will be here to help you any way I can. 

This page was last modified on September 10, 2007