Continuing Progress: A 2-Year Update on Hurricane Recovery and Rebuilding

August 29th marks the 2-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina battering the Gulf Coast of the United States. Katrina and Rita, which hit the Gulf Coast less than one month apart, were two of the most intense hurricanes ever recorded in the nation's history. The storms affected 90,000 square miles - an area the size of Great Britain.  Over 80 percent of the city of New Orleans flooded - an area seven times the size of Manhattan.  More than 1.5 million people were directly affected and more than 800,000 citizens were forced to live outside of their homes - the largest displacement of people since the great Dust Bowl migrations of the 1930s.

President Bush continues to stand with local citizens and leaders struggling to rebuild their homes, lives and communities in the wake of these disasters.  While much work remains, significant progress has been made, and the Federal government will continue to be a good partner to the local leaders who must drive this rebuilding.

The Federal Government Has Provided More Than $114 Billion In Resources - $127 Billion Including Tax Relief - To The Gulf Region.  This funding is helping fulfill vital needs, including relocation, rental assistance, infrastructure repair, flood insurance payments, education, health care, and debris removal.

Over $96 Billion Of The $114 Billion (84 Percent) Either Has Been Disbursed Or Is Available For States To Draw From.  We are working with State and local leaders to help them rebuild the region, and the remainder of the funding will become available as the recovery process continues.  The Federal government plans to obligate every dollar - the funds are there and ready to be used.

More Federal Dollars are Making an Impact.  Over the past year, $24 billion in federal funds have been spent to rebuild the Gulf States and to further assist hurricane victims.  Federal dollars have been used to build houses and schools, repair damaged infrastructure, provide victims with a place to live, and provide other essential assistance as the region continues to get back on its feet.  Below is a partial list of Federal contributions that not only help the region recover, but also help local leaders lay a solid groundwork for a better and stronger future for residents of the Gulf Coast.

Rebuilding Homes and Communities

• With President Bush's leadership, Congress has provided a total of $16.7 billion in Federal funds under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grant program to help rebuild damaged housing and other infrastructure.  These funds will help hundreds of thousands of homeowners in disaster-affected areas repair and rebuild their homes, while also providing for vital economic and community development and increased affordable housing.  This is the largest single housing recovery program in U.S. history, and state officials must continue to work to get this aid to those who desperately need it.
• HUD has provided housing to families displaced by the storms: over 2,000 HUD-owned homes and 76,035 units in HUD-assisted or HUD-insured multifamily properties were repaired and leased to displaced families.  HUD has also provided 28,000 families with Disaster Vouchers to help them find rental housing, and repaired 3,523 units of public housing throughout the Gulf to make them habitable.
• Temporary housing assistance for Gulf Coast hurricane victims has been extended by 18 months until March 1, 2009.  HUD will take over management of this program from FEMA.  The program serves approximately 40,000 families displaced by the hurricanes.

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Strengthening Hurricane Protection

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) completed the repair and restoration of 220 miles of floodwalls and levees by June 1, 2006.  The Corps continues to improve the hurricane protection system, and the New Orleans-area now has the best flood protection in its history.  An independent group of 150 scientists - the Inter-Agency Performance Evaluation Task Force -- released maps that assess the risk associated with specific locations in the greater New Orleans area.  These maps clearly show the safety-enhancing effect of the President's commitment to 100-year storm protection.  If another Katrina were to hit tomorrow along the same track, the Corps does not expect New Orleans would have the same catastrophic flooding that occurred during Katrina.  
• Significant hurricane protection measures include:
• Flood walls reinforced at numerous locations
• I-walls replaced by stronger T-walls at breach sites
• Armoring of flood walls and strengthened transition points between flood walls and levees
• Interior pump station repairs and improvements
• Flood gates at the three outfall canals to prevent surge - The Corps now has 59 pumps in place with a total pumping capacity at the outfall canals of about 16,000 cubic feet per second.
• The Administration is committed to achieving full 100-year storm protection for Greater New Orleans by 2011.  The Corps has announced a need for an additional $6.3 billion to achieve 100-year protection, and $1.3 billion for a network of drainage projects to establish a more complete hurricane protection system for the New Orleans area.  The Administration is committed to work with Congress to provide these additional funds in order to protect the area's residents.  These levee improvements, combined with prior appropriations, total close to $15 billion.

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Restoring and Improving Education

• After the storm, more than 1,100 schools were closed (public, private and parochial) and 370,000 students were initially unable to attend school.  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) responded quickly by providing almost $2 billion to reopen schools in the Gulf Coast region and to help educate students displaced by the storms.  Affected colleges and universities received $200 million and another $30 million has been used to help recruit and retain educators along the Gulf Coast.
• In addition, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) has provided more than $1.2 billion to Louisiana and more than $270 million to Mississippi for the restoration of school buildings.  As a result, there will be more than 80 public schools open in New Orleans to serve a projected 33,000 students, roughly 6,000 more students than last year.
• In addition, ED has worked to support city and state leaders working to transform the public education system in New Orleans.  ED has invested more than $45 million to strengthen a network of charter schools that allow for more flexibility, greater accountability, and better results for the city's elementary and secondary students.  New Orleans charter school students scored higher than traditional public schools on the state test at every grade level, with some students showing vast improvement over their pre-Katrina levels.

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Repairing and Strengthening Infrastructure

• FEMA has provided $10.2 billion to repair and replace damaged public infrastructure such as roads and bridges, schools, firehouses, water systems, public buildings and public utilities, as well as to fund emergency protective measures and debris removal.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation has provided $2.35 billion for transportation recovery and rebuilding projects in Mississippi and Louisiana, including $139 million for aviation facilities.
• Since Hurricane Katrina, FEMA has funded the removal of 111 million cubic yards of debris in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi -- an amount of debris that would fill the Superdome in New Orleans more than 20 times.
• The Coast Guard helped with the recovery or disposal of marine debris from more than 620 commercial vessels and an estimated 4,000 recreational vessels that sank or grounded during the storm.  It also coordinated the cleanup of more than 8 million gallons of spilled oil. 

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Extending Compassion, Providing Health Care, and Social Services

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has provided $2.7 billion for ongoing health care and social services.  This includes more than $1.3 billion in Louisiana alone for health care services for the uninsured, mental health services, support for primary care clinics and private hospitals, and recruitment and retention incentives for doctors, nurses, and psychiatrists in New Orleans.  HHS has also worked closely with the state of Louisiana to promote a more efficient, effective and compassionate system of health care in Louisiana and encourage reforms that will increase citizens' access to high-quality health care, regardless of income.
• The Veterans Administration (VA) is replacing the New Orleans Medical Center ($625 million) and constructing a new hospital in Biloxi ($293 million) to ensure services and top-notch care for America's veterans.  The VA's decision to site their new facility in downtown New Orleans will contribute to the city's economic recovery.

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Rebuilding the Economy, Protecting Workers

• The Small Business Administration has disbursed over $6 billion in low-cost disaster loans to homeowners, renters and business owners in the Gulf Coast states affected by the hurricanes.  In Louisiana, 91,345 disaster loans have been approved and $3.8 billion disbursed.  In Mississippi,  34,937 disaster loans have been approved and $1.4 billion disbursed.
• The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded over $362 million in grants to support the creation of temporary jobs, to provide impacted workers with education and training for new career opportunities, and to help local leaders across the Gulf Coast build and improve integrated systems of workforce development.

·    The President and Congress have provided $12.7 billion in tax incentives and relief for hurricane victims and small business through the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act (KETRA) and the Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) Act.

• FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provided funds to policyholders affected by Hurricane Katrina to help them rebuild or relocate.  Virtually all claims (99%) have now been closed.  The Katrina NFIP claims represent more than $16.1 billion in payments to more than 205,000 policyholders -- more than all other claims combined since the program's inception in 1968.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture distributed $250 million to help farmers affected by the storms.

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Reconstituting the Justice System, Fighting Crime

• The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has provided more than $86 million to the state of Louisiana to restore criminal justice infrastructure and better equip local law enforcement agencies.  These funds have provided local police and sheriffs with vital equipment like police cars, computers, and radios; helped re-establish local court operations; helped pay the salaries of prosecutors and investigators; and supported programs that help prevent youth violence and other risky behavior.
• In addition, DOJ has specifically helped local leaders in New Orleans fight crime by providing:
• Additional Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents, and Deputy U.S. Marshals working the streets alongside New Orleans Police Department (NOPD)
• Additional Federal prosecutors as well as aggressively working to try more cases under Federal jurisdiction
• Additional technical assistance and training for local law enforcement, including aid to strengthen victim/witness assistance programs
• More than $1 million to help NOPD re-start their crime lab and resolve its forensics backlog
• DOJ has also played a lead role in the Southeast Louisiana Criminal Justice Recovery Task Force, a coalition of local, state, and Federal criminal justice leaders working to restore vital infrastructure and re-establish a more effective system of justice.  The Task Force is helping to train New Orleans police officers, sharing intelligence between the FBI and local law enforcement, exploring ways to better harmonize efforts such as the establishment of a regional crime lab and regional training academy, and working to improve interoperability between State police and local law enforcement.
• DOJ's Office of Violence Against Women is helping to fund a new Family Justice Center in New Orleans that will open on August 28, 2007.

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Restoring the Environment and Parks

• In addition to the almost $15 billion the President has committed to rebuild a comprehensive hurricane protection system for Southeast Louisiana, President Bush supported and signed legislation to allow the State of Louisiana to share in revenues from drilling along the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)-after nearly 60 years of Louisiana attempting to gain access to this revenue stream. The people of Louisiana passed a constitutional amendment dedicating those funds to the restoration of coastal wetlands - a key component of hurricane protection. OCS revenue will begin flowing to the state in 2010 and is expected to reach $600 million to $800 million per year by 2017.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has contributed to environmental stewardship of the Gulf Coast by collecting of over 10,000 digital aerial images for damage assessments, oil spill response prioritization, search and rescue, and access routes for evacuation.
• The Environmental Protection Agency has conducted environmental monitoring and sampling of water, air, floodwater and residual sediment resulting in more than 400,000 analyses in the aftermath of the hurricanes.

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American Citizens' Commitment to Help Recover and Rebuild

• More than 1.1 million Americans have volunteered in the two years since Hurricane Katrina, providing more than 14 million hours of service to Gulf Coast residents in what is the largest volunteer response to a disaster in the nation's history.  Notably, the Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps) reported that more Americans volunteered in the second year after Katrina (600,000) than did in the first year after the storm (550,000).  Volunteers have made extraordinary contributions by clearing debris, gutting and repairing houses, providing meals and medical care, and carrying out countless other acts of compassion.  More than 93,000 participants in AmeriCorps and other national service programs have given more than 3.5 million hours of service and managed 262,000 volunteers - more than a quarter of the total volunteer force.  Volunteers continue to be needed on the Gulf Coast:   those interested in volunteering can visit volunteer.gov to find opportunities to serve.
• Americans generously contributed over $3.5 billion in cash and in-kind donations towards the relief and recovery of the Gulf Coast - more than for any other disaster in our nation's history. Five charities account for more than 85% of the money raised:  the Red Cross ($2.1 billion); the Salvation Army ($365 million); Catholic Charities USA ($146 million); the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund ($129 million) and Habitat for Humanity ($122 million).

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Better Preparation for Future Storms

• President Bush directed Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend, to lead a comprehensive review of the Federal response to Hurricane Katrina, which resulted in the 217-page report entitled "The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned."  The report identifies deficiencies in the government's response and makes specific recommendations for improving the Federal government's capability to respond to future disasters.
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has led a series of hurricane exercises to increase officials' skills and awareness.  Changes have also been made to address shortcomings in the National Response Plan.  DHS has been enhancing National Response Coordination Center operations and capabilities, and conducting training to ensure increased incident management expertise across the Federal government as well as among State and local government partners.
• To improve preparedness, FEMA has forged closer partnerships with state and local governments, facilitated and supplied an effective Unified Command across all levels of government, engaged with hurricane-prone states to gain a better understanding of their vulnerabilities, and improved communications capabilities to improve response.
• To improve response, FEMA has established pre-planned mission assignments that anticipate a range of federal support that may be requested in a disaster along with the inter-agency coordination needed to ensure it gets there.  In addition, the agency has pre-arranged contracts for disaster relief provisions and services, and improved its logistics system.

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Preventing Waste, Fraud and Abuse

• The Federal Government has distributed more money to more recipients for hurricane relief following Katrina and Rita than ever before in the history of our nation.  In order to ensure accountability, the DOJ created the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force to deter, investigate, and prosecute disaster-related Federal crimes. The Task Force's Command Center in Baton Rouge has received and referred more than 15,000 complaints to various Federal agencies nationwide.  As of June 24, 2007, the Task Force has indicted 720 individuals in 40 judicial districts.
• The HUD Office of Inspector General has created the Disaster Relief Oversight Division to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the Gulf Coast States for the nearly $17 billion in CDBG funds. Nine hurricane-related audits have been opened and 5 have been completed.  HUD OIG has investigated 181 hurricane-related cases that have resulted in 57 arrests, 57 indictments, and 29 convictions.

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