On Visit to Gulf Coast, Bush Hears Frustrations About Pace of Storm Aid

NEW ORLEANS, March 1 -- In his first visit to the Gulf Coast in six months, President Bush said Thursday that he heard "loud and clear" the growing complaints in the region that the federal response to Hurricane Katrina has become ensnared in red tape.

But in a trip designed to highlight the progress made in the 18 months since the hurricane devastated New Orleans and the Mississippi coast, the president insisted that "people's lives are improving and there is hope."

As billions of federal dollars have sat in state accounts untapped in part because of complex federal rules, Louisiana officials in particular have become vocal about what they called the Bush administration's wavering interest in the rebuilding process. The frustration came to a boil when Bush did not mention Katrina during his State of the Union address, prompting Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) to observe that the "the pains of the hurricane are yesterday's news in Washington."

After a meeting with state and local officials in Biloxi, Miss., Thursday, Bush said he had listened as the officials described their "continued frustration with the slowness of federal response at times. It's important for me to hear that."

In Washington, House Democrats renewed their own criticism of the administration. They promised to move legislation -- which has not been endorsed by Bush -- to forgive some federal loans to disaster-wracked communities while easing matching fund requirements tied to some federal aid.

"Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster, compounded by a man-made disaster. It is now 18 months past time to get our response right," said a statement signed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) and Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (S.C.).

Bush's trip, his 14th since Katrina, was a continuation of his attempts to undo the political damage caused by the storm, which proved to be a pivotal event in his presidency. The federal government's bungled response to the disaster undermined the administration's claim to competence and helped propel Bush's approval ratings downward.

In the days after Katrina hit, thousands of residents in New Orleans were forced to rooftops and to fetid, ill-equipped shelters to escape the rising floodwaters, even as federal disaster officials insisted things were under control.

A little more than two weeks after Katrina made its landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, Bush stood in historic Jackson Square and promised to rebuild this shattered city and the rest of the Gulf Coast with "one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen."

Things have since moved at a frustratingly slow pace -- particularly in the New Orleans area -- despite $110 billion in federal money set aside for storm recovery and the president's repeated visits.

The federal government has overseen the repair of 220 miles of levees and floodwalls, and is working to make the storm-protection system stronger than it was before Katrina, a project that should be completed in 2010.

However, only 45 percent of the pre-Katrina population of New Orleans has returned to the city, which, while slowly improving, remains a shadow of its former self: only 40 percent of the food establishments, 30 percent of the child care centers and 17 percent of the buses are back in business, according to a January report by the Brookings Institution. The Louisiana-run Road Home program, which provides rebuilding grants to homeowners who had inadequate storm insurance, has sent checks to 2,718 hurricane victims as of Wednesday, despite having received more than 110,000 applications and having federal funding of more than $7.5 billion in the bank.

Officials said the pace of the program is now increasing. "We are seeing at the pinnacle of the program where things are now starting to happen more quickly," said Gentry Brann, communications director for ICF International, the Virginia-based firm hired to administer the program.

Local residents have also complained about a shortage of low-income housing, as the Bush administration has been reluctant to rebuild the city's decrepit and previously crime-ridden public housing projects, instead favoring lower-density, mixed-income housing.

Before meeting with Louisiana officials at a New Orleans restaurant today, Bush again vowed to see through the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast until the job is done. "I committed to the people of this part of the world and the Gulf Coast that the federal government would fund the recovery and stay committed to the recovery," he said.

Federal and state officials have blamed one another for the problems with the crucial program. Federal officials point out that it was set up by the state and that the federal money is in place to be given to storm victims. State and program officials, meanwhile, blame complex federal regulations aimed at preventing fraud for much of the delay.

"It needs to speed up. Things are moving too slow," said Donald E. Powell, the president's Gulf Coast recovery coordinator. Still, given the sheer size of the recovery effort, he said, "expectations need to be realistic. This was a terrible, terrible storm. It is going to take some time."