Clinton Stumps in New Orleans

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton D-N.Y., right, talks with Helen Johnson during a visit to the Broadmoor area of New Orleans, Friday, May 18, 2007.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon - AP)

NEW ORLEANS -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton told local civic leaders Friday that, if elected, she would enact a broad range of initiatives to quicken the recovery of the hurricane-devastated region.

The New York senator's proposals included the appointment of a recovery manager who would report directly to the White House and whose sole responsibility would be to better organize federal aid to the region. Clinton said the Gulf Coast has been neglected by the Bush Administration since the disaster.

"This is upside and backwards," Clinton said, referring to the President's handling of recovery. "If the resources and services aren't back, people won't come back."

Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Mississippi coast on Aug. 29, 2005, flooding 80 percent of the city and devastating the area. Hurricane Rita struck about a month later in southwest Louisiana. The region's recovery from the storms have been sluggish, and local residents widely blame government ineffectiveness.

Clinton, D-N.Y., said she would form a Katrina/Rita recovery census to take stock of the damage and determine the most effective ways to rebuild. Another proposal would eliminate the 10 percent funding match requirement state and local governments must front to receive federal aid.

Clinton said she would also appoint a board to conduct a "stem-to-stern" review of the levee work done by the Army Corps of Engineers. The effort, she said, would seek to reassure city residents that they would be protected if there is a hurricane even stronger than Katrina. She said she would also convene a federal-state-local summit to help speed up the disbursement of stalled Road Home funds.

Lastly, Clinton said she would create a "Gulf Coast Corps," fashioned after the Peace Corps, that would bring teachers, doctors and other professionals to the region, with the hope that many would be former residents who still want to return.

Nearly two years after the storm, about 40 percent of the city's population remains displaced. Tens of thousands of residents cannot return, in part because housing and apartment stocks took a heavy blow from the storm.

"I will not let New Orleans dissipate," Clinton said. "We got to make sure New Orleans is here for our country."

In addition to touring New Orleans and attending a Friday evening fundraiser, Clinton was scheduled to deliver the commencement address Saturday morning at Dillard University and receive an honorary degree. Dillard, a private, predominantly black university in the hard-hit Gentilly neighborhood, was heavily damaged by Katrina.

One of several host committee members for the Friday fundraiser for Clinton was Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee, who along with other committee members paid $2,300 for the honor.

Lee, 74, is a popular longtime Democrat who has had a contentious relationship with black leaders; but in the in the 1960s also worked for one of the few Southern congressmen who supported civil rights legislation.