[StBernard] LRA Executive Director's Statement Regarding the Baker Bill

[Westley Annis]

How much insult to injury can we endure? 

mudpie

	----- Original Message -----
		
	Statement from LRA Executive Director Andy Kopplin 
	
	Regarding Cong. Richard Baker's Legislation 
	
	
	"I learned from Chairman Don Powell that the Bush Administration
does not 
	support HR 4100, Cong. Richard Baker's bill to create the La.
Recovery 
	Corporation. 
	
	"Hurricanes Katrina and Rita left Louisiana with housing challenges
that are 
	unimaginable. According to estimates from Chairman Powell's office,
the 
	hurricanes destroyed over 200,000 housing units in Louisiana. But
our 
	rebuilding challenges don't stop there. In addition to having three
times 
	the housing units destroyed of any other state, we estimate
Louisiana 
	sustained 10 times more businesses destroyed than any other state
and had 
	about 85 percent of the total property and infrastructure damage
from the 
	two hurricanes. 
	
	"Congressman Baker's bill would help us get these destroyed houses
back into 
	commerce and prevent them from being stranded in neighborhoods of
blight and 
	ruin. It would also allow Louisiana to use some of its limited CDBG 
	allotment to address critical infrastructure and economic
development needs 
	as well as housing, which Governor Blanco has identified as her top 
	priority. "