Katrina money remains unused

[Robbien]

According to figures compiled by the Bush administration, only about 40 percent of the money available - or about $45 billion - has been doled out by the federal government. And the bulk of that money has gone for the initial rescue efforts, debris removal and the emergency repairs to New Orleans' ruptured levees, proving that even in Louisiana water flows faster than money.

. . .

Yet the process of getting the money can be painfully slow. Those seeking federal grants, including local governments, hospitals, churches and nonprofit agencies, first have to complete a "project worksheet," explaining what the money is for and how it will be spent. Any proposal of more than $1 million has to be approved by the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, where Louisiana officials said some have stalled for 50 days or more.

Once the federal agency decides to "obligate" or "earmark" the money, it is up to the state to review the project and write a check. In Louisiana alone, there have been about 17,000 project worksheets filed since Katrina, ranging from a few thousand dollars to tens of millions. The applications are in a third-floor office in Baton Rouge where 60 grant managers handle 20 to 25 proposals each. The state is hiring more managers.

Art Jones, Louisiana's chief of disaster recovery, said he understands people's impatience with an application process that he said averages about six weeks - and can sometimes stretch much longer. But he also said that the state has a responsibility to make sure the money isn't misspent.

. . .

Meanwhile, money is stuck in the pipeline at the Small Business Administration. New Orleanian Roland Hymel said he waited six months after his SBA loan was approved in February to get his money. While he waited, Hymel took out personal loans from private banks at exorbitant rates so he could fix up his Canal Street building in New Orleans so he could rent it to local police and the FBI. "What if I didn't have my own money to afford to do that?" Hymel asked. "I feel sorry when I drive down Canal Street and see all those other businesses that aren't opening up again. Things are going so slow it's unreal."

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/115633266583530.xml&coll=2

[ixion]

1. and most of what has been dolled out has gone straight into the pockets

of corrupt development companies and private 'security' companies like Blackwater.

[JPZenger]

4. Much dollars went to illegal workers

Yes a large part of reconstruction dollars went to large companies, that then subcontracted to medium sized companies and then to smaller companies from outside of the area. Then, those companies provided a very small percentage of the total contract amount to local people to actually do the work. Or, they hired illegal aliens who were brought to the area to do the work, instead of local people in need for jobs.

[JPZenger]

2. Good Set of Articles on the Katrina Recovery... or lack of it

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/special_packages/hurricane_katrina/

The above link is to a week's worth of articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the recovery from Katrina. Here's one of the many excellent articles in this series:

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/special_packages/hurricane_katrina/15296034.htm

"Mental health problems abound a year after Katrina
By SHARON SCHMICKLE McClatchy Newspapers

...The "hurting thing" is a mental health epidemic afflicting hundreds of thousands a year after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Suicide rates in New Orleans have nearly tripled, a mental health hot line in Mississippi is swamped and the region's few remaining psychiatrists are overwhelmed with cases of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and related problems. By several estimates, half a million residents need mental health care.

"We really have a mental health crisis, and we've had it for months," said Dr. Janet Johnson, a psychiatrist at Tulane University in New Orleans. Most psychiatrists have left, she said, and major hospitals with mental health beds have closed, as have wards for substance abusers.

A few cases have hit the headlines in New Orleans: Two police officers shot themselves last September, a prominent pediatrician hanged himself in November, a news photographer snapped earlier this month and taunted police to kill him. Those are only the most visible signals of massive and often hidden trauma...."

[rodeodance]

3. bush will be in NO next week. and all will be well. PR blitz