Call Her a R.I.N.O.

Come, now! She's no Republican! And what business does she interfering in another state?

AP: Senator Says Gulf Coast Help Insufficient---

WASHINGTON - The government has not done enough to help large swaths of the Gulf Coast recover and rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, a key Republican senator said in a push for Congress to retain its focus on delivering aid in the new year.

Though lawmakers have approved $67 billion for Gulf Coast emergency relief and long-term recovery programs, and President Bush has called for an additional $1.5 billion to strengthen New Orleans levees, hard-hit areas in Mississippi and Louisiana need more federal resources and attention, said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

"I don't think the government has done enough," said Collins, who is leading a delegation of senators on Tuesday to Gulfport, Miss., and St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana — two areas that she said have been overlooked compared to New Orleans. Both areas were nearly obliterated by high wind during the Aug. 29 storm.

The lawmakers also will tour parts of New Orleans, including inspecting progress on rebuilding levees that are crucial to encouraging residents and businesses back to the previously flooded city.

"This is a long-term commitment," Collins said in an interview Saturday. "The devastation is so widespread that a sustained federal commitment is going to be necessary. I think Congress realizes that, but there's also a growing concern about whether the money is well spent."

We have spent more than enough money in New Orleans, etc. When will the people who live in those states take up their responsibilities? It is not the Federal Government's job to re-invigorate these areas. That belongs to the people who chose to build their homes and lives in Hurrican Zones.