I Knew It

When I heard the news that President Bush was planning another tour of the "hurricane-damaged" states, I wondered how much more money he would be asking for.

Here is the answer:

AP: Bush Presses Congress for Billions for La.

And just for Louisiana?!?!

NEW ORLEANS - President Bush, visiting a still-suffering Gulf Coast, said Wednesday that Congress must help this ravaged city recover from Hurricane Katrina by approving billions he has requested to repair levees and compensate Louisianans who lost homes.

(emphasis added)

Must? Must? Excuse me? Where does it say Congress must help anyone recover from natural disasters? I'm sure I haven't seen anything of the sort in the Constitution. How much money have we already poured into Louisiana and the other Gulf States? Is it our problem if the money was not spent wisely or people used it all up? No.

Congress is poised to allocate $4.2 billion in flexible community development funds for areas affected by the hurricane, but lawmakers have decided to dedicate that money to all states affected by Katrina. Bush said Congress must allocate the $4.2 billion just for Louisiana, to help residents whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.

"The number fits into a well thought-out plan that has been put together by the local folks," Bush said from the Industrial Canal levee, which breached during the storm and devastated the lower Ninth Ward.

As pile drivers could be heard working behind him to repair the damaged levee, Bush also said Congress "shortchanged the process" by diverting $1.5 billion in levee-rebuilding money to non-New Orleans-related projects.

"Congress needs to restore the "1.5 billion to make sure this is a real commitment," he said.

So, Congress is about to waste $4.2 billion of our money, mine and yours, on all the Gulf States, and President Bush wants $4.2 billion just for Louisiana? No way!

A key House panel appeared set to do just that later Tuesday. The House Appropriations Committee was set to adopt Bush's request for $19.1 billion in new money for hurricane relief and rebuilding. Included in that legislation would be $1.5 billion in various Army Corps of Engineers water projects, with the money now directed chiefly toward rebuilding levees, canals and pumping stations in New Orleans.

Many residents in the hurricane-battered region are frustrated and angry that more progress has not been made. Bush's trip, his 10th since the hurricane hit, was aimed at three interrelated problem areas: efforts to restore New Orleans' levees, removing still-persistent debris from affected communities and lagging efforts to get displaced people into housing.

Well, I guess they shouldn't have lived in homes below sea level, then, right in the path of hurricanes. I didn't put them there. It isn't my fault they haven't made progress cleaning up their own homes. I understand it must be very difficult and horrible to have one's home destroyed by a natural disaster, but this is no different than a wildfire blazing through homes and leaving ashes behind. The federal government doesn't step in in that instance. Why should it do any more now? People need to be responsible for themselves. Personal responsibility, rugged individualism, is what built this country. Whatever happened to it?

"Our job at all levels of government is to provide the confidence and the help necessary so that people ... come home," Bush said. "I fully understand — and I hope our country understands — the pain and agony that the people of New Orleans and Louisiana and the parishes surrounding New Orleans went through. But I think people would be impressed by the desire for the people in this part of the country to pick up and move on and rebuild."

Again, where does it say the government is supposed to help people get home? Unless these people happen to be military who have been shipped out by the Commander-in-Chief, the government has NO responsibility to see them home. Does President Bush understand that we shouldn't have to pay for the choices of others and the disaster caused by nature? Does he understand that we need the money we worked hard for, for our own communities and lives?