U.S. government has doled out $13.7B on Katrina relief

0 Comments | USA TODAY, September, 2005 | by Jim Drinkard

WASHINGTON -- The federal government has spent more than $13.7 billion on Hurricane Katrina relief, the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday in a report for Congress.

The spending includes $7.2 billion for Louisiana, where flooding devastated New Orleans; $4.8 billion for Mississippi and $1.5 billion for Alabama.

Among the major categories of spending: $3.6 billion to purchase mobile homes and trailers and $1.8 billion for housing assistance, including $2,000 debit cards handed out to those left homeless, the report said. Costs for urban search-and-rescue teams totaled $52 million, part of $4.8 billion spent to send government workers to the region.

The report, a snapshot of spending on Katrina as of Wednesday, was the first of the weekly status...