Senator Mary Landrieu threatens to slow White House nominees

New Orleans CityBusiness, Apr 4, 2006 by CityBusiness Staff Report

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, threatened to prevent consideration of all executive appointments until significant progress is made to secure White House commitments to levee protection and coastal restoration in Louisiana.This is literally a life-or-death situation for the people of my state, she wrote in a letter sent to President George W.

Bush. We can no longer rely on promises. We need action, and we need action now.Last week, Gulf Coast recovery coordinator Donald Powell said it will cost the Army Corps of Engineers nearly $6 billion more to protect Gulf Coast families and fully repair Louisiana's levee system. The White House has yet to submit a request for the additional funding to Congress.Landrieu urged Bush to put the full weight of his office behind an immediate national commitment to fully fund and implement an integrated, coordinated, and comprehensive levee, flood control and coastal restoration program that protects the lives of Americans living in the New Orleans area and along the Louisiana coast. She also urged Bush to make an immediate, specific request to Congress of at least $6 billion to fund this effort, and called for him to issue executive orders instructing agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers to take emergency steps to implement the commitment on a fast-tracked basis.Members of the Louisiana congressional delegation from both parties have asked your administration for such a national commitment for a long time, Landrieu wrote. Money spent on levees and flood control today will save the federal government billions in the future.