Sen. Bennett Visits NOLA, Supports Money for Rebuilding

None by KCPW

Utah Senator Bob Bennett says he was amazed at the scope of devastation he witnessed during his first trip to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. The visit last Friday included a helicopter fly-over of the flooded 9th Ward and a Coast Guard-led tour of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

"One of the reasons I went there, was I raised a question at an appropriations hearing -- the notion that everything should be rebuilt exactly as it was. That maybe we should learn something and next time rebuild on higher ground or in a different fashion."

Those comments produced an outpouring of criticism in the southern press and a pointed invitation from a group of influential Louisiana women to visit the devastated area. Bennett says he supports rebuilding New Orleans and thinks the billions Congress has allocated for the project are sufficient. However, building a carbon copy of the Big Easy isn't necessarily wise, and he thinks local officials heard his message clearly during the visit.

"I was pleased that the people on the ground were no longer offended by my raising the question of should you just go in and reproduce what was here before."

Bennett is the only member of Utah's congressional delegation to have visited Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina struck 10 months ago. He says he was surprised to see how slow the rebuilding is going.

"They still need to do more planning to make sure they spend the money wisely. I've heard stories of fraud and am sure some are true. But given the magnitude of the destruction, the percentage of money that went to fraudulent hands was probably pretty small."

Congress has already appropriated $87.5 billion for Hurricane Katrina and Rita relief. After touring the devastated parts of New Orleans and taking a boat ride along the Mississippi Coast, Bennett says he remains supportive of relief spending for the region.

"I suppored federal assistance for floods in St. George, which were devastating, but not nearly to the same number of people (as Katrina). So it would be hypocritical of me to say we need it in St. George and not in New Orleans."

Bennett says he waited ten months to visit the area because he wanted to make sure the tour would be well-organized and meaningful, rather than quote "just a symbol." He was accompanied on the trip by Kansas Senator Mitch McConnell.

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