Senate Republicans block another Katrina bill

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1178001185321850.xml&coll=1

"In less than four months, the House has passed seven bills designed to jump-start the Gulf Coast economy after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, build affordable housing, boost minority businesses, streamline contracting and protect residents from future natural disasters.

The Senate has passed one storm-related bill -- and President Bush has threatened to veto it.

....

But Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said tradition is only part of the reason so little hurricane-recovery legislation has emerged from the Senate. Landrieu blames the White House for opposing key elements and persuading Republican allies in the Senate to block them.

"As long as the White House stays opposed to those measures, we will not be able to move them through regular order in the Senate," Landrieu said. "If the president had gotten out front on these bills, we could have moved them months ago."

At least twice, Republican senators have placed procedural "holds" on hurricane bills Democrats brought to the floor. The objections, which can be placed anonymously, stop legislation from being approved expeditiously by a voice vote and require 60 votes, and as much as two weeks of procedural maneuvering, to overcome. "

 

I can't blame anyone for not wanting to give us more money. The way we misspend money in Louisiana is shameful. Blanco's huge road home program is going broke.

But I'm sure that's the republicans fault, too.

 

well if we elect a republican governor, can La. have some money???
b/c we need it.

 

Need how much? for what?

Did you know the state has a record amount of money to spend right now, thanks to Katrina? It's a feeding frenzy at The Capitol as I type. Almost everyone is getting a pay raise this session. Every special interest group is getting something.

That's how we manage our money. Republican governor will have little impact. Foster couldn't stop it. The problem is right down the street from me.

 

Naturally, you leave out the fact that it was attached to the same bill that called for a troop withdrawal from Iraq. Why don't you report on the whole story rather than leaving out the parts that make your argument look weaker. I'll place some of the blame on the author of the article, since that information was conveniently buried on page 2 of the article.

Add that to the fact that Louisiana has shown complete and utter incompetence in managing money and I don't blame them. I wouldn't give us any money either until we can prove we can do something productive with it.

Here's hoping Jindal knows what he's doing.

 

Only one bill was.

 

Yep, it's the republicans...

 

as much money as it takes to trickle down to where its needed.

i'm jokingly saying that maybe there's a cap on just how much money they can misappropriate. but i'm sure that's where expectations will be exceeded (in the corrption dept).

 

I don't know who is to blame, but we do not need any more money. We need to manage the money we have better.

Louisiana collects one of the highest percentage sales tax rates in the country. We also pay property taxes, state income tax, and permit fees for damn near everything.

Now I know many states do not have sales tax, but have high property tax. Others have sales tax but no property tax. We have to deal with high sales taxes and average property taxes both. Yet we have the ****tiest roads in the USA. Crappy schools (for the most part), terrible drainage, underpaid teachers, police, and firemen, etc. etc.

Then every federal agency gave us millions of dollars and we screwed that up, and can't put a damn program together to properly disperse the funds to those who qualify.

And we are asking for more money. I sure as hell wouldn't give this state a dime.

 

It is hard to respond until I know what the bills contained and why they were held up. I do know the Democrats played politics with the Gulf Coast recovery by including a recovery amendment in the Iraq War bill calling for a deadline, which Bush understandably vetoed.n There should be a federal law that states any amendment to a bill must pertain to the subject of the original bill.