Hurricane Katrina

August 29, 2008 -- Chicago, IL - Today, on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina devastating the Gulf Coast, Senator Obama released the following statement on the importance of following through with our commitment to the region.

Hurricane Katrina storm surge, Mobile, Alabama: Photo by Mel Silvers (CC)    » read more »

Hurricane Katrina: GAO Study Results

July 17, 2008 -- New Orleans faces many challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina including the challenge of reestablishing the health care system and hospitals within the system. Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on August 29, 2005, and the subsequent flooding caused by the failure of the New Orleans levee systems, resulted in the sudden closure, damage, or disruption in services at many of the New Orleans hospitals.    » read more »

BILOXI, Miss., July 1, 2008 -- Lights, camera, action! The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Mississippi Transitional Recovery Office (TRO) raised the curtain on a new initiative created especially for young citizens. FEMA in the Classroom is designed to empower and educate elementary school-age children to protect themselves, their families and their pets.

The program, designed by Public Affairs staff from FEMA's Mississippi TRO, uses various hands-on projects and other activities to explain disaster preparedness topics such as creating a family disaster kit, drafting a family communications plan and pet preparedness.    » read more »

June 5, 2008 -- John McCain says he is running the most transparent campaign in history. Yet just yesterday McCain and his campaign were caught misrepresenting his record on Hurricane Katrina, trying to cover it up, and then backtracking and shifting their answers on the issue.

This follows a pattern of deception we've seen with McCain: he insists on raising campaign money behind closed doors to hide the fact that lobbyists and the special interests are funding his campaign, he is not transparent about his tax returns and finances, and he is not transparent about the lobbyists running his campaign.    » read more »

June 03, 2008 -- John McCain has some nerve going to New Orleans, site of the Bush Administration’s do-nothing approach to Hurricane Katrina, to announce that he’s a “different kind of Republican.”

From health care and jobs to the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Sen. McCain’s record shows he’s in lockstep with President Bush and the Administration’s corporate allies.

A small and subdued collection of John McCain supporters during his New Orleans speech: Photo by dsb nola (CC)    » read more »

Federal Coordinator Doug O'Dell and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Brigadier General Michael Walsh Discuss Levee Protection in New Orleans

May 30, 2008 -- New Orleans, LA. – General Doug O’Dell, federal coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, along with Brigadier General Michael Walsh of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), recently hosted a media conference call to discuss hurricane protection in New Orleans in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season beginning June 1.

A levee wall in New Orleans: Photo by AuthenticEccentric (CC)    » read more »

April 24, 2008 -- Just this week John McCain said that "[t]here must be no forgotten places in America" and is traveling to New Orleans today to make the case. But don't believe the rhetoric. The fact is, McCain has a history of denying the Gulf Coast aid when it needs it most and a record of outrageous votes to show for it.

John Mccain meets with insurance company representatives: Photo by IowaPolitics (CC)    » read more »

April 15, 2008 -- (JACKSON, Mississippi) — More than $41 million in disaster recovery grants is being awarded to 39 Mississippi counties and municipalities for individual projects involving disaster recovery, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) Disaster Recovery Division announced today.

Hurrican Katrina damage, Mississippi: Photo by Chris Metcalf (CC)    » read more »

April 1, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement on the House Science and Technology Committee, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight hearing on the failure of the Center for Disease Control to protect Gulf Coast residents from contaminated FEMA trailers in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita:

A FEMA trailer in New Orleans: Photo by Kris Fricke (CC)    » read more »

Wednesday, March 19, 2008, BATON ROUGE, La. -- During the first- and second- rounds of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, the NCAA, Lowe’s, Habitat for Humanity International and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Baton Rouge will team up to build a home in partnership with a hard-working, low-income family that was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

Louisiana State University student-athletes, local community and Lowe’s volunteers will construct a Habitat for Humanity house frame on Saturday, March 22 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La. The build will take place near the university’s track and field complex.    » read more »

Bureaucratic red tape has delayed first responder reconstruction projects after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

February 26, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today sent the following letter to FEMA Administrator David Paulison, raising concerns about ongoing reconstruction delays, funding disparities, and bureaucratic red tape for first responder resources and projects in New Orleans.    » read more »

February 07, 2008 -- New Orleans, LA - In a speech at Tulane University today, Senator Barack Obama will lay out his comprehensive program to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and help make the region a model of what can be achieved in America when we unite around a common purpose. In carrying out his proposals to protect against future storms, enhance basic infrastructure and services, and invest in education, Obama will restore competence to the White House and rebuild trust between Washington and the citizens who were impacted by Katrina.    » read more »

Federal, state and local partners working together to expedite rebuilding projects

January 30, 2008, NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans are pleased to have provided nearly $16.9 million toward the rebuilding and repair of the New Orleans Fire Department. Of that, $3.1 million will go to rebuilding permanent facilities.    » read more »

Senate Bill Would Mandate HUD Replace All Low Income Housing Scheduled To Be Demolished

January 25, 2008 -- "Like so many Americans, we have followed with grave concern the devastation to Louisiana, Mississippi Alabama, and Texas in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.    » read more »

January 25, 2008 -- “From the earliest days after the worst natural disaster in American history, when Coast residents were sorting through the wreckage of their homes and dealing with containers from the port that had been strewn into neighborhoods by the storm, we knew it would be imperative to restore the port not only in the interest of economic development but also public safety. HUD’s approval of this important project will allow that to happen.    » read more »