Congress Weighs $51.8B Katrina Aid Bill


WASHINGTON - Congress is considering an emergency aid package that would spend well over $1 billion a day during the next month on housing, clothing and other recovery needs for Hurricane Katrina victims.



The House as early as Thursday was expected to approve the $51.8 billion spending bill that the Bush administration, under attack from Democrats for its response to the devastating Gulf Coast storm, described as the latest installment in the costly relief effort.

"We will in fact need substantially more" money, said White House budget director Josh Bolten, estimating the funds would cover expenses for "a few weeks."

Prospects were more uncertain in the Senate, where Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu (news, bio, voting record) of hurricane-ravaged Louisiana threatened to hold out for more funding. Republicans said that any attempt to amend the bill could lead to delays in getting the measure to President Bush for his signature before current funds run out.

The $10.5 billion aid hurricane relief that Bush signed into law Friday was expected to run out Thursday evening, budget aides said.

Meanwhile, Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney, were headed to the Gulf Coast to talk to local officials, meet with emergency first responders and tour disaster sites in Gulfport, Miss., New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La.

The spending bill was being debated against the backdrop of partisan sparring over an unusual joint House-Senate congressional committee to investigate the government's readiness and response to Katrina's devastation that covers what Republican Sen. Ted Stevens (news, bio, voting record) of Alaska described as twice the size as Europe.

The panel, which will be chaired by Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine, and a Republican House lawmaker yet to be named, must issue a report by Feb. 15.

"Americans deserve answers," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., told reporters.

Democrats pushed for an independent panel to investigate the disaster, similar to the 9/11 Commission that examined government missteps leading to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

"An investigation of the Republican administration by a Republican-controlled Congress is like having a pitcher call his own balls and strikes," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, head of the Coast Guard, had his own contribution to the finger-pointing debate Thursday.

Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America," Allen, who has been tasked to assist in the recovery efforts, said, "I give Mother Nature an F."

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., said the House could act as soon as Thursday to help get money and other assistance to hurricane evacuees by cutting through federal red tape, including relaxing rules for welfare funds. In recent days, the government spent more than $2 billion a day as it paid out several big-ticket items such as contracts to provide housing.

A sliver of the new funding — $1.4 billion — would help the Pentagon pay for the deployment of military personnel to the storm-damaged region. More than 63,000 military active duty and National Guard troops so far have been sent to the Gulf Coast.

But the bulk of the money would go into a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief fund that is offering debit cards of $2,000 per household to victims evacuated from homes in Louisiana and Mississippi. FEMA anticipates handing out 320,000 cards, at a cost of $640 million, to help displaced residents buy clothing, pay for transportation and other "emergency supplies they need," Director Michael Brown said.

"The concept is to get them some cash on hand which allows them, empowers them to make their own decisions about what do they need to have to repair their own lives," said Brown, whose much-criticized handling of the response has prompted several Democratic lawmakers to demand his resignation.

Congressional budget aides briefed by the White House said state and local governments would receive almost $8 billion in reimbursements from the federal government for debris removal, school aid and infrastructure repair and replacement. An estimated $500 million would pay for helicopter costs, repairs to sewer and drainage systems, and other storm-related expenses, said an aide to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (news, bio, voting record), R-Fla., a member of the House Budge Committee.

The Environmental Protection Agency said floodwaters in New Orleans contain levels of sewage-related bacteria that are at least 10 times higher than acceptable safety limits, and endanger rescue workers and remaining residents who even walk in it.

Expecting a surge in people seeking health benefits, state officials have asked Congress to pick up 100 percent of the costs for any Medicaid recipients added to their rolls as a result of Katrina.

The federal government also was bracing for job losses of 400,000 in Katrina's aftermath over coming months, and predicted September gas prices averaging about 40 percent higher than before the storm.

The Energy Department on Wednesday said natural gas prices for the Midwest could increase by as much as 71 percent this fall, while heating oil prices in the Northeast could rise 31 percent. Electricity prices in the South could jump 17 percent, the department said.

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