A Committment to the Gulf Coast

A year ago today Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast.  It is important that we mark this anniversary with a renewed commitment to rebuild the communities devastated by the costliest disaster to affect our nation. While we have made some progress, much work remains.  President Bush and the Republicans in Congress made many promises to the survivors of Katrina, too many of which remain unfulfilled.

Hurricane Katrina exposed incompetence at the highest levels of our government.  Democrats are concerned that those gaps in leadership and preparedness have not been filled.  We are committed to keeping the promises we made to the Katrina survivors and to fixing the problems that the storm exposed.

This week, I have joined a group of House Democrats visiting the Gulf Coast to stand in solidarity with Katrina survivors.  While I am frustrated by the slow pace of the recovery, I find hope in the optimism and resilience of the Gulf Coast residents with whom we’ve met.

I believe that our nation has a moral obligation to rebuild Louisiana and Mississippi.  Our wealthy nation must invest the resources necessary to make the Gulf Coast whole again.