Returning to the Gulf Coast

My visit to the Gulf Coast areas devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 was paradoxical, both encouraging and discouraging at times. What initially struck me on our tour was the lack of action and support by the federal government in the first year and a half following the disaster. The overwhelming message from local and state government officials was that the federal response to this catastrophe has not improved much from the initially incompetent actions of FEMA in August 2005. Having visited Congressman Mike Ross' district in Arkansas and seen the unacceptable state of FEMA trailers early on, I expected that the initial mistakes to be largely rectified.

However, I was encouraged by recent federal action at the behest of the Democratic-controlled Congress. Legislation passed during this session of Congress, like HR 1361 -- The RECOVER Act, is beginning to make a real difference in the lives of Gulf Coast residents. I supported this particular piece of legislation which aids the effort to rebuild by encouraging small businesses to return or start up in the affected areas. I am happy to report it seems to be working and I, along with my Democratic colleagues, will continue to support smart, effective measures that assist in the rebuilding effort.

My tour of the affected areas was especially poignant because large parts of my congressional district are protected by similar levees. What happened in New Orleans and the surrounding areas represents the worst case scenario for what could happen in California. Unfortunately it is a very real scenario and part of my reason for going on this CODEL, in addition to learning about the successes and failures of the rebuilding efforts, was to see what happened and how my region of California can prevent a similar disaster.