It’s been a year of too little, too late when it comes to the Bush administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina. It’s evident every where you look, yet Dubya blithely says over and over again that progress is being made. Even today, as he made an appearance in New Orleans on the anniversary of the horrific storm that exposed every dirty flaw in his administration, the WaPo reports, that the “White House carefully chose the scenes it wanted to highlight” when Bush spoke to “a friendly audience,” on the anniversary of one of his “biggest political embarrassments.”

John Kerry issued the following statement today on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina:

“For the people of the Gulf Coast who survived Hurricane Katrina, this is more than a “one year anniversary.” It’s a hole they’re still trying to dig themselves out of with too little help from the federal government. The housing needs of evacuees are still unmet. New Orleans’ infrastructure is still in disarray and trash litters the streets. Businesses in the Gulf Coast are hanging on by a thread. We knew one year ago that government’s response to Katrina failed the Gulf Coast. We know today, that one year later, too little has changed.

“Talk about Washington’s slow response isn’t enough. We have been fighting for assistance to spur the Gulf Coast’s economy and get help to those in need. But too many in Washington have stood in the way. We’ve been fighting to make Hurricane Katrina an accountability moment that pulled back the curtain, and for the first time, showed many Americans the true face of poverty. But too many in Washington forgot that reality once the cameras went away and the focus drifted.

“We’ve got the money and the brains and the heart in our country to get the Gulf Coast back on its feet. We just haven’t had the leadership in our nation’s capitol. No more photo ops and empty promises. No more excuses for blocking real solutions. It’s long past time for action.”

An article in tomorrow’s WaPo reports, “Critics Say FEMA Is Impeding Gulf Coast Rebuilding As Disputes Hold Up Nearly $1 Billion in Relief Funds”:

Current and former officials at all levels blame FEMA workers’ inexperience with eligibility rules, weaknesses in U.S. disaster laws and inconsistent treatment by Congress for much of the wrangling. The huge scale of the storm and honest disagreement over whether federal or local taxpayers should pay the tab add to the conflict.

“Disasters should be difficult to declare. . . . But once you get them, FEMA should not worry about cutting costs,” said Daniel A. Craig, who stepped down in October as head of FEMA’s recovery division and is now consulting for New Orleans. “Public entities are eligible for everything they have lost due to the disaster. It is not up to FEMA to cut corners or makes sure money is saved.”

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