[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 131 (Thursday, September 6, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S11217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU:
  S. 2028. A bill to require the State of Louisiana to match Federal 
funding to fully address the Road Home Program shortfall; to the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak about 
an important issue that will determine the success of long-term 
recovery efforts in the gulf coast. As you know gulf coast was 
devastated in 2005 by two of the most powerful storms to ever hit the 
U.S. in recorded history Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We also 
experienced the unprecedented disaster of having a major metropolitan 
city, the city of New Orleans, under up to 20 feet of water for 2 weeks 
when there were 28 separate levee failures which flooded 12,000 acres, 
or 80 percent of New Orleans following Katrina.
  I strongly believe that the Congress can provide vast amounts of tax 
credits, grants, loans, and waivers but all these benefits will not 
spur recovery if we cannot get people back into their homes. That is 
where recovery must start and end. In Louisiana alone, for example, we 
had over 20,000 businesses destroyed. However, businesses cannot open 
their doors if their workers have nowhere to live. Louisiana also had 
875 schools destroyed. Again, teachers cannot come back to school and 
teach our children if they do not have a roof over their heads. So a 
fundamental piece of recovery in the gulf coast is to allow disaster 
victims to return home and rebuild.
  Today, I am proud to introduce legislation which is extremely 
important to the recovery in the State of Louisiana. This is because, 
over the past few months, we have learned that the Road Home is facing 
a shortfall of billions of dollars due to various reasons. There is 
certainly more than enough blame to go around for the mistakes in the 
creation and management of the Road Home program, and fixing them will 
be a shared responsibility. But a significant initial flaw can be found 
in the inadequate and unfairly distributed funding which represented 
all the administration was willing to commit towards Louisiana 
recovery. At this stage, the funding shortfall threatens to stall 
recovery in Louisiana and leave homeowners without the vital funds they 
need to rebuild their homes. To address this important issue, the bill 
we introduce today includes an authorization of funds so that if the 
State of Louisiana puts up $1 billion towards the Road Home shortfall, 
additional funds necessary to shore up the program would be available. 
I strongly believe this bill will serve as a hand up, not a hand out. 
The State of Louisiana shares a financial obligation to address the 
shortfall and this bill would hold it accountable, but with the State 
meeting their obligation the Federal Government also would step in to 
help.
  In closing, let me reiterate that this bill addresses one of the most 
fundamental needs following a disaster: the need to return home. 
Whether residents live in million dollar mansions, rental housing, or 
public housing they all share a desire to return to their communities 
and, in particular, their homes. I urge my colleagues to support this 
important legislation as now these disaster victims are counting on the 
Congress for action.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2028

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Louisiana Road Home Act''.

     SEC. 2. ROAD HOME PROGRAM SHORTFALL.

       There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
     necessary for the State of Louisiana to carry out the Road 
     Home Program, provided that as of June 1, 2007, the State of 
     Louisiana has provided at least $1,000,000,000 for such 
     Program.
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