WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Obama will send two Cabinet officials to the Gulf Coast next month to assess progress in rebuilding the region that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the White House announced Friday.
The president is also extending the operations of a federal office tasked with overseeing reconstruction efforts along the Gulf Coast. Obama signed an executive order keeping the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding open through Sept. 30, 2009. It was initially scheduled to close at the end of this month.
“The residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast who are helping rebuild are heroes who believe in their communities and they are succeeding despite the fact that they have not always received the support they deserve from the Federal government,” Obama said in a statement. “This executive order is a first step of a sustained commitment by my Administration to rebuild now, stronger than ever.”
The office was established by former President Bush in November 2005.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan will head to the region on March 5 and 6.
From CNN Politics
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Katrina should have never happened now we have a smart president that will keep it from happening again.
My roof is deteriorating because of pollution in the air. It will cost 10G to replace. Since the prevailing winds blow easterly, I hold the states to the west of me responsible. I want a government handout, it's not my fault I was born into this mess !!
Am I a liberal Democrat or a conservative Republican?
Maybe they aught to have a close look at Homestead Florida and the rest of S. Florida while "in the neighborhhod". The area is still not "rebuilt" from a series of hurricanes even before Katrina.
What about the people from Texas???? The town they lived in was wiped out, or are the pictures fake?
I feel for the people in New Orleans I live in Florida and know first hand what a hurricane can do I lived thru Andrew!!
But lets be real with all the money collected the donations given the entire state of Louisiana could have been restored by now.
Someone is taking the money!!!!
Lets throw more money away. Keep it up Obama.... you are taking this country right to a depression with more and more spending and bureaucracy.
Still fixing bush's screw ups.. well that is the job we elected him to do, no wonder he has a higher approval nationwide than palin has in Alaska!
Finally, a president that we can believe in.
It's not hard to clean up after 8 years of neglect and waste. The GOP were too busy paying off their friends.
I love this president and he has my full support. Nobody in their right minds expect this man to pull rabbits out of his hat in a month. Are you people crazy.
Get off his back GOP, and let the man do his job.
Yes rebuild, but rebuild with a mission to withstand future hurricanes. It is a huge mistake to rebuild homes in the regions where so many previously last their lives and likely will again. Maybe these areas could be used for parks and large buildings.
THE REPUGS CARE MORE ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN IRAQ, SINCE THEY ARE STILL SENDING MONEY, EVEN WHEN WE CAN'T AFFORD IT. IMAGINE THER IS NO MONEY FOR AMERICA, BUT FOR IRAQ THERE IS. WHAT KIND OF DOUBLE STANDARD IS THIS? YOU REPUGS ARE HEPOCRITES.
obama and his idiot followers suck and the uneducated ones post on CNN. blaaack and stupid.
correct me if i am wrong but didnt galveston just get hit by a major hurricane causing major damage? and what did they do that causes us not to hear about their plight? oh yea, THEY CAME TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY AND HELPED REBUID. THEY HAD PLANS IN PLACE AS WERE SET FORTH BY THE LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNEMENT AND THEY HAD INUT FROM THE COMMUNITY. ALL OF THESE THINGS WERE LACKING IN NEW ORLEANS AND ARE STILL LACJKING TODAY. How much did the community care in new orleans? So much so that they all packed up and moved away.
Thank you President Obama for caring about the Gulf Coast. Something that moron Governor Jindal would not do.
Funny, I have not heard the people that were wiped out by fires, floods and tornados begging the government for help. They and their neighbors got to work and did it themselves.
Yeah, something has been done...he is sending two cabinet officials to the Gulf Coast...wooptie doo! He is extending the federal office tasked with overseeing reconstruction efforts...wow! Looks like he is doing something right huh?
Are you kidding me?
Why don't we do something right and move the people out of the flood plain...how about that? Let's do that instead of spending billions of dollars rebuilding?
YES, we would be remis if we didn't consider wasting money rebuilding all the property losses in a spot below sea level, which will undoubtedly get ravaged again!
Seems I can't comment on these blogs...Now I'm POSITIVE CNN censors comments on its blogs!! They have deleted and not put on my last two comments, because of an opposing point of view. Not on this subject, but they've CONVENIENTLY closed the other subjects I was trying to comment on. There was no foul language or harsh words. No reason to delete. So much for FREE SPEECH!! I'll pass the word about CNN!!
Obama is setting a great example for the American people and that is a President who is working on behalf of Joe or Josephine the plumber.
I agree with GARY ..... we need to rebuild the levee system, and I hope there will be money provided for this in the Stimulus Package!
I am SO grateful for President Obama's help in New Orleans! Katrina destroyed New Orleans and our government failed miserably. New Orleans looked like a Third World country city, rather than a city in the........ richest Nation on Earth!
The G-Obstructionist-P will be objecting I am sure.
That $20 billion from Bush was pennies!! Progressively speaking..
Well, at least he is keeping something of Bush's around, and for longer than planned.
why rebuild that dirty hole???
Great news. Another GOOD decision by Obama!! And as the previous poster pointed out, yet another BUSH mess he is cleaning up!
To Dutch. Hampton Roads Virginia:
How sad it is that there are people here in the year of our Lord 2008 that are so uneducated that they believe President George W. Bush caused or was in any way shape or form responsible for Hurricane Katrina ar any other natural disaster.
No doubt you are a monkey lover, so let's wait and see how things work out for you in the next four years.
Its about time, alot of people are still displaced in other states after this disaster.
The gulf is still a mess since 2005. Glad to see Obama doing something about it as BushCo did next to nothing. Naturally the Republican party will call this wasteful spending.