Bush tours stricken states, says relief falls short

NEW ORLEANS - Scorched by criticism about sluggish federal help, President Bush acknowledged the government’s failure to stop lawlessness and help desperate people in New Orleans. “The results are not enough,” Bush said Friday in the face of mounting complaints from Republicans and Democrats alike.

Bush promised to crack down on crime and violence, rush food and medicine to the needy and restore electrical power within weeks to millions of customers across the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“This is a storm that requires immediate action, now,” the president said after a daylong tour of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. “I understand the devastation requires more than one day’s attention. It’s going to require the attention of this country for a long period of time.”

Congress passed a $10.5 billion disaster aid package, and Bush signed it after returning to Washington. He also said National Guard troops were moving in to restore order in New Orleans. He said the city’s convention center, where thousands of people lived for days in unsafe conditions, was secure.

The bill combines $10 billion in new FEMA funds — enough to last just a few weeks — and $500 million for the Pentagon’s role in the relief mission. The FEMA funds, among other uses, will finance food and emergency shelter, medical care, debris removal, generators and cash payments to hurricane victims. FEMA will also funnel funds to other federal agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers, responsible for repairing levees around New Orleans and pumping out the floodwaters inundating the city.

Grasping the magnitude
Inspecting Gulf Coast disaster scenes from the air and on the ground, Bush said the damage was “worse than imaginable.” He consoled weeping women and praised Coast Guard teams that pulled stranded people from the roofs of flooded homes. In New Orleans, Bush flew by helicopter to the ruptured 17^th Street levee and watched workers load huge sandbags that were airlifted and dropped into the breach.

“The president is starting to grasp the magnitude of the situation,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said, “The president obviously was just stunned” by what he saw.

Bush met with Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who described the discussions as "frank and productive." This assessment came amid bitter and sharply worded criticisms from some local officials, including the mayor of New Orleans, over what they felt was a slow federal response to the disaster.

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