Bush signs $51.8 billion bill for hurricane relief

Moves to ease getting benefits
Additionally, with hundreds of thousands of storm victims now dispersed to numerous states, he said the government was working to “ensure that those of you who receive federal benefits administered by the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana will continue to get those benefits in the states where you’re now staying.”

He said the government would formally grant those victims evacuee status, meaning they would be able to register for their benefits without producing all of the normal documentation — much of which may have been lost in a desperate retreat from storm-threatened homes. He urged storm victims to contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and asked them to be patient if they encountered delays.

Bush said the evacuee status would apply to “the full range of federal benefits administered by the states,” including Medicaid, welfare, food stamps, housing, school lunch and more.

“In all the steps we take, our goal is not to simply provide benefits but to make them easy and simple as possible to collect,” he said.

Bush waives federal contract law
Later, looking ahead to the massive reconstruction effort, Bush quietly waived sections of a federal law that requires payment of prevailing wages on government contracts. Prevailing wages are based on surveys that take into account union and non-union pay. One business organization welcomed the move, while the AFL-CIO criticized it. Conservatives, in particular, said they hoped the government’s billions would be spent wisely.

“We have all the hallmarks here of a rush to spend money,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., whose home state was damaged by the storm. “We have got to be careful that this does not become a feeding frenzy. ... This is our grandchildren’s money.”

Democrats, too, said they wanted the money to be well-spent. At the same time, Reid and other Senate Democrats unveiled a far more comprehensive proposal to provide health, housing, education and other benefits.

White House: FEMA to disburse $50 billion
The White House said $50 billion of the $51.8 billion bill would be distributed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been the subject of widespread criticism in the past week.

The official breakdown said $23.2 billion was for housing aid and grants to individuals, of which about $640 million was for the unprecedented debit cards.

State and local governments are in line for $7.7 billion in reimbursement costs.

White House officials said the money was needed without delay to prevent an interruption in the massive operation designed to repair the damage along the Gulf Coast and bring hope to an almost unimaginable number of evacuees forced to flee.

The bill brought the total in disaster aid to $62.3 billion — a total that is certain to rise as the full impact of the storm becomes clear. With much of New Orleans still covered by fouled floodwaters, for example, there is as yet no estimate for the cost of pumping out the city — or rendering it safely habitable again.

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