Question — Is this pork?”?
Louisiana’s congressional delegation has requested $40 billion for Army Corps of Engineers projects in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, about 10 times the annual Corps budget for the entire nation, or 16 times the amount the Corps has said it would need to protect New Orleans from a Category 5 hurricane.
Louisiana Sens. David Vitter (R) and Mary Landrieu (D) tucked the request into their $250 billion Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief and Economic Recovery Act, the state’s opening salvo in the scramble for federal dollars.
The bill, unveiled last week, would create a powerful “Pelican Commission” controlled by Louisiana residents that would decide which Corps projects to fund, and ordered the commission to consider several controversial navigation projects that have nothing to do with flood protection. The Corps section of the Louisiana bill, which was supported by the entire state delegation, was based on recommendations from a “working group” dominated by lobbyists for ports, shipping firms, energy companies and other corporate interests.
Answer — Yes. It is pork.
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Glenn Reynolds agrees:
This needs to be a non-starter. It is, to me, an open and under-debated question whether the federal government should fund the rebuilding of New Orleans — I’m inclined to agree with the polls that say it shouldn’t — but this is a naked grab for money by the very political establishment whose corruption and ineptitude led to the problems in the first place. It should be slapped down fast and hard.
I couldn’t agree more with the Instapundit. If the city of New Orleans wants to rebuild, it should be done by the private sector and state taxes.
American Democrat politicians seem to be about as corrupted by business interests as the Republicans. Forget Left and Right, it’s just Right and further Right. Or Tweedledum and Tweedledee..
Left by Sean on September 26th, 2005 at 12:35 pm