Hurricane Victims To Receive $2,000 Debit Cards for Supplies
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WASHINGTON – Dispossessed families of Hurricane Katrina will receive debit cards good for $2,000 to spend on clothing and other immediate needs, the Bush administration announced yesterday, working to recast a relief effort that’s drawing scant praise from Republicans and scathing criticism from top congressional Democrats.
Also yesterday, using the unmistakable threat of force, police and soldiers went house to house to try to coax the last 10,000 or so stubborn holdouts to leave storm-shattered New Orleans because of the risk of disease from the putrid, sewage-laden floodwaters.
Mayor C. Ray Nagin ordered law officers and the military late Tuesday to evacuate all holdouts – by force if necessary. He warned that the combination of fetid water, fires and natural gas leaks after Hurricane Katrina made it too dangerous to stay.
In fact, the first government tests confirmed yesterday that the amount of sewage-related bacteria in the floodwaters is at least 10 times higher than acceptable safety levels. The chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Julie Gerberding, warned stragglers not to even touch the water and pleaded: “If you haven’t left the city yet, you must do so.”
President Bush is “oblivious, in denial, dangerous,” when it comes to the plight of the storm’s victims, charged House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. Her Senate counterpart, Senator Reid, asked pointedly whether the chief executive impeded relief efforts by remaining at his Texas ranch last week while the storm churned toward the Gulf Coast.
Democrats attacked as House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Frist announced creation of an unusual joint House-Senate panel to investigate the government’s readiness for Katrina as well as its response. “Americans deserve answers,”they said in a statement, setting a February 15, 2006, deadline for a report.
At the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan defended Mr. Bush from Democratic attacks but conceded, “There are ongoing problems on the ground, and that’s why we’re working to address those issues.”
The administration formally asked Congress for $51.8 billion in relief and recovery expenses in addition to $10.5 billion already approved, calling it the latest installment, but not the last.”We will in fact need substantially more” money, budget director Josh Bolten said, estimating the money would cover expenses for “a few weeks.”
Mr. Bolten said about half of the newly requested funds would take the form of direct aid to survivors, and the administration said that included an estimated 320,000 of the $2,000 debit cards a household at a cost of $640 million.
The embattled director of the Federal Management and Emergency Agency, Michael Brown, said those eligible for the unprecedented debit cards would be permitted to use the money “for emergency supplies they need” such as clothing. “The concept is to get them some cash on hand, which allows them, empowers them to make their own decisions about what do they need to have to repair their own lives,” he said.
The federal government produced a seemingly endless stream of reminders of the devastation wrought by the storm as it battered the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida. The head of the Environmental Protection Administration, Stephen L. Johnson, said the floodwaters in New Orleans were so dangerous that there was a risk from mere skin contact, much less drinking.
Apart from the tab for federal relief, the House cleared two measures during the day to meet needs that didn’t exist two weeks ago.
One bill would allow the administration to waive a requirement for students to repay their Pell Grants when they are forced to withdraw from classes due to natural disasters. The other would allow federal courts to conduct special sessions outside their geographic boundaries when they are unable to meet because of emergency conditions.