Washington -- The Senate is nearing final action on a long-stalled $50 billion Hurricane Sandy relief package. The bill was stripped by House Republicans of some provisions in the original Senate bill that would have provided relief for Louisiana communities impacted by Hurricane Isaac. Among the Isaac-related changes: Still, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., was on the Senate floor late...
Among the Isaac-related changes:
- $150 million in assistance for fisheries was trimmed of provisions that would have benefited fishers and fisheries damaged by Hurricane Isaac and fisheries affected by disasters in Alaska. What remains is $5 million solely for Northeast fisheries damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
- A Senate provision that directed $29.5 million to the Army Corps of Engineers for flood and storm damaged areas was modified so it no longer includes the Mississippi Valley Division.
- Funding for community development block grants was modified so it would be harder for Isaac related projects to be funded.
Still, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., was on the Senate floor late Tuesday to say she's proud some of the key lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina have been used to ensure a better flow of federal funds for Sandy victims in the emergency spending measure.
"The House, of course, unfortunately stripped away some provisions, but happily they left some of the best reforms we have been able to think of in the last four or five years in the bill," Landrieu said.
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Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., says the Sandy relief package benefits from hard lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. Brett Duke / The Times-Picayune
No. 1, she said, is that the bill reauthorizes two expired pilot programs from the post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act that allowed FEMA to repair rental units as a cost-effective temporary housing alternative to trailers and mobile homes and provided for an expedited debris removal process.
As a result, Landrieu said, grants will be provided on reliable fixed estimates for rebuilding damaged infrastructure and facilities, meaning aid will be flowing quicker.
"In the old days we would have to take measurement and pictures of a tree to determine how wide the branch was because if it was more than three inches you got reimbursed, and if it was less than that you don't," Landrieu said. "We would have to take pictures of trees where the debris came down to try to get the paperwork necessary for the reimbursement. Those days are hopefully over with."
A key reform included in the Sandy package continues the arbitration process in which disputes over emergency assistance can be worked out expeditiously in arbitration.
Another key reform allows communities to rebuild facilities in ways that make sense in 2013, not just to match the facility being replaced.
Under the old system, Landrieu said: "If you tried to move a police station like 10 feet to get it out of the way of the river, or the land had sunk and you wanted to move it to higher ground, you would actually be penalized 25 percent because it became an alternative project since it wasn't exactly the same."
"So, I hope people, while they fuss at government and I know we have a lot to do to get things straight know, a lot of thought has gone into some of these reforms and they are based on real-life experiences on what communities have gone through," Landrieu said. "Hopefully, the Northeast will benefit form this as we go forward."
Landrieu said she hopes there will be a vote by the end of the week on the $50 billion Sandy package and it not be held hostage by current debate over what to with the nation's deficit.
"It will be paid for," Landrieu said. "We should not be arguing over that while the water is rising or while people are gutting their homes or worshiping in tents along the beach. They need their churches back. They need their communities back."