Bush asks for $51.8b more in aid for victims

WASHINGTON -- After approving $10 billion in emergency aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina late last week, the White House asked Congress yesterday to quickly approve $51.8 billion more for what is likely the most expensive natural disaster in US history.

In fact, several members of Congress suggested yesterday that the disaster in the Gulf Coast regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama could ultimately cost the government more than $200 billion to rebuild a major US city as well as dozens of devastated communities while providing aid, shelter, and jobs for hundreds of thousands of people. And the Congressional Budget Office estimates Katrina swept away at least 400,000 jobs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency alone spent more than $2 billion per day over the weekend for rescue and recovery services in the area -- four times the White House's initial estimate -- and spending is expected to exceed $1 billion per day in the coming weeks, according to congressional leaders.

Meanwhile, the two top Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Senate majority leader Bill Frist, announced that they will form a bipartisan task force from both legislative chambers to examine the government's relief efforts. The move came as Democrats continued to sharpen their criticism of Bush's response to the tragedy.

''We all agree that in many areas the initial response to Hurricane Katrina was unacceptable at the local, state, and federal level," said Frist, Republican of Tennessee. ''Americans deserve answers."

The decision by ranking Republicans -- made without top Democrats -- essentially brought to a halt separate House and Senate investigations into the federal government's preparation and response, inquiries that were ready to proceed more quickly.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee was about to start its investigation next week, but that probe will now have a more limited scope: making sure federal agencies have what they need to respond to the current disaster.

The House Government Reform Committee had also scheduled hearings on the disaster response next week, but House Majority Leader Tom DeLay canceled them, saying the issues should be handed by a joint House-Senate panel.

Though many details remain to be worked out, the joint committee will have subpoena power and will be charged with issuing a report by Feb. 15, congressional aides said.

Democrats said the inquiry looks like a GOP whitewash attempt, and called for an independent commission like the one that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

''An investigation of the Republican administration by a Republican-controlled Congress is like having a pitcher call his own balls and strikes," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada.

The request for funds and the task force announcement were made on a busy day on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers wrestled with the political ramifications of Katrina. Democrats kept up their criticism of the president, with Reid demanding an investigation into whether Bush's five-week vacation at his Texas ranch affected the government's preparations for the storm.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated yesterday that, along with jobs lost, the economic damage from Katrina carved as much as a full percentage point from growth in the gross domestic product for the final six months of the year. With lawmakers just beginning to come to terms with the wide-ranging implications of the disaster, House and Senate leaders have quickly begun crafting sweeping measures -- involving everything from schools to unemployment benefits to healthcare -- designed to help the economy and alleviate the suffering in the devastated area.

The latest aid package, which President Bush requested five days after Congress approved an initial $10.5 billion, is expected to sail through the House and Senate this week with little opposition. The money will take this fiscal year's budget deficit well past $330 billion, and government specialists say the final tally could approach last year's record $412 billion.

Along with Reid's questions about the effects of Bush's vacation, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the president was ''oblivious, in denial, dangerous" and hasn't held anyone to account.

''There is no accountability and no competence," said Pelosi, Democrat of California. ''He is the one whose judgment is on the line."

In addition to the federal aid packages, members of Congress say they will also extend unemployment insurance and healthcare benefits to displaced residents, cut the red tape that could slow government agencies and private companies in reconstruction projects, boost funding to schools that are taking in students from New Orleans and the Gulf region, and consider tax relief for hard-hit businesses and individuals, among a host of other possible legislative moves.

''Instead of finger-pointing, we need to be solving things," said Senator Michael B. Enzi, a Wyoming Republican who is chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Enzi and the committee's ranking Democrat, Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, have scheduled a hearing today with healthcare and education groups to discuss legislation needed to address issues raised by Katrina.

Besides adding more red ink to this fiscal year's budget deficit, the staggering expense of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath could crowd out other spending priorities in the near future.

Budget specialists say the billions spent on emergency aid to the Gulf Coast after the storm won't affect long-term budget forecasts. But legislative fights over the deficit, taxes, Social Security, and the war in Iraq will all take place as the government continues to incur unprecedented, long-term expenses involved with rebuilding devastated communities and providing homes and jobs for hundreds of thousands of storm victims.

Bush has promised to cut the deficit from last year's all-time high of $412 billion in half by the end of his presidency, but the deficit for this year and next year will spiral even higher because of Katrina. In addition, the government may lose billions in tax revenue from businesses wiped out by the storm, and it will pay out far more than anticipated in unemployment benefits, food stamps, and other benefits for the evacuees.