Bush makes Gulf Coast tour

NEW ORLEANS -- President Bush acknowledged Thursday that the people of the Gulf Coast are angered by the slow pace of recovery from Hurricane Katrina and he promised to help pick up the pace.

"I fully understand that there are frustrations, and I want to know the frustrations," Bush said while sitting down to lunch with city leaders. "To the extent we can help, we'll help."

In his first visit to the region in six months, Bush sought to fight the perception that he has forgotten about those hard-hit by the August 2005 storm. Much of the city outside the tourist areas remains in ruins.

"I committed to the people of this part of the world and the Gulf Coast that the federal government would fund recovery -- and stay committed to the recovery," Bush said during his 14th trip to the region. It was his first visit since he toured the area on the one-year anniversary of the storm.

The Bush administration's initial response to the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history was widely seen as a failure. The White House has since sought to reassure residents -- and the nation -- that it is committed to recovery. Still, the president is dogged by criticism.

The White House says Bush has helped make $110 billion in aid available for rebuilding, education and rental assistance. Bush's aides say Cabinet officials have visited the region dozens of times, and that state and local leaders must share responsibility for delays.

Bush's message of the day was that Washington has provided money and wants to get it in people's hands.

On the outskirts of the French Quarter, Bush had lunch at Li'l Dizzy's Cafe with Louisiana officials. Sitting next to him was New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who has been outspoken in demanding a better federal response.

Exasperated officials from the region said it was telling that Katrina did not get a mention in Bush's State of the Union speech in January.

"If you don't get New Orleans straight, the United States will never be the same," said Wayne Baquet, whose restaurant was flooded and looted during Katrina's worst days.

Baquet said he worried the nation no longer was paying attention to New Orleans. "Everybody ought to be on the bandwagon trying to get New Orleans back," he said. "Everybody."

In Washington, some Democrats criticized Bush for not intervening more often.

"Long-term recovery for the Gulf Coast requires a whole lot more than 18 months of empty promises," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. "Businesses that were once the heart of the Gulf Coast economy are now hanging on by a thread."

Kerry said legislation offering tax breaks to encourage businesses to build or expand in areas hit by hurricane was a good first step. But, he said, the government's disaster loan program needs to be overhauled, fixing problems that have prevented businesses from getting timely financial assistance.

Bush began his trip in Mississippi by touring five homes in a Long Beach neighborhood. He gave an American flag to Ernie and Cheryl Woodward, who rebuilt their home with the help of a federal grant.

"People's lives are improving, and there is hope," he said.

The sentiment is not shared by many who live along the storm's brutal path -- particularly in New Orleans. Crime has soared and health care is limited. Large numbers of residents are so frustrated they are thinking of getting out for good.

Bush got a friendly reception, though, as he walked from house to house in the southern Mississippi neighborhood.

"Staying busy?" he asked a construction crew. One of the workers told him the crew was still working on the same block of the neighborhood a year and a half after the storm.

The federal official overseeing recovery efforts said Katrina's damage was so vast that it was hard to estimate when the recovery will be completed.

"We all have a sense of urgency," Don Powell, Bush's coordinator for the Gulf Coast recovery, told reporters.

"But I think it's important to put it in perspective about the size of the storm, and how overwhelming this storm was," Powell said. "I think there's been some good progress."

"American taxpayers have poured a lot of money in that area," Powell said. "It's important that the locals -- that local people -- begin to push a process" to get the money where it is needed.

Of $110 billion in relief aid that Congress has approved, $86 billion has been committed to projects, and $53 billion has been spent, Powell told reporters aboard Air Force One.