Hurricane Recovery Far From Over, Bush Says

President Bush on Wednesday reassured still-struggling victims of Hurricane Katrina that he had not forgotten them, but warned that recovery would not be achieved by the first anniversary of the devastating storm.

“It’s a time to remember that people suffered, and it’s a time to recommit ourselves to helping them,” Bush said after meeting in the Oval Office with Rockey Vaccarella, who lost his home to Katrina. “But I also want people to remember that a one-year anniversary is just that, because it’s going to require a long time to help these people rebuild.”

The administration’s Gulf Coast recovery coordinator, Donald E. Powell, said during a White House briefing Tuesday that since Katrina slammed into Louisiana and Mississippi last Aug. 29, only $44 billion of the $110 billion in federal money earmarked for rebuilding the region had been spent.

“I have a sense of frustration; I have a sense of urgency all the time,” Powell said. Federal funds have begun to reach Mississippi homeowners, he said, but Louisiana has delayed its plans for distribution.

Bush addressed the delay in his remarks Wednesday. “To the extent that there are still bureaucratic hurdles and the need for the federal government to help eradicate those hurdles, we want to do that,” he said.

With midterm congressional elections less than three months away, Democrats are seeking to use the lapses in the government’s response to Katrina -- including the vivid images of residents stranded on rooftops or directed to shelters with no food or water -- to sway voters against Republicans.

“What Katrina does is illustrate the case we have been making,” one senior Democratic aide said Wednesday, requesting anonymity when discussing the party’s political plans.

In a new report, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who both plan to visit the Gulf Coast region in the coming week, detailed what they described as the Bush administration’s failures.

“One year ago, Katrina and Rita taught the American people the terrible lesson that their government was not prepared to protect them,” Reid said Wednesday, announcing the report’s release. “Unfortunately, one year after the hurricanes and five years after 9/11, Bush Republicans in Washington still have not taken that lesson to heart.”

The report, titled “Broken Promises,” says that thousands of families still are waiting for trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency; that an estimated 11% of the $19 billion spent by FEMA -- or about $2 billion -- has been lost to fraud and abuse; and that 80% of Gulf Coast businesses with approved Small Business Administration disaster loans are still waiting for the money.

“The response to Hurricane Katrina was disastrous -- the Bush administration failed to keep Americans safe,” Pelosi said. “Chaos, confusion and utter incompetence cannot continue.”

In a separate report on wasteful procurement spending, two California Democrats, Reps. Henry A. Waxman of Los Angeles and Dennis Cardoza of Atwater, plan to announce today the formation of a “truth squad” to expose fraud and abuse in Katrina contract awards.

In the Oval Office, meanwhile, the president discussed Katrina and its aftermath with Vaccarella, a 41-year-old resident of Meraux, La., who has been traveling the country, making a documentary about his road to recovery as he and his family live in a FEMA trailer.

Wearing a blue shirt and no tie -- he told reporters he’d lost them all in the storm -- Vaccarella seemed to enjoy his “Forrest Gump” moment.

“You know, it’s really amazing when a small man like me from St. Bernard Parish can meet the president of the United States,” he said. “The president is a people person. I knew that from the beginning.”

Bush had kind words in return.

“Rock is a plain-spoken guy; he’s the kind of fellow I feel comfortable talking to,” the president said. “I told him that I understand that there’s people down there that still need help. And I told him the federal government will work with the state and local authorities to get the help to them as quickly as possible.”

Later, White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino said that when the invitation to meet with Bush was extended to Vaccarella, White House staffers did not know that he was a Republican who had once run for local office. “At the time of invitation, no, there was no knowledge of his political affiliation,” she said.

The exchange between the president and Vaccarella ended as if the two were enjoying a convivial evening in a neighborhood bar, instead of standing before the White House press corps on the South Lawn.

“You’re a good man, Rockey,” said Bush, slapping Vaccarella on the back.

“You are too,” Vaccarella responded, slapping the president on the back in return. “Thanks a bunch.”

As he walked along the White House driveway, Vaccarella talked with reporters, urging other Katrina survivors to “get rolling” and see the glass as half-full instead of half-empty. “We get knocked down, we get back up -- we’re Americans,” he said. “We got hit; we just need to get back on our feet and get rolling.”

Then Vaccarella left, carrying a goody bag that he said contained a tie pin, a bookmark and other tokens from the president.