Bush checks in on Gulf Coast, hears his critics ‘loud and clear’

Stung by criticism that he and his administration had neglected the hurricane-tattered Gulf Coast, President Bush on Thursday made his first visit to the region in six months, proclaiming, “This is a hopeful day.”

Bush, standing in a muddy lot near new homes in Long Beach, Miss., said: “Part of the reason I’ve come down is to tell people here in the Gulf Coast that we still think about them in Washington.... Times are changing for the better, and people’s lives are improving. And there is hope.”

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which hit Aug. 29, 2005, the administration was criticized for its slow response. Reports issued by Congress, interest groups and even the White House said delays hindered rescue and recovery efforts in New Orleans and elsewhere on the Gulf Coast.

In January, Bush was criticized for not mentioning the devastation in his State of the Union address.

House Democratic leaders said in a statement ahead of Bush’s Gulf Coast visit: “Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster, compounded by a man-made disaster. It is now 18 months past time to get our response right.”

Administration officials said the criticism was misdirected.

“I think there’s been lots of progress over the last 18 months,” said Don Powell, the administration’s Gulf Coast recovery coordinator. “Children are in school. ‘Help wanted’ signs are up. The port is 100% back. Restaurants are open.”

He added: “Is there more to be done? Absolutely.”

Bush has made 14 trips to the region since the hurricane. Most were in the first two months after the disaster, in which damage estimates reached $100 billion or more. He last visited the area in August, to mark the storm’s anniversary.

On Thursday, Bush made four stops in Mississippi and Louisiana. At the Samuel J. Green Charter School in New Orleans, he visited third- and fifth-grade students and posed for photos.

He called the school “a bright spot,” a sign that life was returning to normal in the city.

“I’m here to herald success -- success for today and, equally important, success for the future of this important city,” Bush told a crowd in the cafeteria, where the high-water mark from flooding was visible on the walls.

Administration officials said more than 50 of New Orleans’ public schools had reopened, serving about 28,000 students.

Critics said that was fewer than half of the 128 schools and 60,000-plus students in the city’s two public school systems before Hurricane Katrina.

Gaining access to the $110 billion in federal money set aside for hurricane relief and recovery is a persistent point of tension between the administration and regional officials. Powell said $53 billion had been spent so far.

He said that it was the responsibility of local officials to “draw down” the funds earmarked for them, and that the administration was committed to removing any red tape.

“We’re doing everything we can to speed that process,” Powell said.

But Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) said the administration had refused to remove a requirement that local governments provide a 10% match to receive federal funds -- a figure seen as prohibitive for communities whose tax base was wiped out.

At a news conference in Washington, Landrieu said the 10% requirement had been waived for other disasters, including Hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1992 and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

“The president can move the recovery of the Gulf Coast forward by a giant leap with a simple stroke of his pen,” said Landrieu, who turned down an invitation to accompany Bush on Thursday. “I call upon the president to use his authority to do the right thing.... If he won’t, I will push hard to get it done legislatively.”

Bush pledged to officials on the Gulf Coast that Washington was listening and would respond.

“One of the things I’ve heard loud and clear is that there’s a continued frustration with the slowness of federal response at times,” Bush said after meeting with officials in Biloxi, Miss.

Later, over lunch at Li’l Dizzy’s, a New Orleans cafe that was flooded and looted after the storm, he told New Orleans officials that he would look into the possibility of waiving the 10% match for recovery assistance.

maura.reynolds@latimes.com

Times staff writers Nicole Gaouette and Richard Simon in Washington contributed to this report.