Quake Recovery Funds May Fall $6 Billion Short

At the same time the federal government released a glowing assessment of its response to the Northridge earthquake, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt said Monday that he anticipates a funding shortfall of up to $6 billion on the cost of Southern California’s recovery.

Speaking to The Times’ editorial board, Witt said President Clinton will ask Congress for more recovery dollars when he submits next year’s budget next month.

“We’ve told the Administration and some members of Congress that there is probably going to be some more funds needed to fulfill the commitment to rebuild California,” Witt said.

Thus far, the federal government has spent or has committed to spending $7.5 billion of the $11.05 billion the Clinton Administration earmarked for rebuilding after the Jan. 17 quake, the most expensive disaster in the nation’s history.

In addition to the growing cost of repairing the city’s damaged infrastructure, Witt said, the bulk of the shortfall can be attributed to unforeseen repair costs at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and UCLA’s medical complex.

In both cases, he said, the repair figures have skyrocketed in comparison to estimates made soon after the quake.

The estimated cost of repairs at County-USC jumped from $400 million to as much as $1.3 billion to build a state-of-the-art medical center in lieu of repairing the aging facility.

A similar situation arose at the UCLA medical complex. Early estimates projected a $630-million price tag. But UCLA officials now are seeking up to $1 billion to not only repair but upgrade the facility.

“In both cases the current figures are substantially higher than they once were,” said Richard Andrews, head of the state Office of Emergency Services, who also attended the editorial board meeting.

Witt declined to guess how the new Republican-controlled Congress will respond to the request, saying he will have a better fix on the reaction once FEMA has a more accurate number for the shortfall.

Although he could not cite an exact figure, Witt said he believes the shortfall may range from $3 billion to $6 billion.

A federal funding shortfall was first projected last month when the state Office of Emergency Services and Los Angeles County released new estimates of $6 billion in damage to public facilities, a figure that has more than doubled over the last year.

Although Witt was cautious about saying whether Congress would approve the additional funding, other FEMA officials were optimistic, saying that the disaster cut across party lines and should not get caught up in partisan debate.

“It’s hard to think that they would not fund an eligible cost,” said FEMA spokesman Morrie Goodman. “It’s not a partisan issue.”

Witt’s visit to Los Angeles coincided with FEMA’s release of an upbeat 62-page report on recovery from the disaster to commemorate the first anniversary of the 6.7-magnitude quake.

An accompanying report by the Office of Management and Budget said the Clinton Administration has committed $11.05 billion to the quake recovery and has spent or promised to spend $7.5 billion, or 67% of the total.

Nearly half of that money--$3.4 billion--has been distributed by the Small Business Administration in the form of loans to businesses and homeowners.