Sen. Clinton Talks Levees, Aid in Tour of Battered City

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) toured areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina and expressed concern Sunday that efforts to repair the city’s levees might not be enough to protect New Orleans’ residents from future hurricanes.

“There is a need to go back and find out what went wrong,” Clinton said. “What more do we need to do to protect this area?”

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Stuart Waits told Clinton that a breach at the Industrial Canal, which contributed to the flooding, should be repaired by June 1, before the next hurricane season. But he said unless the Army Corps of Engineers was authorized to strengthen the levee’s existing structure and given enough money to do so, the levee probably would not withstand more than a Category 3 hurricane.

Congress is considering $29 billion in hurricane assistance that would pay for levee repairs and upgrades.

Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) led Clinton on the tour, along with Gen. Hunt Downer of the Louisiana Army National Guard. Landrieu said she was confident the hurricane package would pass but worried that it might not be enough.