Bush Promises Improved Relief Effort, Adds Troops

President Bush, continuing to acknowledge a flawed federal response to Hurricane Katrina as “unacceptable,” announced Saturday that he was increasing the number of troops to the storm-ravaged area and providing other assistance for rescue and recovery efforts there.

But even as the president sought to show he and his administration were getting a handle on the disaster, two leading Senate Democrats called for more government assistance. They urged Bush to release cash benefits to out-of-work victims and house the homeless at military bases and other federal installations.

Congress is set to begin hearings soon on the federal response to the effects of the hurricane in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. And Saturday’s rhetoric foreshadowed the prominence the issue will likely have as lawmakers and the White House debate long-range plans for the stricken areas and who should be held responsible for the pace of the government’s actions, which have been criticized as lagging.

“The magnitude of responding to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the size of Great Britain has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities,” Bush said Saturday in the White House Rose Garden, flanked by many of his administration’s top officials.

“The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable.”

While visiting the Gulf Coast on Friday, Bush said, “I am satisfied with the response” to the hurricane. “But I’m not satisfied with the results.”

The president said Saturday that he was sending 7,200 active-duty soldiers and Marines to the region to help restore order. And the Pentagon said an additional 10,000 National Guard troops were being dispatched to Louisiana and Mississippi, raising to 40,000 the number of Guard members there.

“Where our response is not working, we’ll make it right,” Bush said. “Where our response is working, we will duplicate it. We have a responsibility to our brothers and sisters all along the Gulf Coast, and we will not rest until we get this right and the job is done.”

He added: “All of us agree that more can be done to improve our ability to restore order and deliver relief in a timely and effective manner.”

Moments after the president spoke, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) distributed a letter they said was being sent to Bush that called on him to set up longer-range payment and housing programs for the needy.

They also requested that more food and water be brought to the Gulf Coast.

“We are concerned that rescue and recovery efforts appear to remain chaotic and that many victims remain hungry and without adequate shelter nearly a week after the hurricane struck,” they said.

They added: “Clearly, strong personal leadership from you is essential if we are to get this effort on track.”

Throughout much of last week, Bush was buffeted by criticism that he had failed to react quickly to the hurricane.

At the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has set up a mobile command center in Baton Rouge, La., officials said their top priority remained feeding and housing the needy. But they also are weighing options for taking care of the homeless into the winter.

Barbara Ellis, a FEMA spokeswoman in Washington, said the possibilities include use of mobile homes as well as military bases and other federal housing.

On Saturday, the U.S. chartered three Carnival Cruise liners -- Ecstasy, Sensation and Holiday -- for six months to provide temporary shelter. Under that plan, more than 4,500 people could be housed in the ships, docked at Galveston, Texas, and Mobile, Ala.

“There are a lot of different options on the table,” Ellis said. “We’re thinking outside the box on this.”

But Bush cautioned there would be no quick fixes. “I know that those of you who have been hit hard by Katrina are suffering,” he said. “Many are angry and desperate for help. The tasks before us are enormous, but so is the heart of America.”

The official Democratic response to Bush remarks came from Rep. Charlie Melancon, a southern Louisiana Democrat.

Melancon said that he, like Bush, had toured the devastation. “Entire communities have been wiped out,” he said. “Families who have lost everything are found around every bend in the road. There is death and immense suffering.”

He sharply criticized the administration for not having done more to improve the levees around New Orleans that were breached in the storm, an issue that has prompted accusations from some that the federal government was foolhardy in the face of such storm threats.

“Hurricane protection projects and levee support and restoration projects carry with them life-saving and life-preserving consequences,” Melancon said. “We have always known these things along the Gulf Coast. Resources for these crucial projects are not just something nice to do. They are essential.”

Michael Chertoff, secretary of homeland security, said at a news conference that the Coast Guard had saved more than 9,500 lives, that 4,000 people had been airlifted out of the waters drenching New Orleans, and that an Amtrak train had made its first run out of Louisiana’s largest city, carrying some 650 evacuees to Dallas.

“The situation is improving hour by hour,” Chertoff said. “Nevertheless, we’re not satisfied.”

Chertoff said officials did not expect the double challenge of Hurricane Katrina hitting the Gulf Coast and the storm surges that caused the flooding. “Nobody can come up with a pair of disasters like this,” he said.

He said his department had done some planning for responding to a major disaster in New Orleans but acknowledged that those plans were never finished.

“While not completed, it was a very good plan for what was foreseeable,” he said. “But this major breach of the levees was outside the scope of what people reasonably foresaw.”