Bailout could help Blanco legacy, Landrieu re-election

For a governor trying to shine up her legacy and a senator trying to hold onto her job, a $3 billion bailout for the state’s Road Home program couldn’t be more welcome.

Democrats Gov. Kathleen Blanco and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu could use whatever help – and crowning achievements – they can get.

Blanco doesn’t want to exit her four-year term as governor with a gaping shortfall in the marquis program she spearheaded to help homeowners rebuild and recover after hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated south Louisiana in 2005. The hurricanes ended Blanco’s plans to run for re-election, but the governor hopes history will grade her four years in office with a friendlier view than the heavy criticism she received in the storms’ aftermath.

Meanwhile, Landrieu needs a string of ways to show her clout and power in the U.S. Senate as she enters her election year, with an uncertain voting base and a target on her seat by Republicans seeking to oust her. Thousands of New Orleans voters, seen as Landrieu’s core support, are scattered after Katrina. GOP officials are hoping that gives them an opportunity to unseat her.

President Bush’s signature last week on legislation containing the Road Home gap financing puts a rosier face on both women’s efforts.

The bailout money was tucked inside a “must-pass” $460 billion defense bill to finance Pentagon operations in the budget year that began Oct. 1.

Landrieu and Blanco deserve credit for helping secure the dollars.

Landrieu fought behind the scenes to get the money inserted into the defense bill – and is credited by Democrats and even some Republicans as ensuring it was a done deal. Blanco traveled to Washington, D.C., repeatedly, meeting with members of Congress and begging for assistance for the cash-strapped hurricane recovery program.

About 70,000 homeowners have received grants from the Road Home so far. The program – now a $10.4 billion initiative funded mainly with federal money – provides buyout or repair grants of up to $150,000 to homeowners with severe damage from Katrina or Rita. The Louisiana Recovery Authority estimates as many as 166,000 applicants will be eligible for the aid.

Without the $3 billion, the program would have run out of money around the start of the new year and with thousands of homeowners empty-handed, LRA estimated.

New federal dollars for the program couldn’t come a moment too soon.

“It means no more waiting, no more worrying what will happen with this vital funding. It is now law, and provides much-needed peace of mind to thousands of homeowners who were starting the holiday season unsure of whether the Road Home would be there for them,” Landrieu said in a statement after Bush signed the defense budget bill.

Landrieu and Blanco shared the praise, thanking leaders in Congress who helped secure the funding, Louisiana’s congressional delegation for its united front and Republican Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal, who pressed for the bailout cash.

But the picture isn’t all rosy.

The Road Home gap isn’t entirely bridged with the $3 billion. Louisiana leaders still are pressing to be allowed to use another $1.2 billion in federal hazard mitigation money for the homeowner program.

If that’s approved, LRA estimates the grant program still could be another $300 million short.

And on top of the need for more money, at least one political analyst said the bailout doesn’t necessarily help Blanco and Landrieu as much as they may anticipate.

Shreveport pollster Elliott Stonecipher said people saw Congress’ intervention to help the Road Home as a foregone conclusion, and Republicans can argue Landrieu wasn’t integral in making the bailout happen.

As for Blanco’s legacy, Stonecipher said it’s too early to discuss favorable views of her time as governor. “At this point? No, the Road Home will not help. The wounds are way, way, way too deep.”