Mar. Theatre
March 5, 2007Harry Smith
March 7, 2007
Members of Congressman Charlie Melancon’s party learned an important lesson in recent weeks: Don’t mess with a “blue dog.”
The self-described “blue dog”-a Democrat with his eye on the bottom line and the good of the people regardless of the affiliation-was calm after the new Congress’ first 100-hour plan failed to include coastal recovery.
But when the Democratic majority overlooked the Gulf Coast region in the second leg of its platform, Melancon barked. Loudly. Publicly.
And it caught the attention of his party.
“I was patient in the first 100 hours,” Melancon said, “but now we need some things to start happening in our favor.”
Of major concern, the congressman said, are regulations on how Small Business Administration and Road Home monies must be spend, the government’s past refusal to suspend the monetary match required in the Stafford Act, skyrocketing insurance costs, and an over-burdened health care system.
These issues have greatly hindered, if not completely stalled, the recovery effort over 19 months after hurricanes Katrina and Rita plowed ashore, he said.
In recent daysnin large part because of Melancon’s public criticism of the lack of supportnthe congressman said bills aimed at Louisiana’s most pressing woes are being introduced. Over the coming month, the congressman said lawmakers will try to address one by one the region’s problems.
Last week, the congressman introduced a billnthe Catastrophic Disaster Recovery Improvements Actnto waive the requirement that storm victims use Road Home grants to repay SBA disaster assistance loans.
The SBA has interpreted the rule preventing benefits from being duplicated to apply to loans and grants, and thus requiring any Road Home monies be used to immediately pay down loans.
Melancon said his bill will give the SBA administrator the flexibility to fully or partially waive the rule for future major disasters, and will make the changes retroactive for homeowners who suffered losses during the 2005 hurricane season.
“Hurricane victims in south Louisiana need all the help they can get with rebuilding their homes and getting their lives back to normal,” he said. “They don’t need the federal government giving with one hand and taking with the other. This common-sense bill will remove a bureaucratic hurdle that could slow the recovery progress even more.”
According to the congressman, the waiver is intended to give borrowers additional money to rebuild while still retaining the Federal government’s role to ensure financial responsibility to taxpayers.
“If we force storm victims to repay their SBA loans with Road Home money, they end up no better off than if they hadn’t taken the initiative to apply for an SBA loan in the first place,” Melancon said.
The bill does not forgive the SBA loan, he noted. Borrowers still have to repay the debt. “They will just be able to repay them under the extended timeframe they originally agreed to when they got the loans.”
By giving the homeowner a choice, Melancon said the Road Home money can be used for its intended purpose: “Rebuilding their homes and moving forward with their lives, which is a goal we can all agree on.”
The congressman said additional legislative relief should make its way through Congress by mid- to late-March. Among the measures expected to come before lawmakers is WRDA, the Water Resources Development Act. The bill, which includes the Morganza to the Gulf project, stalled in the closing hours of the last Congress.
