Out of sight, out of mind

Sad, but hardly surprising: Washington legislators have largely forgotten about those displaced from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina:

Less than three months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, relief legislation remains dormant in Washington and despair is growing among officials here who fear that Congress and the Bush administration are losing interest in their plight.

As evidence, the state and local officials cite an array of stalled bills and policy changes they say are crucial to rebuilding the city and persuading some of its hundreds of thousands of evacuated residents to return, including measures to finance long-term hurricane protection, revive small businesses and compensate the uninsured.

"There is a real concern that we will lose the nation's attention the longer this takes," said Representative Bobby Jindal, a Republican from Metairie, just west of New Orleans. "People are making decisions now about whether to come back. And every day that passes, it will be a little harder to get things done."

Officials from both parties say the bottlenecks have occurred in large part because of a leadership vacuum in Washington, where President Bush and Congress have been preoccupied for weeks with Iraq, deficit reduction, the C.I.A. leak investigation and the Supreme Court.

Congressional leaders have been scrambling to rein in spending, and many in Washington have grumbled that Louisiana's leaders have asked for too much, while failing to guarantee that the money will be spent efficiently and honestly.

By contrast, many say, Washington's response to the Sept. 11 attacks seemed more focused and sustained.

Perhaps it's because most of the displaced from 9/11 were affluent white people living in Battery Park City and environs, and large businesses (a.k.a. "the haves...and the have-mores....I call you my base") that are also campaign contributors. Yes, small businesses were displaced too, and most of them got stiffed, with much of the relief money going to firms in more affluent, upstate communities.

I don't want to hear what Bobby Jindal has to say. Here's a guy who's a rising Republican star becuase he happens to be one of the few Republican legislators who is dark of skin. By supporting Republicans, he's helped allow this to happen. So why does it surprise him that Republicans are refusing to help minorities in his district?