Katrina Coverage

The "war" in question involves not giving aid to people who've been convicted of drug crimes:
Federal laws prohibit former drug law offenders from obtaining welfare, food stamps, public housing, financial aid for schools and other benefits for themselves and their families. While it is impossible to know for sure how many hurricane victims will be […]

From Much of Katrina Aid Remains Unspent
Within 10 days of Hurricane Katrina's slamming of the Gulf Coast, President Bush and Congress rushed with rare speed to provide an unprecedented $62.3 billion in disaster aid — twice the annual budget of the entire Homeland Security Department. White House budget director Joshua Bolten predicted the money would […]

From Katrina's big contracts go to political loop
When Hurricane Katrina struck, Ashbritt Inc. was well-positioned to take advantage of the torrent of government dollars that followed.
The Pompano Beach, Fla., firm had spent years cultivating its relationship with the federal government, contributing tens of thousands of dollars to the Republican Party and, more recently, hiring a […]

That's what the Drug Policy Alliance says in this 10/11 press release.

What fool pays retail? The feds! According to the NYT's "Federal Agencies Often Paid Retail for Hurricane Aid".
While it concentrates on what they bought, it also contains the interesting info that just 20 DHS employees had those infamous charge cards with $250,000 limits:
Mr. Orluskie, of the Homeland Security Department, said that far from giving out […]

From the AP report "With U.S. Katrina aid, tracing money isn't easy":
Trying to track who is getting what portion of the billions of dollars in federal Hurricane Katrina aid is enough to give any auditor a headache - and is a problem that critics say creates alarming gaps in public oversight.
The database of contracts is […]

WaPo:
Soaring energy prices and a renewed attention to issues of poverty after Hurricane Katrina are hampering Republicans' plans to cut dozens of federal programs that Congress had targeted for elimination before the hurricane struck.
By mid-summer, the House Appropriations Committee had identified 98 federal programs to terminate, at a savings of $4.3 billion. President Bush, pressured […]

Mary Landrieu: It's Never Enough has all the facts and figures on how much Louisiana gets from the federal government:
…As illustrated by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, federal income taxes collected from residents and businesses in Louisiana have only increased by 11 percent in the period from 1997 through 2003. Yet, at the same time, federal […]

WASHINGTON — In a sign of the growing backlash to rebuilding costs, lawmakers attached unprecedented strings today [Oct. 7] to legislation that would provide $750 million in federal loans for hurricane-damaged cities.
The action came just weeks after President Bush pledged to spend whatever it takes to rebuild the Gulf Coast, and reflected a sharp change […]

The LAT article "Lobbyists Shape Gulf Coast Rebuilding" has more on just how much say corporations got in Louisiana's rebuilding plan. Bear in mind, that article is about the state's plan, the one they want $250 billion for. See "Louisiana wants $40 billion; stuffed with pork" for previous coverage.
From the LAT:
…"I was basically shocked," said […]