“Residents of the Gulf Coast saw in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita the unique opportunity to shape the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region into communities which are integrated, diverse, secure and sustainable.

“Yet it has been one year since the landfall of Hurricane Katrina and Rita and the storied cities and communities along the Gulf Coast continue to operate on little power, little access to health care, and little information about when things will get better. Eleven percent of the funding for recovery has been waste, fraud and abuse. Eighty percent of Gulf Coast businesses are still waiting to get Small Business Administration loans, according to reports. The only public hospital has still not-reopened and only three of the 10 acute-care hospitals are functioning. Thousands of families are still waiting for FEMA trailers.

“This situation is not acceptable.

“For the sake of all communities along the Gulf Coast who are an important part of the social fabric of our nation, we need a new direction that delivers a reconstruction and recovery effort to strengthen communities, secure the economy and protects the health and rights of all workers and residents, today and in the future.”