Edwards Blasts Bush Administration for Being Slow on Katrina Aid

4 May 2007 // NEW ORLEANS — Presidential contender John Edwards lambasted the Bush administration Friday for reportedly "squandering" millions of dollars in aid offered by allies after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that $854 million in cash and oil was offered by U.S. allies, ranging from Kuwait to Canada, but so far only $40 million has been spent on disaster victims and reconstruction.

"Turning away, and as a result squandering, $800 million that could have helped the people of New Orleans is another example in a long series of examples of the failures of the Bush administration here in New Orleans," Edwards said.

The former senator and Democratic contender made his comments after a brief appearance in jeans and work boots at a site where Habitat for Humanity is building a house in the hard-hit 9th Ward.

The Bush administration has said it had trouble accepting the foreign aid because Katrina was unprecedented and the United States was unfamiliar with offers of foreign aid.

The Post said its report was based on cables, telegraphs and e-mails from U.S. diplomats obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a public interest group which got the documents via a Freedom of Information Act request.

In December, Edwards announced his bid for the presidency while working to rebuild a home, making New Orleans and its associated social ills a centerpiece to his campaign.

"A lot of the struggles America faces, New Orleans is faced with. It's emblematic of a lot of the struggles we face in this country. I also like to think that it's emblematic of what's possible in this country if we do the right thing and take responsibility," Edwards said later Friday at the National Conference of Black Mayors' annual convention in Baton Rouge, where he again took aim at the Bush administration.

"This is an embarrassment for America," Edwards told a receptive audience.

"All that millions of dollars - I hate to sound like an ordinary citizen - but all that millions of dollars where did it go?" Edwards said. "I'm here to tell you that there are places in New Orleans I can't tell are much different."

He also said agencies leading the recovery - the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers - are falling short.

He said that as far as he can see, the corps is just messing around with the levees. "We've got to rebuild these levees. We've got to make New Orleans safe."

"The Administration is committed to rebuilding the Gulf Coast, apparently John Edwards is committed to scoring political points," said Amber Wilkerson, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee. "It is unfortunate but not surprising that John Edwards would politicize this issue to help his flagging presidential campaign."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.