Bush pledges probe, will seek up to $40 billion in aid

WASHINGTON – President Bush intends to seek as much as $40 billion to cover the next phase of relief and recovery from Hurricane Katrina, congressional officials said Tuesday as leading lawmakers and the White House pledged to investigate an initial federal response widely condemned as woefully inadequate.

One week after the hurricane inflicted devastation of biblical proportions on the Gulf Coast, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the total tab for the federal government may top $150 billion. At the same time, senators in both parties said they suspect price gouging by oil companies in the storm’s aftermath.

Republicans and Democrats alike heaped criticism on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the government’s front-line responder agency for national disasters. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told Bush to his face at the White House that he should fire the agency’s director, Michael Brown. “The president thanked me for my suggestion,” the California Democrat said afterward.

Meanwhile, internal documents show Brown waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security workers to support rescuers in the region – and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents.

Brown sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said that among duties of these employees was to “convey a positive image” about the government’s response for victims.

Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged Tuesday the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged.

Brown’s memo to Chertoff described Katrina as “this near catastrophic event” but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, “Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities.”

Stung by earlier criticism, Bush invited congressional leaders to the White House for an afternoon meeting, then dispatched several Cabinet officials to the Capitol to brief rank-and-file members. “Bureaucracy is not going to stand in the way of getting the job done for the people,” Bush told reporters.

House and Senate committee chairmen announced investigations, while House Speaker Dennis Hastert suggested a bipartisan House-Senate probe. “We’re ready to get going,” he said.

Some Democrats called for an independent commission along the lines of the one appointed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “There was nobody in charge at the federal government, there was nobody willing to take responsibility to work with the state and local officials,” Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said at a news conference.

Whatever their plans, lawmakers took largely symbolic actions on their first day in the Capitol since the storm – the Senate expressing condolences to victims of the storm and the House observing a moment of silence.

Bush did not specify at the meeting with congressional leaders how much he would request for additional relief. A $10.5 billion down-payment approved last week is “being used at an increasingly rapid pace. We’re readying a second installment now and a precise number is currently being determined,” said Scott Milburn, an Office of Management and Budget spokesman.

The congressional officials who said the total could be as high as $40 billion from Congress did so on condition of anonymity because it was not clear when the formal announcement would be made. Reid said he expected a request in the range of $40 billion to $50 billion.

The unprecedented scope of the destruction swiftly shot relief and recovery items to the top of Congress’ autumn to-do list.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., put off planned votes on elimination of the inheritance tax, a GOP priority, and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the need to address hurricane-related difficulties would further postpone action on Bush’s long-delayed call for overhauling Social Security.

Chertoff said efforts now focus on rehabilitating the battered coast and helping displaced residents find housing, education and jobs.

“I think what we have to offer the people of all of the afflicted areas now is hope,” Chertoff said after briefing senators. “There is a tremendous amount of work to do.”