Hurricane Recovery Far From Over, Bush Says

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Wednesday reassured still-struggling victims of Hurricane Katrina that he had not forgotten them, but warned that recovery would not be achieved by the first anniversary of the devastating storm.

"It's a time to remember that people suffered, and it's a time to recommit ourselves to helping them," Bush said after meeting in the Oval Office with Rockey Vaccarella, who lost his home to Katrina. "But I also want people to remember that a one-year anniversary is just that, because it's going to require a long time to help these people rebuild."

The administration's Gulf Coast recovery coordinator, Donald E. Powell, said during a White House briefing Tuesday that since Katrina slammed into Louisiana and Mississippi last Aug. 29, only $44 billion of the $110 billion in federal money earmarked for rebuilding the region had been spent.

"I have a sense of frustration; I have a sense of urgency all the time," Powell said. Federal funds have begun to reach Mississippi homeowners, he said, but Louisiana has delayed its plans for distribution.

Bush addressed the delay in his remarks Wednesday. "To the extent that there are still bureaucratic hurdles and the need for the federal government to help eradicate those hurdles, we want to do that," he said.

With midterm congressional elections less than three months away, Democrats are seeking to use the lapses in the government's response to Katrina -- including the vivid images of residents stranded on rooftops or directed to shelters with no food or water -- to sway voters against Republicans.

"What Katrina does is illustrate the case we have been making," one senior Democratic aide said Wednesday, requesting anonymity when discussing the party's political plans.

In a new report, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who both plan to visit the Gulf Coast region in the coming week, detailed what they described as the Bush administration's failures.

"One year ago, Katrina and Rita taught the American people the terrible lesson that their government was not prepared to protect them," Reid said Wednesday, announcing the report's release. "Unfortunately, one year after the hurricanes and five years after 9/11, Bush Republicans in Washington still have not taken that lesson to heart."