Louisiana's $7.5 billion "Road Home Program" to buy out homeowners or help them rebuild is going broke.
Governor Kathleen Blanco and Road Home officials say they expect a $3 billion shortfall, mostly because the grants that have been doled out for rebuilding are running much higher than originally projected.
Nearly a year after the program began operating, fewer than 10% of applications have been processed. The state has yet to fully set up the Road Home non-profit corporation that will take ownership of as many as 15,000 bought-out properties.
READ HERE HOW KATRINA IS HITTING BLACKS HARDER THAN WHITES
More than a year after the Legislature authorized creation of the non-profit corporation, it has no executive director or staff and the rules for handling the destroyed houses and other ruined pieces of property have yet to be spelled out.
Governor Blanco's solution: "We will be looking to Congress to make up the difference." Susan Aspey, President Bush's Gulf Coast recovery chief response, was, "Just because there is a need does not necessarily mean that the Federal Taxpayers should be meeting that need."
Passing the buck --SOUND FAMILIAR?