Bobby Jindal

Editorial: A double line of protection

Editorial: A double line of protection
New Orleans Times-Picayune Editorial, July 22, 2008

Gov. Bobby Jindal laid out in compelling terms Friday how urgently Louisiana needs resources to protect and rebuild our coast.
 
And he argued persuasively for President Bush to give the state financial relief to ensure that there's no lag in levee work or coastal restoration projects.
 
For now, the federal government is insisting that Louisiana pay its $1.8 billion share of levee construction costs up front. The figure includes $200 million more for that work than would have been required pre-Katrina.
 
That is unfair. President Bush ought to give Louisiana 30 years to pay its share and reduce the cost to pre-Katrina levels, as Gov. Jindal is asking. All it would take is an executive order. The long-term payment plan is allowed under the 1986 Water Resources Development Act, and California and Nevada have been given those terms on similar projects.

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