WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco told Congress Wednesday she came to Washington to talk about jobs -- not place blame over Hurricane Katrina failures.
The Democratic governor testified before the Senate Finance Committee one day after former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown blamed the poor disaster response in New Orleans on "dysfunctional" state and city governments in Louisiana.
"I came really to talk about job creation. We have a huge mission of rebuilding," Blanco said, who declined to answer Brown's charge.
The politics and finger pointing extend well beyond the devastated geography of the hurricane disaster zone along the U.S. Gulf Coast all the way to the nation's capital.
The Los Angeles Times reports finance committee chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has warned the Bush administration it would be "very difficult" to move legislation through his committee if the White House continues to oppose a bill that would temporarily expand Medicaid in states hit by Katrina.
