According to figures compiled by the Bush administration, only about 40 percent of the money available - or about $45 billion - has been doled out by the federal government. And the bulk of that money has gone for the initial rescue efforts, debris removal and the emergency repairs to New Orleans' ruptured levees, proving that even in Louisiana water flows faster than money.
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Yet the process of getting the money can be painfully slow. Those seeking federal grants, including local governments, hospitals, churches and nonprofit agencies, first have to complete a "project worksheet," explaining what the money is for and how it will be spent. Any proposal of more than $1 million has to be approved by the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, where Louisiana officials said some have stalled for 50 days or more.
Once the federal agency decides to "obligate" or "earmark" the money, it is up to the state to review the project and write a check. In Louisiana alone, there have been about 17,000 project worksheets filed since Katrina, ranging from a few thousand dollars to tens of millions. The applications are in a third-floor office in Baton Rouge where 60 grant managers handle 20 to 25 proposals each. The state is hiring more managers.
Art Jones, Louisiana's chief of disaster recovery, said he understands people's impatience with an application process that he said averages about six weeks - and can sometimes stretch much longer. But he also said that the state has a responsibility to make sure the money isn't misspent.
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Meanwhile, money is stuck in the pipeline at the Small Business Administration. New Orleanian Roland Hymel said he waited six months after his SBA loan was approved in February to get his money. While he waited, Hymel took out personal loans from private banks at exorbitant rates so he could fix up his Canal Street building in New Orleans so he could rent it to local police and the FBI. "What if I didn't have my own money to afford to do that?" Hymel asked. "I feel sorry when I drive down Canal Street and see all those other businesses that aren't opening up again. Things are going so slow it's unreal."
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