Back in April we learned the extent to which the federal government dropped the ball on nearly $1 billion of foreign aid for the Gulf Coast. Now the city of New Orleans may try to pick up the ball…
“We are
trying to go around the federal government,” said Nagin. “We are trying
to contact foreign governments directly to see if we can get some of
those dollars coming here.”City
Council Vice-President Oliver Thomas introduced a resolution at a
recent council meeting to have the city start contacting the countries.
“Is the offer still on the table?” Thomas said the city should ask. “If
so, how soon can we access the resources or goods.”Whether the city
could tap into the offers from foreign governments wasn’t clear, but
Senator Mary Landrieu said there is no federal law to prohibit the city
from soliciting donations on its own.