Andy Kopplin Quotations

What this information shows, I think, is this was the most expensive natural disaster in American history.

The eye on the prize is that we get the resources we need so folks have the confidence that they can come back, and there's a long-term commitment of the federal government to be the state's partner in protecting our cities and towns from hurricanes and restoring the coast.

My guess is that neither the governor or the Legislature is going to start distributing funds until we have an extraordinarily high degree of confidence that the money is in the bank.

We've got to have the $4.2 billion to make it work, but if we wait until we have it we'll be criticized that we are delaying the process. We want people to feel comfortable that the money is going to be there for them and to see that the wheels of the process are going forward.

Our greatest fear is that we're going to have the money available but the implementation status delayed.

Our goal is to try to identify the ways this money can be used to have the most leverage, in terms of providing private sector investment.

Our No. 1 goal is to get that money out as expeditiously as possible. The limiting factor will be the number of contractors available.

We need to keep working to get our national surrogates to explain the facts - that the federal response was anemic and had been shortchanged by budget cuts and avoiding responsibilities like protecting Louisiana levees and wetlands.

We are providing ways to keep homeowners as homeowners. You can successfully rebuild South Louisiana with the package we have proposed.

We are confident that this money is going to come through.

We want to make sure that folks know that our city and its culture are on the rebound. They'll see how much work there is to be done, but they'll also see that there's great potential for New Orleans' future.

We think it's very important. We want feedback from all our citizens. This is not an opportunity to sign up for a FEMA trailer or certain programs. This is an opportunity for them to tell us what would make them come back home.

The time table Secretary Card spoke of was, in fact, the time table General Blum had committed the night before to Governor Blanco to meet.

The burden of suggesting good ideas, you get asked to contribute to the implementation.

This is a shot in the arm to the recovery that will make a big difference.

This is not everybody's dream house. This is a modest equivalent.

This dynamic and interactive online tool will support ongoing recovery efforts and help facilitate continued planning at the parish level. By providing access to large amounts of community-specific planning information, this tool adds simplicity to what is otherwise a complex process.

This is absolutely the worst-case situation we have long feared. Pray for Louisiana citizens as this storm nears.

This kind of major public works project has to be a state and federal partnership.

That provides a very appropriate source to pay for this.

That is what they are trying to promote.

The severe impact of the disaster has placed a profound stress on government at all levels, not to mention that of the individuals and businesses attempting to recover. We're going to have to use limited resources wisely.

If the plan doesn't get fully funded, we're going to start from scratch.

This helps our residents to get back on their feet and puts them in the position where they can begin rebuilding.