Mitch Landrieu: “I do not know, I say to Senator Durbin. That is a puzzlement for us. I do not have a good answer for that. All I can say…”

“I do not know, I say to Senator Durbin. That is a puzzlement for us. I do not have a good answer for that. All I can say is there are 2 million people displaced, many towns are destroyed, many communities, both urban and suburban, rural as well as highly dense. Neighborhoods of black and white, Hispanic and Asian, poor and middle- income are wondering the same thing. Why does Congress keep giving money to FEMA? FEMA is not functioning very well. So when our Governors and our mayors and our sheriffs ask for a little bit of help with health insurance and education and the basics to turn running water on--we have had enough bottled water. Please don't send us any more bottled water. We have plenty. We need to turn the faucets on so water will come out so a small business that wants to operate can actually function with some water. You cannot have a business operating without water. That is what we need. We have asked for these emergency things, to be told we do not have the money. I am going to sit down. In this amendment, we are asking for four or five things, for education, for health care, for immediate needs, for help for some hospitals that stayed up. Three hospitals stayed up the whole time in the region. If we do not help them, these hospitals will close, employees will be laid off, and whatever modest health care system we have for the region will basically be dysfunctional.…”