During the day long visit, Schwartz and her colleagues toured New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana, and Mississippi via both helicopter and ground tours. The delegation was briefed by both Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen on the recovery efforts. The delegation met with first responders, including Army National Guard troops, to hear their thoughts on the response and recovery efforts. In addition, the delegation toured an emergency operations center. 

Schwartz outlined her thoughts of the visit during the flight back to Washington, D.C.:

“The devastation in the Gulf Coast is staggering. Even as you are surveying the damage, it is hard to grasp the reality of what you are seeing. From the helicopter tour we took along the coasts of Louisana and Mississippi, we saw houses now gone, roads vanished, and mud and dirt everywhere. Due to the tidal surge in Mississippi and Louisana there were fallen trees everywhere and vegetation simply gone. The lingering water is covered with oil and raw sewage which damages everything it touches. There is a persistent smell of rot, made worse by the overbearing heat and dampness.

“Although much of the water is gone in New Orleans, the damage left behind is enormous. Thousands of houses will have to come down because of the water damage, but this can’t start until they are assessed by private insurers and FEMA. Roads and bridges are gone. It was surreal to see a city simply empty of people.

“One of the key factors in rebuilding New Orleans is that the levees remain a problem that needs to be addressed. There are also many worries about New Orleans residents from all income levels not being able to come back. There are major concerns about small businesses not being able to afford to return.

“And, in Mississippi, there are many of these same concerns about businesses and residents being able to financially return to their communities. In Mississippi we saw a family pull up to what was their home – and now just the foundation remains.

“In New Orleans one of the few positives is that industry is slowing returning. Oil drilling is resuming, and the port is coming back to action. Two other major industries, fishing and timber, are not going to come back as quickly and may be gone for the foreseeable future.

“The National Guard soldiers we talked with spoke of their dedication to the task and that they were happy to be making a difference. Many people we spoke with thanked me for the good work of the Pennsylvania National Guard. One person in Hancock County, Mississippi told me two first responders from Pennsylvania came in and helped at a critical moment and for that they will be forever grateful. 

“It is going to be a long and hard recovery - and one of the most expensive reconstruction efforts our country has undertaken. We need to think not just about the immediate needs, but needs in six months, two years, as well as long term investments.

“Right now the states and communities of the Gulf Coast need both practical and emotional leadership, as well as a vision for the future. Communities are struggling and need help with so many things, from the clean up to finding temporary housing for workers to the need for jobs for residents who return. They are also struggling with longer term problems such as rebuilding their infrastructure to figuring out the health and environmental consequences.

“To my constituents in Pennsylvania: television doesn’t do justice to the vastness of the destruction. Gulf Coast residents need their fellow Americans help. Now as nation, we must pull together like never before.”

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