N.H. Congressmen Assist Southern Colleagues Besieged By Katrina
WASHINGTON, Sept 15 – New Hampshire Reps. Charles Bass and Jeb Bradley have put their congressional staffs at the disposal of two southern congressmen struggling to serve the needs of thousands of constituents affected by Hurricane Katrina.
In an example of goodwill crossing party lines, Bradley, a Republican, has been sending members of his Washington staff to the office of Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democrat from Mississippi, who has had to summon volunteers to deal with the high volume of calls coming from his district along the ravaged Gulf Coast.
“Gene is a good friend of mine and we’ve worked together on a bipartisan basis,” Bradley said. “A lot of us are trying to help our colleagues in the affected states. They are overwhelmed with work and whatever they ask us to do, we will do.”
Bradley’s office has been rotating staff members in and out to answer phones and assist with day-to-day duties for more than a week, according to Courtney Littig, a spokeswoman for Taylor’s office.
“We’re at the point where Democrat or Republican doesn’t matter,” she said. “There are a lot of desperate people calling because they just got their phones working and they can’t get [Federal Emergency Management Agency] assistance; they have no water, no fuel for their generator. It is incredibly generous of Congressman Bradley to loan us some of his people.”
Many of the callers who cannot get in touch with FEMA by phone are seeking help with registering online, Littig said.
“They can’t really get anything until they register with FEMA, and it isn’t like they can use the WIFI signals in southern Mississippi with their lap tops that survived the storm,” she said. “They can’t apply for a small business loan or apply for FEMA disaster aid because the 800 number for FEMA is always busy.”
So constituents call their congressman’s office seeking help, backing up phone lines and overwhelming case workers.
“It’s about a 24-hour operation they’ve got there, trying to point people in the right direction and in some cases, do actual case work,” said Bradley. “My office will help as long as it takes and I expect it will be a while.”
Meanwhile, Republican Bass’s office has teamed with Louisiana Republican Rep. Bobby Jindal, whose district includes portions New Orleans and remains partially underwater.
Bass’ case workers in New Hampshire will soon be fielding calls from Jindal’s displaced constituents, Bass said.
“If you get a thousand calls in one day, how can you expect to be able to answer them all?” Bass asked. “There is such an enormous number of requests for help. It occurred to us that a case is a case and people who work for me solve problems day in and day out.”
Bass said calls will be forwarded to his district offices in New Hampshire, where case workers will address a range of requests such as registering people with FEMA, reporting missing loved ones to the Red Cross, and ensuring Medicaid and Social Security checks are delivered on time.
Both Bass and Bradley said their staffs have been enthusiastic about the opportunity to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina and don’t mind the extra work.
“It will be challenging, but it will also be rewarding,” said Katherine Tomlinson, a case worker in Bass’s Concord office. “Anything and everything above and beyond the call, we will do. I’m psyched about it.”
Chris Paolino, Jindal’s spokesman, said it was vital for callers to know they could get personal assistance from the offices of elected officials during this time of uncertainty.
“It is important to offer personal support to constituents and get them the help they need,” he said. “I hope it offers some semblance of normalcy and comfort to people who need someone to talk to, even if it’s just to listen.”
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