Bush Tours Katrina-Ravaged Areas

President Bush on Thursday returned to the battered Gulf Coast, declaring "there is hope" for the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged region where his administration was widely accused of botching the initial recovery efforts.

Mr. Bush toured five homes in a neighborhood still recovering from the devastating hurricane 18 months earlier and is scheduled to meet with Mississippi officials before continuing on to New Orleans, a city whose population dropped by about 50 percent in the wake of Katrina and which is reeling from a surge in crime and a lack of social services. Large numbers of New Orleans residents are so frustrated they are thinking of leaving for good.

"I want the taxpayers of the United States to see firsthand what their money has done to help revitalize a series of communities that were literally wiped out," Bush said.

He stood on the sandy front yard of a home owned by Ernie and Cheryl Woodward, who rebuilt with the help of a federal grant. Bush gave them an American flag to hang outside.

"Times are changing for the better," Bush said. "People's lives are improving. And there is hope."

In southern Mississippi, Bush walked from house to house, getting a friendly reception.

Earlier, the federal official overseeing recovery efforts said Hurricane Katrina's damage was so vast that it is hard to estimate when the recovery will be completed.

"We all have a sense of urgency," Don Powell, Mr. Bush's coordinator for the Gulf Coast recovery, told reporters.

"But I think it's important to put it in perspective about the size of the storm, and how overwhelming this storm was," Powell said. "I think there's been some good progress."

The monster hurricane in 2005 was the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history.

Of $110 billion in relief aid that Congress has approved, $86 billion has been committed to projects, and $53 billion has been spent, Powell told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Schools and businesses have long reopened and families are returning home, he said.

Yet in the region, particularly in New Orleans, frustration is soaring over sporadic progress.

Mr. Bush headed from Long Beach to Biloxi, Miss., for an update from Mississippi leaders. He was to spend his afternoon in New Orleans, with a speech at a charter school.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said he plans to press Mr. Bush to speed the flow of federal aid to his cash-strapped city.

Last week, two New Orleans residents got the keys to what are believed to be the first houses built in the impoverished and hard-hit Lower 9th Ward since Katrina. But there, and in other areas, houses have yet to be gutted or are otherwise empty. Many small businesses, including retail and specialty shops in the French Quarter, are struggling.

Mr. Bush's trip is his 14th to the Gulf Region since Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, but his first in six months. He last did a tour on the one-year anniversary of the massive storm.

The administration's initial response was widely seen as a failure. The White House has since sought to reassure local residents — and the nation — that it is committed to recovery.

Mr. Bush is still dogged by criticism about Katrina. Exasperated officials from the region said it was telling that Katrina did not get a mention in his State of the Union speech in January.

The White House says Mr. Bush has helped make the $110 billion in aid available for rebuilding, education, and rental assistance. His Cabinet secretaries have visited the region dozens of times.

Mr. Bush's aides also say state and local leaders share responsibility for any delays.

Powell underscored that point on Thursday.

"American taxpayers have poured a lot of money in that area," he said. "It's important that the locals — that local people — begin to push a process" to get the money where it is needed.

Ahead of Mr. Bush's visit, congressional Democrats promised new legislative help for residents.

"Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster, compounded by a man-made disaster. It is now 18 months past time to get our response right," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a joint statement with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip James Clyburn.