[OnyxCougar]

Aug 31, 2005
11:21 a.m.
NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) — The U.S. Navy announces three amphibious ships and a rescue and salvage ship based in Hampton Roads are getting underway Aug. 31 and heading for the Gulf of Mexico to support relief operations along the U.S. Gulf Coast following widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) and the amphibious transport dock USS Shreveport (LPD 12), both based at Naval Station Norfolk; the dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) and the rescue and salvage ship USS Grapple (ARS 53), both based at Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) Little Creek, Va., will join the Norfolk-based multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), which is already off the Gulf Coast.

From http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in810774.shtml

Sept 1, 2005
6:00 a.m.
The Boston Globe reported Thursday that as recently as this summer Congress denied Louisiana help to protect its eroding coastline from flooding and major storms such as Katrina. State lawmakers were reportedly worried that a huge hurricane could do permanent damage to its coast, and proposed an addition to the federal energy bill that would have given the Cajun state a share of oil-drilling money — up to $1 billion per year.

But Louisiana's congressional delegation was turned down by a "Congress bent on budget-cutting and reluctant to pay for expensive preventative measures," the Globe reports.

From http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in812561.shtml