Nancy Pelosi denounces HUD housing plan for New Orleans

New-Orleans (September 15, 2005) – Two days after HUD revealed plan to rebuild low-income public housing in New-Orleans using Amtrak cars, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi vehemently accused President Bush of “racial insensitivity” and “disregard for the poor and underprivileged.” By putting low-income people back into Amtrak cars, President Bush not only “abused” high-value federal transportation assets, but also was simply recreating “the slave- ship-society” for the twenty-first century, Rep. Pelosi said. She also required that the poor and underprivileged of New Orleans must have the opportunity to move out of the low-lying neighborhood and relocate to more wealthy areas. To show her “bipartisan spirit” Rep. Pelosi proposed a compromise solution. She agreed to the use of Amtrak cars, but only of the high-speed luxurious Acela class, and 150 of these cars should be installed as public housing evenly in New Orleans’ upscale Garden District and French Quarter - Jackson Square area.