Katrina Survivors Come to Washington

On October 25, seventeen residents of Gulf states who had survived hurricane Katrina came to Washington for a Capitol Hill "town meeting" hosted by House and Senate minority leaders, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi - and then lobbying visits to the offices of other members of Congress. Their message -- politicians must rebuild the Gulf and pass a budget that supports ordinary Americans, not just wealthy friends of Washington.

Through our $1 for Gulf Justice campaign, our online supporters raised funds to pay the travel and expenses of more than half the delegation. Joining with allies including Voices for Working Families, ACORN, AFSCME, and SEIU, we organized the effort to give Katrina's survivors their own voice.

"I lost my job and the benefits that come with it, and when I recently applied to get some help from the government in the form of Medicaid I was rejected. Turned down. Refused," said Michelle Baker, a survivor from New Orleans. "I can't believe that some people in Washington think that after a category five hurricane the solution is to unleash a category five assault on working families. We may not be stuck on roof tops any more -- but at times we feel just as stranded and just as neglected by this administration as we did then."