Get Pennsylvania Lawmakers to Visit New Orleans!

Almost 19 months after Hurricane Katrina, 56 Senators and 116 members of the House of Representatives have visited New Orleans to see for themselves the progress that has been made and the challenges still facing the city. These numbers reveal that 44 Senators and 319 members of the House of Representatives have not yet made the trip. In fact, no Senators from Pennsylvania have visited and only two members of the current House have made the trip.

We, as New Orleans Rebuilding Efforts for a Stronger Tomorrow (NO REST), an organization at the University of Pennsylvania dedicated to engaging the Penn community in the ongoing Katrina relief efforts, invite you to visit the area. Further, we encourage you to support ways to create a revenue stream for rebuilding coastal wetlands. Louisiana fuels and feeds the nation. Her wetlands are vital to domestic energy security because almost one-third of the nations oil and gas flows through them. The wetlands also account for nearly a third of the nations seafood and surround one of Americas largest ports.

In addition, we write in support of the mission of Women of the Storm, a non-partisan, non-political alliance of Louisiana women whose families, businesses and lives were impacted by the hurricanes. Members are culturally, socially and economically diverse and are bound by their passion for their communities. Women of the Storm invites all members of Congress to visit New Orleans and coastal Louisiana to see the extent of the damage first-hand and to talk with business and civic leaders and citizens.

We, supported by the undersigned members of the Penn community, along with Women of the Storm, have dedicated ourselves to lobbying members of Congress to visit the city because we realize that you play an integral role in New Orleans future. We believe that for policymakers who control the funding needed to fix damage caused by Katrina and the failure of the federal levee system, obtaining first-hand knowledge of the tragedy and the challenges facing New Orleans residents can be a perspective-altering experience.
Please join 172 of your colleagues by visiting New Orleans, one of the nations most historic cities and, due to its shipping and oil and gas interests, a vital region for our countrys economy. To arrange a time for a visit and tour, please contact Women of the Storms founder Anne Milling at 504-866-8357 or [email protected]

Thank you!
Sincerely,
The Members of NO REST