"As he closed a two-day summit of North American leaders in New Orleans, President Bush turned his attention Tuesday to the needs of Louisiana parishes still struggling to rebound from Hurricane Katrina.

After meeting privately with about two dozen local, state and federal leaders over lunch at a French Quarter restaurant, Bush said that even with $120 billion of taxpayer money allocated so far to rebuild the Gulf Coast, the federal government remains committed to providing more for the recovery.

"My impression is that there's a lot more hope now than there was, even from a year ago. People have a little different bounce in their step," Bush said during a brief news conference after the closed-door lunch at Galatoire's.

"But there are some significant problems," he said.

Among needs Bush said he will continue to address are building stronger levees, restoring the region's health care system, fighting a surge of violent crime in New Orleans and following through with a plan to demolish hundreds of public housing units and replace them with mixed-income developments.

According to several local officials who attended the meeting, Bush directed the discussion for nearly two hours and touched on myriad nuts-and-bolts topics crucial to recovery, from rebuilding coastal wetlands to firming up plans for a new veterans hospital in New Orleans.

New Orleans City Council President Arnie Fielkow said he and other leaders, including Gov. Bobby Jindal, broached the subject of how cash-strapped local governments will pay their share of federal flood-protection project costs in the future. Though the federal government has paid the entire tab since Katrina, the Bush administration recently advised local governments that they will be on the hook to pay 35 percent of the cost of many future projects.

"We asked for 100 percent federal reimbursement, but alternately to be able to amortize the local share over a number of years so we can get these projects started now," Fielkow said.

'President was engaged'

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said he stressed the need to build a strong public education system, as well as improve juvenile justice and drug treatment services, as a means of addressing crime in New Orleans. He also touched on government reform movements that have swept the region since Katrina.

"I talked about the sea change we've got going, the demand across the board for accountable and transparent and corruption-free government," Letten said.

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said he was thrilled to announce for the first time during the luncheon that his parish expects to have all storm debris cleaned up and all public rebuilding projects at least to the design phase by Katrina's third anniversary.

"My message mainly to (Bush) was that it's working," Nungesser said, referring to a new effort by the Louisiana Recovery Authority and FEMA to place rebuilding dollars in the hands of local officials more quickly.

Local leaders agreed that Bush seemed to grasp the intricacies of a vast array of rebuilding issues, adding that several times during the meeting, the president turned to White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolton or retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Doug O'Dell, the new Gulf Coast recovery chief, to request a specific follow-up.

"I realize that this can all be a matter of theater, but I didn't take it that way," said Bob Brown, managing director of the Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region.

"I took it that the president was engaged . . . and that he wasn't going to just put things on cruise control until it was time to go back to Texas," Brown said.

"Today wasn't a wind-down type of meeting," Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard said. "It was very much about 'keep on keeping on.' "

Summit wraps up

The lunch meeting capped the two-day North American Leaders Summit, which brought together Bush, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss trade, security and immigration issues. No new developments in important policy positions were announced.

The three leaders began the day Tuesday with breakfast at Dooky Chase's, the famous Tremé eatery just across Orleans Avenue from the soon-to-be-razed Lafitte public housing development. They then moved on to Gallier Hall to meet with high-level corporate executives from the three countries.

During an hourlong news conference at Gallier Hall, the trio maintained a strong defense of the North America Free Trade Agreement, which has come under fire from Democrats on the presidential campaign trail.

"People who say, 'Get rid of NAFTA' as a throw-away political line need to understand that NAFTA has been good for America," Bush said of the agreement that 15 years ago altered trade relations among the three countries.

Calderon joined the chorus, warning that limiting free trade across the continent could spell disaster in a global economy.

"Europe has already become a single trade group," Calderon said. "You see protectionist voices arising, and the only thing they would achieve would be to condemn North America as a region to complete backwardness in today's world."

Harper added that with Canada positioned as the United States' largest single source of imported energy, maintaining current trade rules is critical.

'An ideal venue'

About noon, the leaders headed out to Lafayette Square, where they hoisted golden shovels to pitch dirt over a newly planted oak tree in recognition of Earth Day. After lunch, Bush traveled by plane to Baton Rouge to attend a private fundraiser for state Treasurer John Kennedy, a Republican who plans to challenge Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu as she seeks re-election in the fall.

As the summit wound down Tuesday, all three leaders praised New Orleans for its hospitality and renewed vitality.

"I think that the city of New Orleans has been an ideal venue for this leaders' summit," Calderon said. "I congratulate the people of Louisiana for their determination and their strength."" (Michelle Krupa, Times-Picayune, April 23, 2008)