Helping the Louisiana Recovery Authority Fund “The Road Home”

Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster in American history, but political fatigue and the perception that Louisiana officials had botched the initial response posed major obstacles to winning reconstruction funds. Here’s how Ketchum’s bipartisan lobbying unit, The Washington Group, and Ketchum Public Affairs helped get things done in Washington.

The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) was created in response to the devastation of the August 2005 hurricane, which destroyed more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses while leaving much of New Orleans uninhabitable. The LRA drafted a recovery plan seeking billions of dollars from the federal government for new housing and levee restoration – far more than had ever been spent previously on disaster relief. State officials asked The Washington Group and Ketchum Public Affairs for help.

The team developed data on the unprecedented damage caused by Katrina and surveyed the media and Congress to develop a fresh message. That included a new emphasis on Louisiana’s rich contributions to American heritage and culture, as well as expressing gratitude to Congress for the emergency aid already awarded. The team marked Fat Tuesday with a thank-you note to lawmakers that included a traditional King Cake and Mardi Gras beads. Dubbed “The Road Home,” the campaign joined traditional lobbying and congressional testimony with op-eds, letters to the editor, and other programs that targeted Capitol Hill. The efforts continued through the first anniversary of Katrina.

The campaign generated considerable favorable publicity for the LRA efforts both in national media outlets like The New York Times as well as widely read Capitol publications like Congressional Quarterly and The Hill. Legislation that included $4.2 billion for housing recovery and $3.7 billion for levee repairs won congressional approval and was signed into law by President Bush in June 2006.The success continued with numerous satellite interviews and use of LRA-produced footage for the anniversary coverage.