One of the things that made him so attractive to voters when he ran for mayor was ... he was an outsider.

I'm excited the committee will see first hand the impact on Louisiana's coast. We are willing to do our share to supply the nation's energy needs, but in return we need the nation's help to rebuild the damage to our coastline. I am thrilled the committee has accepted my invitation to see firsthand the critical roll that Louisiana's ports and industry play in supplying our nation's energy needs.

Every day we don't get something like this in place, that's another day of lost opportunity. I don't think we can do this soon enough.

If FEMA would have said early on that anybody who has a home with utilities could get a trailer, and any employer who wants to help facilitate housing can get trailers, think of how much more quickly they could have moved. These are some of the low-hanging fruit. They should have been some our early victories.

It's so important that we get students back in the classroom. I'm impressed with how quickly you've gotten back to work.

It's not an either-or thing. You can be for local decision-making and for a federal effort that cut across the usual bureaucratic lines.