President Bush’s enthusiasm for rebuilding the devastated Gulf Coast lasted about as long as his embarrassment over abandoning the region in the days after Hurricane Katrina. Less than a year and a half ago, Bush declared from a darkened New Orleans that “we will stay as long as it takes” to help the region recover. Yet Bush has not breathed a word about the issue in recent times.

The expert witnesses who appeared before the House Financial Services Committee last week had ample reason for dismay. Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the committee, signalled that Capitol Hill’s new management hasn’t lost interest in the disaster. Times are particularly tough for New Orleans and its displaced residents. But poor evacuees aren’t the only ones suffering. Much of the city’s middle class, particularly the African-Americans middle class, has yet to return. Federal money to help homeowners rebuild is only dribbling out. In Louisiana, the state agency overseeing the money has been achingly slow. But another problem is that the last Congress divided relief money as much by political muscle as by need. Relative to the damage they suffered, Mississippi and Texas got more aid than Louisiana. Frank and other congressional leaders should make sure that the entire recovery effort gets the attention it deserves.