Hurricane Katrina Damage Claims must be filed by August 28, 2006.

Louisiana governor asks Congress for rebuilding help

Appearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Blanco in her opening statement did not mention former FEMA director Michael Brown, who on Tuesday had blamed state and local officials in Louisiana for not responding appropriately to the storm.

"We are looking forward, not backward, " Blanco said.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Alabama Gov. Bob Riley also were testifying before the committee via teleconference hookup from their state capitols. The Senate panel is working on a long-term tax bill to help revitalize the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast.

Blanco said 40 percent of Louisiana's businesses were lost or damaged in the storm and said the state's most pressing need is jobs.

"That's what we need," she said. "That's exactly what we need in the face of this suffering and hardship – jobs."

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