First Read
MSNBC
6/29/2010
From NBC’s Scott Foster
NEW ORLEANS — Vice President Biden has arrived here to see, first hand, the response efforts in his first trip to the Gulf Coast region since the BP oil rig disaster.
Biden was greeted at the airport by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and Rep. Joseph Cao (R).
As he waited for Biden to arrive, Jindal — in an exclusive on-camera interview with NBC News this morning — said his message to the vice president is that the federal government “needs a greater sense of urgency” and that it needs to treat the disaster “like a war and either lead or get out of the way.”
Jindal said he’s “thrilled” Biden is making the trip, but added he’s frustrated that bureaucratic “red tape” with the permitting process has delayed efforts to narrow the coastal passes to prevent more oil from reaching Louisiana’s shores.
Jindal says he wants to see more skimmers ahead of the storm brewing in the Gulf, which he warns will send waves of oil towards the coastline.
Jindal’s other message to Biden, he says, is to get clarity on how workers looking to make claims as a result of the offshore moratorium can be compensated.
