Katrina building program short $3 billion

New Orleans -- The federally funded program to rebuild Louisiana homes wrecked by Hurricane Katrina is short almost $3 billion.

It's uncertain how the owners of about 100,000 damaged homes will be compensated, officials of Louisiana's Road Home program told a state legislative panel Friday.

The testimony sparked new political posturing over the origins of the shortfall, The Washington Post reported. It is just the latest crisis for the aid plan initially created to give nearly $7 billion in federal funds to the owners of homes destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Katrina who lacked enough insurance money to rebuild.

More than 20 months after Katrina, tens of thousands of homes stand empty, in part because of administrative delays in the aid program. To date, only 16,000 home owners have received money, the Post reported.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.