By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Friday to prevent a repeat of the "failures" of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and promised a stepped-up commitment to Gulf Coast rebuilding efforts. Obama took an indirect swipe at his predecessor's record as he extended the life of a federal office coordinating Gulf Coast reconstruction and ordered key aides to tour New Orleans and other areas devastated by Katrina more than 3 years ago. Former President George W. Bush was widely criticized for the government's slow emergency response to Katrina, which hastened a slide in his popularity and left a lasting stain on his legacy. "The residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast who are helping rebuild are heroes who believe in their communities, and they are succeeding, despite the fact that they have not always received the support they deserve from the federal government," Obama said in a statement. "This executive order is a first step of a sustained commitment by my administration to rebuild now, stronger than ever." Obama extended the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, which was created by Bush and was due to expire on Feb. 28, for the rest of the current fiscal year that runs through Sept. 30. Obama also said he would dispatch Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to the Gulf Coast on March 5-6 to assess rebuilding efforts and report back to him. "We must ensure that the failures of the past are never repeated," Obama said after four weeks in office. "My administration is committed to strengthening our preparedness, response and recovery efforts." Bush was widely seen as out of touch with the situation when Katrina struck in 2005, flooding New Orleans, killing 1,500 people and causing more than $80 billion in damage. His oft-ridiculed remark to then-disaster chief Michael Brown, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," came to symbolize his administration's botched response. Brown was later relieved of his job. After Katrina, Bush ordered an overhaul of the U.S. disaster response system, saying his administration had learned painful lessons. Despite that, many Gulf Coast residents remain frustrated by the slow pace of reconstruction and recovery.
Galveston's neighborhoods, pictured on February 5, 2009, are still littered with debris from Hurricane Ike, which came ashore on Sept 13, 2008. The steamy Texas island city of Galveston, an historic ...
