Sneed said he is in touch with the Army Corps of Engineers, which is rebuilding the city's levees, as well as the Sewage and Water Board.

CNN: Louisiana governor declares emergency ahead of Gustav

Although infrastructure expenses will be paid directly by the federal government (rebuilding or strengthening levees, for instance, is the job of the Army Corps of Engineers), the White House is already giving hints that it wants the post-Katrina assistance to showcase its preferred kind of government: more focus on tax incentives and vouchers than big federal hand-outs.

ECONOMIST: Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans, hit so hard by what so many (including President Obama in his Sunday interview with the local newspaper) still see fit to describe, mistakenly, as a natural disaster, is making remarkable progress, while the agency that so disastrously failed at building a protective system mandated by Congress -- the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- may be making some of the same mistakes in rebuilding that system.

CNN: Commentary: Does Obama care about New Orleans?

He invited people to join the USA Freedom Corps, which would focus on three areas: responding to crises in the United States, rebuilding communities and extending compassionate aid in other countries.

CNN: Bush: Prevail in war, defeat recession