But they continue to deal with other state requests. Gov. Bobby Jindal said Monday that his top priority is to persuade his former congressional colleagues to give the state 30 years to pay its $1.8 billion share of levee construction costs, rather than the three years signed into law last month.

The congressional group also met over the weekend with New Orleans criminal justice officials, some of whom were disappointed when the House removed from the Senate version of the emergency war spending bill $300 million in hurricane recovery money, including, $17.7 million to double the size of city drug courts, add drug rehabilitation beds, build detention centers for nonviolent juveniles, expand the district attorney's staff and improve the Police Department's technological capabilities.