** FILE ** From left , Rep. Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, D-Mich., Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., Rep. Charles B. Rangle, D-NY., and Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., speak with reporters outside the White House, Jan. 26, 2005 in Washington. Black lawmakers on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005, demanded a greater role in the federal effort to rebuild the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. Watt and other members of the all-Democratic group suggested they've offered the Bush administration plenty of advice about the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, but it's been largely ignored, even though a high percentage of the victims are black. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)