Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Congress must send more money to Mississippi to kick-start efforts to rebuild the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Governor Haley Barbour told a congressional committee.

``We are at a point where our recovery and renewal efforts are stalled because of inaction in Washington, D.C.,'' he told a panel investigating the botched government response to the storm, which hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29. ``It is taking the starch out of people who've worked so hard to help themselves and their neighbors.''

Without federal funds, state officials and residents can't rebuild roads and homes and finance schools, Barbour said.

Congress has approved $62.3 billion to help the region recover, though state officials in the regions say they need the money to be distributed more quickly. After admitting the federal government lagged in its initial federal response, President George W. Bush pledged to ensure the region would receive what it needed.

Barbour, a Bush ally and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, reserved most of his criticism for lawmakers. In the absence of more federal highway money, ``our state Department of Transportation has had to stop rebuilding roads and bridges,'' he said.

Mississippi's schools face bankruptcy without financial help from Washington because local tax revenue, which made up 40 percent of their budgets, has been minimal in the storm's wake, Barbour said.

More than 30,000 of the state's homeowners are struggling to pay mortgages on damaged homes, many of which are no longer standing, he said.

`Needed Terribly'

``We have to have assistance from the federal government,'' Barbour said. ``That important federal responsibility in the response to Katrina is needed terribly and it's needed now.''

Mississippi emergency officials testified about the need to better coordinate the distribution of ice and food to survivors and improve communications among state, local and federal workers responding to the storm.

Others appearing before the committee include Brian Amy, a state health officer, William Carwile, a former coordinating officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Robert Latham, director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency; Tommy Longo, mayor of Waveland, Mississippi; Gulfport Mississippi Mayor Brent Warr; Benjamin Spraggins, director of the Harrison Emergency Management Agency; and Bobby Strahan, director of the Pearl River County Emergency Management Agency.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington at jbliss@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 7, 2005 10:44 EST