New Orleans ? Six months after Hurricane Katrina, President Bush got a close-up look Wednesday at the mountains of debris, the abandoned homes and the boarded-up businesses that are shocking reminders of the “pain and agony” New Orleans endures still.

In the devastated Lower Ninth Ward, few residents were around to tell Bush how thttttttttey felt. But two young women held up a sign for his motorcade that said, “Where’s my government?” Farther up the road, a man waved a flattened cardboard box on which he had written, “Pres. cut the red tape and help us.”

The president scaled down the enthusiastic assessment he made on his last trip to New Orleans in January, when he suggested this city would be a great place for Americans to bring their families and have their conventions. This time, Bush discussed the hard work ahead.

“I’m getting a view of the progress that is being made,” Bush said. “There’s still a lot of work to be done, no question about it.”

Demolition of the worst-damaged homes in the Lower Ninth Ward began only this week. Those not flattened by the storm had no signs of life and were spray painted with large Xs and, in some cases, the number of bodies found inside.

“You’ve got a pile of stuff here,” Bush said after watching a small bulldozer push a pile of debris on a street littered with a mattress, toys, a cooking pot, several pairs of blue jeans, a box of Pasta Roni and a pair of women’s underwear.

“We want people coming home,” Bush said.

President Bush, center, greets FEMA contractors removing debris during a tour of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. Six months after Hurricane Katrina left its mark on the Gulf Coast, President Bush made his 10th trip to the slowly rebuilding region Wednesday for another progress report.

To help make that a reality, the president said Congress must come forward with money to compensate Louisianans whose homes were damaged or destroyed and to rebuild New Orleans’ broken levees. Without it, Bush said, residents and businesses won’t have enough confidence in their city’s future to return and bring it alive again.

He criticized Congress’ earlier diversion of $1.5 billion in levee-rebuilding money to non-New Orleans-related projects, saying lawmakers “shortchanged the process” of rebuilding the city. He said Congress must reverse the decision – even as lawmakers were poised to do so. A $19 billion hurricane-relief measure, set for approval by a key House panel, provides $1.5 billion in various Army Corps of Engineers water projects, chiefly for rebuilding New Orleans’ levee systems.

The House bill also includes $4.2 billion in hurricane-related housing projects, but lawmakers directed that money to all states affected by Katrina. Bush said Congress must dedicate all that money just to Louisiana.

Getting new housing for displaced residents is a key step toward ridding New Orleans of the debris that still plagues much of it, Bush said. Speaking in an area dotted with mass-produced red-and-white signs blaring, “Save our Neighborhood. No Bulldozing,” the president gently urged New Orleanians to return to inspect their properties, “salvage what they can,” and give authorities permission to remove debris from their homes – many of which must be razed.

The president stopped in front of a pink duplex with signs on the porch that said “Keep out! No Trespassing!” Across the street, a house was spray painted with the familiar orange X and the words “DOG DEAD.”

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin summoned Bush into the entryway of the pink home, where mold could be seen covering the walls at least chest-high. “You ought to come see this,” Nagin said.

Bush’s four-hour stop contrasted with previous visits to the city where he stuck to less affected areas.