Governor Kathleen Blanco said Friday that she understands New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin’s frustration at the slow pace that financial awards have been handed out from the group administering the state’s Road Home program and that she is pushing to have improvements made quickly.

At a U.S. Congressional hearing Thursday at Dillard University, Nagin asked that the city be allowed to take over the program to speed up the painfully slow process.

“Mayor Nagin shares the same frustration level as I do,” she said. “I think he knows the program is one that needs to be pushed forward and we are pushing as hard as possible.”

The group charged with handing the awards said that it would close 2,300 applications by the end of February.

To date they’ve held 1,005 closings and calculated awards for 43,000 applicants out of approximately 100,000 claims that have been made.