Damage by Hurricane Ike to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers infrastructure will total $1 billion, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison estimated today, according to the Star-Telegram.

She and seven other members of Texas' Congressional delegation "pledged to get the state federal hurricane relief that could run billions of dollars," reporter Maria Recio wrote.

Meanwhile, the media blackout continues.

Burnt Orange Report's Robert Ryland has posted a disturbing e-mail describing hundreds of corpses in Galveston. If the e-mail is accurate, then the public has a right to know about what's happened there. If it's untrue, then show the press that, and there won't be any more such e-mails coming out. Let us, the press, go there and see for ourselves.

(Photo: Houston-area volunteers stack ice at a FEMA distribution center on Sept. 15. Photo Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA.)

How are local, state and federal agencies doing responding to the hurricane? Tell us. Post in the comments below or drop me an e-mail -- jennifer@texaswatchdog.org. And follow us on Twitter. We're texaswatchdog.