GULFPORT, Miss. – President Bush suggested Monday that Washington may not be willing to send more than the $110 billion already approved for a Gulf Coast still struggling to come back from Hurricane Katrina’s battering, and said a full recovery is likely to take years.

Of the $110 billion in hurricane aid approved by Congress since Katrina struck a year ago Tuesday, just $44 billion has been spent. The Bush administration has released $77 billion to the states, reserving the rest for future needs.

“Hopefully that’ll work. Hopefully that’s enough,” Bush said after visiting a company here that has restarted its business of building and repairing boats. “It’s certainly enough to get us through the next period of time.”

Despite a focus on the positive during a two-day Gulf visit to mark the anniversary of the hurricane that still haunts his presidency, Bush was sensitive to the massive need that still exists.

“It’s an anniversary, but it’s not an end. Frankly it’s just the beginning,” said the president.

Asked when the recovery might be complete, Bush said: “It’s hard for me to say. I would say years, not months.”

Earlier Monday, the president returned to the first scene he saw a year ago of Katrina’s devastation, in nearby Biloxi, Miss., and declared “a sense of renewal.”

“Amazing what the world looked like then and what it looks like now,” Bush said, marveling at the air conditioning and electrical service in the newly constructed home visible behind him.

When Bush first saw the neighborhood four days after Katrina’s strike last Aug. 29, it was littered by debris of all sizes, with cars in trees, homes smashed to bits and nearby floating casinos tossed onto dry land.

Other parts of the neighborhood, which is only rebuilt in patches, and a woman he consoled on a trip here last year demonstrated just that. Sought out by the White House to meet Bush again, she said before his remarks that she has come far – but not far enough.