NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- New Orleans' largest newspaper accused some federal lawmakers of considering the city a "burden" and called on the U.S. government Sunday to "fulfill the promises" it made before the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history.The Times-Picayune, in a front-page editorial under the headline "It's time for a nation to return the favor," also called on residents -- whether at home or "still in exile waiting to return" -- to lobby Congress."The federal government wrapped levees around greater New Orleans so that the rest of the country could share in our bounty," the editorial said, adding that the government "convinced us that we were safe. "We weren't."The levees, we were told, could stand up to a Category 3 hurricane."They couldn't. "By the time Katrina surged into New Orleans, it had weakened to Category 3. Yet our levee system wasn't as strong as the Army Corps of Engineers said it was. Barely anchored in mushy soil, the floodwalls gave way."The paper's editorial follows Mayor Ray Nagin's testimony last week in Washington before a House committee and Gov. Kathleen Blanco's public plea for federal funds."We feel like we are citizens of the United States who are nearly forgotten," Blanco said Thursday. "It is a very frustrating thing. People are weary. They want to move on. ... It's going to take us a while. And we still need help from Washington."The paper agreed, saying, "We need the federal government -- we need our Congress -- to fulfill the promises made to us in the past. We need to be safe."The editorial said New Orleans residents should not be ridiculed for living where they do, on land that is below sea level and which flooded when the levee system failed at key points. "Some voices in Washington are arguing against us. We were foolish, they say. We settled in a place that is lower than the sea. We should have expected to drown. As if choosing to live in one of the nation's great cities amounted to a death wish. As if living in San Francisco or Miami or Boston is any more logical... The federal government decided long ago to try to tame the river and the swampy land spreading out from it. The country needed this waterlogged land of ours to prosper, so that the nation could prosper even more."Some people in Washington don't seem to remember that. They act as if we are a burden. They act as if we wore our skirts too short and invited trouble. We can't put up with that. We have to stand up for ourselves."The editorial called on residents, and readers throughout the country, to "let Congress know that this metro area must be made safe from future storms. ... Remind them that this is a singular American city and that this nation still needs what we can give it."The Louisiana legislature has been meeting in special session since November 6 to deal with hurricane-related matters.According to the Army Corps of Engineers, the 350-mile system of levees and floodwalls will be shored up by next summer but not completely repaired, The Associated Press reported November 12."Construction might continue past June ... but it will be capable of protecting from a hurricane," Walter Baumy, chief engineer for the agency's New Orleans district, told the AP. Congress is on Thanksgiving break and will not meet again until December. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.