John Conyers requests your thoughts on next steps for Congress re: Katrina

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Monday, September 5th, 2005

Hurricane Katrina -- How We Got There; Where do We Go from Here

Last night I read the very good Washington Post article from Sunday entitled "Storm Exposed Disarray at the Top." Its hard not to read this article -- which highlights much of the Administration's neglect of FEMA, and much of the ill-preparedness at Homeland Security for natural disasters since Bush was elected and the agency was reorganized -- and juxtapose it with all of the death and destruction that resulted, and not be both mad and sad at the same time.

I would be interested to learn what your thoughts are on what steps Congress should be taking from here -- both to alleviate the crisis and limit the liklihood of future catastrophes. So far I have proposed legislation limiting the fallout from the bankruptcy bill and to provide federal action for price gouging. Let me know your thoughts.

Blogged by JC on 09.05.05 @ 08:55 AM ET

http://www.conyersblog.us/

REGISTER to post John Conyers' blog here.

EXCERPT from "Storm Exposed Disarray at the Top"

The killer hurricane and flood that devastated the Gulf Coast last week exposed fatal weaknesses in a federal disaster response system retooled after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to handle just such a cataclysmic event.

Despite four years and tens of billions of dollars spent preparing for the worst, the federal government was not ready when it came at daybreak on Monday, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former senior officials and outside experts.

Among the flaws they cited: Failure to take the storm seriously before it hit and trigger the government's highest level of response. Rebuffed offers of aid from the military, states and cities. An unfinished new plan meant to guide disaster response. And a slow bureaucracy that waited until late Tuesday to declare the catastrophe "an incident of national significance," the new federal term meant to set off the broadest possible relief effort.

Born out of the confused and uncertain response to 9/11, the massive new Department of Homeland Security was charged with being ready the next time, whether the disaster was wrought by nature or terrorists. The department commanded huge resources as it prepared for deadly scenarios from an airborne anthrax attack to a biological attack with plague to a chlorine-tank explosion.



"A covered corpse lay on the ground early Saturday outside the New Orleans convention center as evacuees remained stranded."

[C_U_L8R]

1. Read Julius Caesar

Now that's a Senate willing to take action :-)

[Imagevision]

2. THIS IS SO HORRIBLE!