Dean: 9/11 Commissioners Confirm Bush Homeland Security Failures

[MaineDem]

For Immediate Release:
September 13, 2005
Contact: Josh Earnest, 202-863-8148

Dean: 9/11 Commissioners Confirm Bush Homeland Security Failures

Washington, DC - Tomorrow, just days after the fourth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, President Bush will address the United Nations. At the same time, the members of the 9/11 Commission will release a new report highlighting the Bush Administration's failure to implement the Commission's recommendations on securing our nation.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement:

"The most catastrophic natural disaster in our nation's history has opened the American public's eyes to the full impact of President Bush's failed leadership. The number one responsibility of the federal government is to keep the American people safe. But four years after the September 11 attacks, the Bush Administration has failed to prepare the federal government to respond to a national crisis. Worse yet, as the members of the 9/11 Commission are pointing out this week, President Bush has profoundly failed to improve homeland security.

"When President Bush addresses the United Nations tomorrow, the American public will also be watching. After five years of damaging the international alliances that strengthen our national security, more empty rhetoric won't cut it. The bar has been set high: President Bush must rally the international community around our common interest in defeating global terrorism, and be truthful about what he plans to do to win the peace in Iraq. If he fails to do that, after having botched the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, he will have secured his status as a lame duck President at home and abroad."

BUSH ADMINISTRATION DRAGGING ITS FEET ON 9/11 COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS

9/11 Commission Chairs: Recommendations Still Not Implemented. "A number of the Sept. 11 Commission's key recommendations to help our nation better prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks and other major disasters remain stalled and have not yet been implemented. Even when commission recommendations have been acted upon, change is slow in coming."

Bush Administration and Republican Congress Allocated First Responder Funding Based on Politics Instead of Risk. "Since 2001, the federal government has distributed more than $8 billion to help police, firefighters and other 'first responders' pay for equipment and training to prepare for terrorist attacks* Unfortunately, these grants have been allocated using a flawed formula that distributes funds widely but does not account for threat levels, vulnerability or the consequences of an attack. As a result, in fiscal year 2005 California received $8.05 per person in first-responder grants, while Wyoming received $27.80 per person."

Department of Homeland Security Has Failed to Complete Critical Risk Assessments. "The Sept. 11 Commission recommended that the Department of Homeland Security conduct nationwide assessments of risk and vulnerability to guide the deployment of homeland security resources, including first-responder grants* The department has missed statutory deadlines for the completion of these studies by several months."

Unified Incident Command System Still Not Operational. "The responses to both Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina revealed disarray in command structures for emergency response. Federal, state and local responsibilities on the Gulf Coast were not clearly defined. Confusion costs lives. The commission recommended that emergency-response agencies nationwide adopt the Incident Command System, which defines who is in charge and what agencies' responsibilities are in a crisis. The federal government has already pushed back the deadline for municipalities to set up such a system to qualify for first-responder grants. That deadline must not slip any further."

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Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

[NYCGirl]

1. Is this the part of the commission report that was "held back" at

request of the White House, I wonder?

[lateo]

2. Hit'em hard Dean.

Could you ever imagine Terry McAuliffe saying something like this about Bush?

[madfloridian]

5. It is good he is doing this.

We have to point out that he is destroying this country.

[Toots]

7. Yes as a matter of fact I could

Terry was often making speeches and telling it like it is. Terry was a major improvement for the Democrats but so is Dean now.

[lateo]

8. Terry was DLC.

If he said anything critical no one would take it seriously.

[LiviaOlivia]

3. kick

[madfloridian]

4. I recommended this. It is very important.

Thanks for posting.

[lateo]

6. kicked and recommended.