[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 7, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HURRICANE KATRINA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 7, 2005

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, the disaster along our Gulf Coast has 
wrought heartbreaking devastation on a scale too staggering to 
comprehend. I rise to join my colleagues in extending deepest 
sympathies to all those who have been struck by this catastrophe. Our 
hearts go out to all those who are suffering.
  First and foremost, we must provide effective and immediate relief to 
our neighbors who are the victims of this tragedy. Federal authorities 
must render all assistance necessary in this overwhelming national 
crisis.
  Congress has already taken the needed steps to ensure that funds are 
available for assistance. This is only the beginning of relief, and 
when more is needed, we will provide whatever is required.
  We in the San Francisco Bay Area know first hand the impact of 
natural disaster, and we stand ready to help. I am encouraged by the 
support being shown by people in the Bay Area. Emergency volunteers 
have been dispatched. Hundreds of survivors will be housed in San 
Francisco's St. Mary's Cathedral. California schools are opening their 
doors as well: In my district, Notre Dame de Namur University in 
Belmont has offered to take in 50 displaced students. The California 
State Universities, the University of California at Berkeley, and 
Stanford are accepting others. Many people have given, and will 
continue to give, to established relief agencies at this critical time.
  As the Ranking Member of the House International Relations Committee, 
I also want to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to our 
friends in the world community who have pledged to help. Secretary 
General Kofi Annan has acknowledged American generosity in helping 
others, and he has graciously offered the assistance of the United 
Nations in our time of need. The leaders of a broad array of countries 
have expressed their condolences and extended offers of aid.
  All Americans can be proud of the hard and sometime heart-rending 
work being done by local, state and federal emergency workers now on 
the scene of the disaster. But it seemed that immediate emergency 
action arrived in slow motion last week when it was so desperately 
needed. Those who were watching the news reports, as well as those who 
were hurting in the midst of the devastation, were united in one 
question: Why did the rescue efforts take so long? Now other questions 
are beginning to arise. We must answer them in order to do better in 
the event of another emergency. Even the President indicates that the 
response to this one has been less than acceptable.
  When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed in 2002, I 
voiced concern about folding into it the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA). After failing to adequately respond to Hurricane Hugo in 
1989 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992, FEMA had reestablished itself as a 
singularly responsive federal agency by clearly defining its mission 
and aggressively pursing it. It was not helpful to change its structure 
and culture only a few years later in order to fit into the massive and 
newly created Department.
  I believe our primary purpose in establishing the DHS was to better 
protect the nation through better prevention and response to 
catastrophe. We have yet to demonstrate improved prevention, and in 
this case our response has been pathetically sluggish. Confusion and 
lack of leadership dominate our efforts. I call on President Bush to 
take swift action to relieve FEMA Director Michael Brown of his duties.
  I also join with Ranking Members Waxman, Oberstar, and Thompson in 
requesting that the committees of jurisdiction, the Committee on 
Government Reform, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
and the Committee on Homeland Security, conduct hearings on the 
questions raised in responding to Hurricane Katrina.
  And finally, I advocate the establishment of a blue ribbon, non-
partisan committee on the scope and with the clout of the 9-11 
Commission to prepare a long-range and thorough investigation into this 
matter, in order to lay out the lessons learned. We need to find out 
what went wrong, what went right, and what we can do how we can do to 
brace for a future disaster. We need to ensure that a similar natural 
event, or even a major terrorist attack, is not made any worse by our 
own failure to respond with speed, efficiency, and real compassion 
rather than rhetoric.
  Mr. Speaker, let's work together to help our neighbors and friends 
whose lives stood in the path of destruction. And let's do a better job 
of shielding our nation against such events.

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