[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 7, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H7698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       KATRINA DISASTER RESPONSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, these last 9 days have been as difficult as 
any in our Nation's history. The devastation caused by the aftermath of 
Hurricane Katrina to the thousands of citizens from Louisiana, 
Mississippi and Alabama is, put simply, without precedent in this 
country.
  The images that we have seen, that we continue to see, are 
unimaginable: people cutting through their rooftops simply to keep 
their families above the rising flood water; seniors in wheelchairs 
stuck in 110-degree convention centers and stadiums for days with 
plumbing overflowing and no food or drinking water; parents desperately 
needing for family members to call them and let them know they are 
safe; unspeakable acts of lawlessness and violence.
  We have seen ordinary citizens with shovels burying the dead, not 
because they knew them, but out of respect, because it was the right 
thing to do. Just yesterday, The Washington Post ran a picture of a 
body of a man who had died of seizures outside a New Orleans gas 
station, his dog lying by his side for 5 days.
  So it is unsurprising that countless Americans from across the 
country have expressed their outrage at the slow Federal response to 
this tragedy. Indeed, the slow response and tepid leadership cost us 
many lives on the gulf coast. Thankfully, as we speak, our troops, 
National Guard, rescue personnel from across the country and ordinary 
citizens in cities across America are volunteering and giving to take 
in the homeless, continue the rescue. Heroism is winning out.
  Indeed, of all the tragedies that have befallen our country and the 
gulf coast in the last week, perhaps the saddest is that we knew that 
this day was coming for New Orleans. Contrary to the President's 
assertions that this flooding was unexpected, scientists, Federal 
officials, and others had predicted the potential for a Katrina-like 
disaster for decades. In 2002, the New Orleans Times-Picayune ran the 
now-infamous five-part series exploring the vulnerability of the city, 
specifically addressing the possibility of massive floods drowning 
residents, destroying homes, releasing toxic chemicals throughout the 
city. Just days ago, FEMA Director Brown, Homeland Security Secretary 
Chertoff listened in on electronic briefings given by the staff before 
Hurricane Katrina had even touched Louisiana and Mississippi. They knew 
full well of the storm's deadly potential.
  Yet they were unprepared to do anything about it. Last year, former 
director of FEMA James Lee Witt said as much, testifying before a panel 
I chaired outside of the Congress. He told the committee, and I quote, 
``Scientists tell us that we are going to be seeing more catastrophic 
natural disaster events in the 21st century than we have ever seen, 
more devastating. And yet we have destroyed the one agency that not 
only responds to those events but also works with State and local 
governments to do pre-disaster mitigation prevention before that risk 
could ever happen, to minimize that risk.''
  He went on to say that there were virtually no communications within 
FEMA itself and that it no longer had the communications channels or 
partnerships with State and local governments that it needed. Indeed, 
he said communications were virtually nonexistent between FEMA 
headquarters in Washington and its 10 regional offices. It took the 
submerging of one of our most culturally vibrant cities to put Director 
Witt's words to the test.
  So this is not about assigning blame at an untimely moment. It is 
about understanding what this administration has done to FEMA, which is 
a symbol of its priorities and underlying values. They have cut the 
heart out of FEMA, as they have cut the heart out of so much of our 
capacity to address our domestic needs and secure our homeland from 
terrorist threats, from natural disasters, from global economic 
changes. The reason why the head of FEMA is so speechless at this 
moment and why he must go is that he represents an approach that leaves 
us with our fingers crossed instead of with real vision for tackling 
the threats before America.
  This administration and this Congress' answer to every problem is 
more tax cuts, mostly for the most privileged. They have left us 
saddled with bulging deficits, a diminished Social Security trust fund, 
weakened investments in our own people and communities, and that is why 
the Federal Government and the agency responsible for emergency relief 
failed to act and failed to lead.
  I start by calling for the resignation of Michael Brown, the director 
of FEMA, as a statement by the administration and our country that we 
intend to face these challenges in a wholly new way. It is the only way 
we can honor the heroism that we are now witnessing in New Orleans, 
across the gulf coast, and around the country.
  I make this request as a Member of the United States Congress and an 
American, not as a partisan. We need to unite now just as our 
volunteers, our police, firemen, troops are united in a common effort. 
That means accepting that we have the responsibility as a community to 
tackle the rescue and tackle the rebuilding of this part of our 
country. Those are the values that now govern in this period.
  We must make sure that our budget priorities are reordered, not to 
reward greed but civic virtue. We must rebuild. We must give people the 
capacity to remake their lives, and it starts by getting this relief 
effort right. The new appropriations of our resources must enable 
people to get housing, get their families back on track, repair the 
levee breaches, pumping out the flood water, giving food and shelter. 
We must invest in New Orleans, but also in our infrastructure and 
environment and our people.
  That is why America is so special, Mr. Speaker. We have to do so much 
in this institution, not measured only in dollars and in cents but our 
character and our compassion that is evident every day as we watch the 
heroism of the gulf coast. It is a time for leadership and heroism as 
well.




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