[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 111 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE NEW ORLEANS CRIME VICTIMS DESERVE COMPENSATION

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                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 8, 2005

  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of those who demand a more 
detailed legislative effort. Official criminal neglect is the crime of 
New Orleans. First response neglect is the immediate and short-term 
crime. Our government should've responded faster with more. Long-term 
crime caused by partisan politics, the greed of powerful selfish 
legislators who lack compassion, the looting of billions from the 
Federal treasury for the wrong reasons, the institutionalized 
prejudices against big cities; all of these evils have festered over 
the years to produce the highly visible, horrifying gangrene of the New 
Orleans disaster.
  Congress and the President deserve high praise for the emergency 
appropriations. But this allotment is for the weeks and months ahead. 
On day one of this disaster the U.S. already had all of the resources 
necessary to achieve the safer, faster and more thorough rescue of the 
desperate population of New Orleans. Criminal incompetence and some 
contempt for the stranded population blocked the perceptions of how to 
speedily mobilize resources. In 1940 at Dunkirk, under heavy fire from 
German forces, more than 300,000 British troops were rescued and 
ferried back to England. Success was achieved because Winston Churchill 
immediately understood the gravity of the situation and called for the 
mobilization of every vehicle that could float. The crime and the pity 
is that all of the helicopter and naval craft marvels of our military 
were not immediately ordered to blanket the flooded neighborhoods of 
New Orleans.
  Decades of debate and refusals to seriously address an obviously 
dangerous set of circumstances facing one of America's great cities is 
the long-term crime at the heart of this involuntary manslaughter. For 
decades Washington refused to finance state of the art technology to 
lessen the dangers of flooding in New Orleans. In recent years the Bush 
administration has compounded the problem by cutting already inadequate 
budgets.
  Since we refused to shield this crime victim from the life-
threatening assault that has now been perpetrated, the bleeding New 
Orleans deserves maximum compensation. The Hurricane Katrina emergency 
appropriation is a promising beginning. To accomplish its purpose the 
provisions of the legislation must be expanded to include the 
following:

       The establishment of a Right of Resettlement for all who 
     want to return.
       The immediate establishment of an Emergency Free 
     Communications Network with cell phones for all refugee 
     families.
       The establishment of a Job Corps for able bodied refugees 
     which mandates their priority hiring for jobs related to the 
     cleanup and rebuilding.
       The establishment of Faith and Community Based Family 
     Resettlement Projects to assist in the relocation of refugee 
     families.
       The establishment of Family Resettlement Accounts for 
     families who wish to relocate to some other part of the 
     country.
       The establishment of an Emergency College Student Temporary 
     Resettlement Program utilizing Colleges that volunteer to 
     receive students, faculty and administrators.
       The provision of Impact School Aid for school districts 
     where large numbers of refugee families are located.
       A mandatory review and revamping of the Corps of Army 
     Engineers Master Plan for New Orleans.
       A federally funded initiative to establish ``Fail Safe'' 
     Committees in local communities.

  In summary, Congress must act immediately to specify how the 
Hurricane Katrina appropriation will be spent. There is a clear and 
present danger that billions will be contracted out to Haliburton type 
corporations and refugees will receive only a very meager benefit. We 
members of Congress must remain vigilant to guarantee that no more 
official crimes will be perpetrated against New Orleans.

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