[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 114 (Tuesday, September 13, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1827]]
  H.R. 3673--SECOND EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT TO MEET 
  IMMEDIATE NEEDS ARISING FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF HURRICANE KATRINA, 
                                  2005

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ADAM SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 13, 2005

  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
disappointment for the Federal government's delayed response to 
Hurricane Katrina. I am extremely concerned about the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael Brown and call for his 
resignation.
  Brown and his senior leadership team have demonstrated a stunning 
level of ineptitude that made the disaster of Katrina and the loss of 
life and property much worse than it had to be. This tragic event has 
made clear that the FEMA team is not up to the job of protecting 
Americans from either natural disasters or from any possible terrorist 
attack. Security is a paramount concern to me and Americans deserve a 
competent and able emergency management agency. Now that it is proven 
that this team is incapable, we can't afford to wait to replace 
Director Brown.
  I also strongly disagree with the suggestion--made by many in the 
Administration and the majority--that Americans shouldn't ``point 
fingers'' or play the ``blame game'' as the relief effort continues. 
Thousands of lives are at stake right now. We are also spending 
billions of public dollars on the recovery and those resources must be 
spent effectively and efficiently. We need an experienced team now to 
implement the government's plan for repairing the southeast region, not 
after a lengthy review process. While I support that broader review, 
one thing is immediately clear: The director of FEMA is plainly not up 
to the important job at hand.
  Consider the following critically important facts.
  Despite days of warning, FEMA did virtually nothing to prepare for 
the impact of Katrina. Director Brown reportedly waited 5 hours after 
Katrina struck before he proposed to Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff that he send 1,000 Homeland Security 
workers into the region to support rescuers. Even then, his letter gave 
personnel 2 full days to arrive on the scene to begin offering 
assistance. It was 5 agonizing days before FEMA and DHS showed up in 
any significant numbers with adequate supplies to help the tens of 
thousands of people in New Orleans.
  Equally disturbing are the efforts of FEMA and others in the 
Administration to explain away these inexcusable actions. Claims have 
been made that local leaders in Louisiana did not ask for help and that 
the Federal government could not have foreseen that the levees around 
New Orleans would be breeched in the event of a significant hurricane.
  The utter absurdity of these claims makes it even clearer that we 
need new leadership at FEMA if Americans are to have any confidence 
that the agency will wisely and effectively deal with the continuing 
crisis in the Gulf Coast, much less prepare for future natural 
disasters or terrorist attacks.
  First, locals did ask for help before the storm hit and FEMA assumed 
responsibility for dealing with the fallout from Katrina. Louisiana's 
Governor Kathleen Blanco declared a State of emergency for Louisiana on 
August 26th and on August 27th, she requested Federal support. On that 
same day, and acting on your authorization, Director Brown responded to 
Blanco's request for assistance and declared that FEMA would ``mobilize 
equipment and resources necessary to protect public health and safety 
by assisting law enforcement with evacuations, establishing shelters, 
supporting emergency medical needs, meeting immediate lifesaving and 
life-sustaining human needs and protecting property, in addition to 
other emergency protective measures.''
  Second, the coming disaster was clear. Max Mayfield, the Director of 
the National Hurricane Center has confirmed that both Director Brown 
and Secretary Chertoff listened to his agency's briefing on Katrina's 
likely impact. Mayfield made repeated warnings about the hurricane and 
was quoted by the New Orleans Times-Picayune as saying, ``We were 
briefing them (FEMA and DHS) way before landfall. It's not like this 
was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be 
topped.'' It is alarming that, given this knowledge, FEMA thought it 
was appropriate to sit back and wait instead of aggressively preparing 
for the disaster.
  Third, the vulnerability of the levees was well established. Last 
year, FEMA conducted a simulation involving the potential evacuation of 
New Orleans as a result of a Hurricane. For my years experts had been 
predicting that the levees could be breached by a hurricane and that 
the results would be disastrous, costing thousands of lives and 
billions of dollars. In 2001, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a 
study and found that the levees in the region needed to be updated, 
raised, and the pumping systems modernized. In the event of a category 
4 or 5 hurricane, like Hurricane Katrina, the levees would fail and the 
cities within the levees would be at risk of flooding.
  Perhaps most troubling, Federal officials knew from news reports and 
from Mayor Ray Nagin's comments that tens of thousands of New Orleans 
residents would not be able to respond to the call to evacuate. Despite 
this understanding, no action was taken to accommodate those who could 
not evacuate their city.
  I am deeply troubled by what this failure of leadership could portend 
for another disaster or attack. Some of FEMA's top positions have been 
staffed with individuals who have ample political and campaign 
experience, but virtually no understanding of how to prepare for and 
respond to a disaster of any magnitude. We expect State and local 
responders to be well trained and qualified. The same must be true of 
FEMA's leaders. There is no doubt that a new and better skilled 
leadership team at FEMA is required in order to best protect our 
Nation.
  The tragic events caused by Hurricane Katrina have left hundreds of 
thousands of Americans with shattered homes and families and without 
food and water. I am committed to joining together to provide relief 
and to save as many lives as possible.
  I have seen the compassion of Americans as volunteers, donations and 
financial assistance has flowed into the southeast region. We must now 
do our part to repair the damaged region and assist in rebuilding the 
lives of many of our citizens. I look forward to working with the 
Administration and my colleagues in Congress to help the people in this 
devastated region.

                          ____________________