[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 115 (Wednesday, September 14, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1847-E1848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 INVESTIGATING THE KATRINA CATASTROPHE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 14, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support for the 
implementation of an independent and bipartisan commission that will 
lead a thorough investigation that will pinpoint what went wrong 
before, during and in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
  Long before Hurricane Katrina hit land as a category five hurricane, 
engineers, environmentalists and military personnel have known for 
years that a strong hurricane, like Katrina could devastate bowl-shaped 
New Orleans, prompting questions about why more was not done in advance 
to mitigate the damage or respond more effectively in the storm's wake. 
For years, scientists have warned local, state and federal officials 
that the strength of a storm like Katrina would threaten the integrity 
of the 287 year old levee system and could cause massive flooding of 
the New Orleans area, if the system was not properly improved and 
maintained.
  Now, as survivors are slowly evacuated and are receiving the help 
they so direly need, the world is beginning to ask some pertinent 
questions. They are legitimately questioning the efficacy of the 
responses from each level of government, especially the slow and 
inadequate response of FEMA and the Federal government whose policies 
and government cutbacks might be responsible for the loss of thousands 
of lives. How does an event such as the Katrina Catastrophe occur when 
there was previous knowledge that the levees were in disrepair?
  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had been working with local 
officials to strengthen the city's defenses in case of a massive storm, 
but federal funding for improving the levee system and implementing 
other projects to keep water from overtaking New Orleans decreased 
under the Bush administration. The Corps of Engineers responsible for 
maintenance had approximately $114 million worth of hurricane 
protection projects, however with federal funding down 44 percent; no 
new contracts for construction had been awarded since early in fiscal 
year 2004.

  Why? The Iraq war took priority over domestic disaster prevention. As 
a result, the money needed to strengthen national infrastructures 
against natural disasters was transferred into the President's budget 
to fund homeland security and the war on Iraq. Also, our National Guard 
who is responsible for protecting our homeland from the threat of 
disaster was greatly affected by this administration's policies. As 
people begged through news cameras for food, water and shelter, our 
National Guardsmen were far and few in between. Most of them were 
fighting and continue to fight in Iraq. Most importantly, much of the 
equipment and materials needed, like the Guard's high water vehicles, 
re-fuelers and generators required to execute rescue missions, provide 
food, water and medicine to those trapped on their roofs or in attics 
were transported to Iraq.
  In addition, the Bush administration made significant structural 
changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), shifting 
funds away from pre-disaster preparation and implementing policies 
promoting outsourcing of relief efforts to private companies. With 
regards to Louisiana, FEMA denied Louisiana funding for pre-disaster 
preparation, which would provide the means for items that would better 
equip the local government for a storm such as Katrina. Meanwhile, top 
officials of FEMA were forewarned that cutting cost would result in a 
slow response times in cases of emergencies, which took place in the 
wake of the hurricane.
  Although the federal government's response and policies aided in this 
resulting tragedy, the local and state governments should not be left 
without responsibility. Although the Mayor had issued a mandatory 
evacuation of the city, given the economic background of much of New 
Orleans' citizens many of them did not have the means to evacuate. Why 
wasn't there transportation provided? Moreover, there didn't seem to be 
a well formulated ``worst-case scenario'' evacuation and rescue plan 
beyond the Superdome and the Convention Center, which would facilitate 
a more mellifluous process of communication between the state and local 
officials, and the citizens of New Orleans.
  The brave citizens of New Orleans and the people of this nation want 
answers. We need to find out what went wrong on every level, so that we 
will be well equipped to efficiently handle another event like 
Hurricane Katrina and prevent something like this from happening in the 
future. I am in full support of an independent, bipartisan commission, 
similar to the 9/11 commission that would investigate and assess the 
efficacy of responses by each level of government. This commission 
would establish why leaders ignored urgent warnings that New Orleans 
would be destroyed if it sustained a direct hurricane hit. This body 
would assess why the notion that if a mass evacuation occurred, 
thousand of poor people would be left behind without any means of 
escape was ignored; and why the protective levees were not strengthened 
despite expert predictions that they would not withstand a major 
hurricane. In addition, the breakdown in communication and coordination 
between local, state and federal agencies urgently needs to be 
investigated, especially now that we are under constant threat of 
terrorist attacks.

  Lastly, the actions of FEMA and its director Michael Brown who 
revealed his ineptitude when he appeared not to know that thousands of 
victims were stranded inside the New Orleans Convention Center, under 
deplorable conditions, despite reports about it on news broadcastings, 
must be thoroughly examined.

[[Page E1848]]

  Most importantly I want to stress that this commission must be 
independent and bipartisan, no administration could credibly 
investigate such an immense failure on its own watch. We owe it to the 
flood victims of New Orleans to give them truthful answers as to why 
this event took place and to assure our citizens that tragedies like 
this will never happen again.

                          ____________________