[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 117 (Monday, September 19, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1885-E1886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    H.R. 3673, SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL FOR HURRICANE RELIEF

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 19, 2005

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the supplemental 
appropriations bill for the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.
  My heart goes out to the people of New Orleans, and to all the 
families affected by Katrina in States across the gulf coast. The huge 
path of devastation Katrina left behind has horrified us all. And we 
have been equally horrified by the conditions and difficulties 
confronting the affected families as they struggle to meet life and 
death challenges brought each day since the hurricane.
  As I have, the entire world has been moved by the resiliency and 
fortitude of these stalwart Americans and their ability to pick up the 
pieces and move forward. I know that State and local officials in 
Louisiana and all the affected States take enormous pride in their 
people and appreciate the outpouring of assistance that has been 
rendered to those in need by police, emergency personnel, religious 
organizations, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional 
Black Caucus, our military, National Guard, and the community at large.
  Tragically, this administration failed to meet its responsibilities, 
and the Republican leadership in Congress, which oversees our Federal 
agencies, must share the blame for the terribly inadequate response to 
Hurricane Katrina by the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA and 
the Department of Homeland Security. Repeatedly, the Republican 
leadership has cut critical funding and personnel for FEMA. The Federal 
response along the gulf coast was poorly planned, inadequately 
coordinated, and just plain late, leaving hundreds of thousands to 
endure prolonged peril.
  In addition to my concern about the human welfare of the victims of 
Hurricane Katrina, I am also concerned that the inadequate response to 
this emergency has exposed weaknesses that indicate we may not be 
adequately prepared to meet the challenge of a terrorist attack or 
future national disasters. It is essential therefore, that we carefully 
scrutinize what went wrong. Not to point fingers or place blame, but to 
identify and to correct our mistakes, and fortify our weaknesses in 
order to assure the American public that things will be different in 
the future.
  I support this funding bill today, because clearly it is needed. 
However, I am deeply disappointed in the Republican leadership's 
current approach to address this disaster and the weaknesses it has 
uncovered. With little consultation with Democrats, Congress has 
already given nearly $60 billion to FEMA, an agency universally 
recognized to have failed in its mission on the gulf coast. Rather than 
work in a bi-partisan way to address the weaknesses in FEMA and require 
accountability for the millions of appropriated dollars, the Republican 
leadership has unnecessarily rushed through two appropriations bills 
with little debate and no opportunities for amendment by the House.
  Meaningful corrections to our emergency response capabilities will 
take time and careful consideration by both parties in Congress working 
together on behalf of the American people. Yet the Republican 
leadership, again without consulting Democrats, has moved forward with 
a partisan proposal for oversight hearings controlled by the very same 
congressional leadership responsible for lack of oversight and 
inadequate funding of FEMA in the first place.
  If we are genuinely interested in getting to the root of the problem, 
a ``no holds barred'' analysis of FEMA's shortcomings is critical. The 
most effective way to meet this objective is through an investigation 
conducted by an outside, nonpartisan panel of experts, such as the 9-11 
Commission, which shed so much light on our intelligence shortcomings. 
Even while we are stunned by the devastation of Katrina and know that 
FEMA and the administration should have done better, we should not shy 
away from taking a hard look at what went wrong and how we can correct 
it. Again, such evaluation does not constitute finger pointing--it is 
clearly the responsible thing to do. It is a responsible act in order 
to be adequately prepared for a future crisis or disaster. We owe no 
less to those who have suffered and lost so much during this disaster 
and we owe no less to the American people.

  I will support this necessary funding today. In the future, however, 
the Appropriations Committee must be given the opportunity to perform 
its mission to scrutinize requests carefully. And the House must be 
allowed the time to debate and amend the bill as necessary.
  Mr. Speaker, many have already commented that the response to this 
national tragedy differs significantly from the bipartisan conduct and 
unified feeling we had after the

[[Page E1886]]

terrorist attacks on September 11. Let's again resolve to proceed in a 
bipartisan manner to address the underlying problems of our national 
disaster response as we continue to supply the necessary support to the 
people of New Orleans and the gulf coast to enable them to put their 
lives and their communities together again.

                          ____________________