[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 28, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H8493-H8501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1930
THE NATION IS AT RISK
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Inglis of South Carolina). Under the
Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2005, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Owens) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the
minority leader.
Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about a number of
pressing
[[Page H8494]]
issues. As we enter the final stages of this 109th session of Congress,
we are confronted with some dire emergencies and challenges and I
prefer to place all of the things I have to say under the big umbrella
title ``The Nation is At Risk.''
The Nation is at risk. We need an administration at this point in the
history of the Nation that governs for all, not just for a few. We need
an administration that cares about everybody, not just a few. We have
an incompetent blundering administration. Iraq showed us how serious
the consequences of such blundering could be. If we did not understand
because of Iraq, and some of us understood what we were getting into. I
voted against going to war in Iraq. I think it is very important as a
Member of this Congress, as a major policymaker for the United States
of America, it is very important never to place young people, our
soldiers, military personnel, in a situation where they may die in vain
or they may die for no good reason. For that reason, I voted against
the war in Iraq.
But we went ahead and we kept going right through an election and
refused to recognize. And when I say we, the majority as a Nation, did
not recognize the dangers of the Iraq blunder. Some of my religious
friends say that God wanted us to open our eyes and give us a wake-up
call so he sent Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina is on a smaller
scale than the catastrophe of Iraq. Hurricane Katrina is at home.
Hurricane Katrina was on our television cameras as it was unfolding.
The question is will the next high level set of blunders by this
administration lead us into something even more devastating. The
failure to respond properly to the Hurricane Katrina, it showed us we
have an incompetent blundering administration. If we did not understand
with what happened in Iraq, we certainly can understand it now. Our
Nation is at risk.
It is very serious to have a Nation of this size with its power, its
position in the world, unable to cope with catastrophes like Katrina,
unable to make decisions about major international policy matters like
Iraq. Yes, Saddam Hussein was an evil man. Saddam Hussein was highly
undesirable and somebody needed to help get rid of Saddam Hussein, but
so was Joseph Stalin and so was the Soviet Union for years. Before the
Soviet Union acquired the nuclear bomb, there were people who urged
President Truman and some subsequent Presidents to attack. Let us have
a preventive war before they got the nuclear bomb. After they got the
nuclear bomb and they did not have the hydrogen bomb, people were
urging it was even more important to attack. They said let us make
certain they do not get the hydrogen bomb. After they got the hydrogen
bomb, of course, at least we were willing to say let us have a balance
of power. Even during that balance of power, we had the missile crisis
in Cuba and some people were urging then, let us get it over with and
strike first with our atomic weapons. We did not. The Soviet Union was
a far greater power, was a far greater threat to us than Saddam Hussein
could ever be. We managed to live with it until they fell under their
own weight. The Soviet Union collapsed because it also had a group of
blundering leaders who would not accept the complexities of modern
society until it was at the brink of economic disaster. The Soviet
Union was quite fortunate that they happened to produce a genius with a
heart, with compassion at just the right time. Gorbachev is a genius,
and he saw the only way he could save the Soviet Union was to go to
war, and he refused to do. He had a heart. He had compassion, and that
combination saved the world from a conflagration. The Soviet Union's
leaders realized their way of life was doomed. Instead, they
surrendered ideologically, so what seemed impossible over the years, to
bring down that evil empire, to go to war, was not necessary.
I assure Members that Saddam Hussein would not have lasted for many
more years without us having to go to war and get involved in the
quagmire we are involved in there, but we did it. We did it because I
am afraid we are led by some old men who have juvenile minds. We are
led by some old men who play war like little children and they could
not resist the temptation to go to war and display our shock and awe
and all our modern weapons and bring Iraq to its knees overnight. They
could not resist the possibility of being able to ride through the
streets and have people wave flowers at them and welcome them. They had
all kinds of dreams that were not realistic and they led us into a
quagmire.
I am not certain how we are going to get out of that quagmire, but at
least we ought to begin to recognize it. The polls show us the majority
of American people say we should get out of Iraq, bring our troops home
as soon as possible. Those who do not understand still and did not
understand before, Hurricane Katrina should show us, Hurricane Katrina
should finish the job of awakening us to the fact that we have
incompetent, blundering people in the leadership.
We have the results of a situation that has built up over the years
where the primary requirement for getting into government was to be
able to raise large sums of money or a group of people who could raise
large sums of money began to dominate the decisionmaking, what I call
the ``donocracy.'' The ``donocracy'' has pushed up people in power who
do not necessarily have competence in terms of the background, the
training, the experience, to govern.
Those who do rise to power and are elected are surrounded by a group
of people who are primarily great fund-raisers. Those who do rise to
the top are maybe even great friends of great fund-raisers and great
donors. And you get people appointed to positions, like Mr. Brown of
FEMA, people appointed to positions where they should not be. It is
patronage on a grand scale.
It used to be that if you had to have someone pushed forward by the
partisan political process, then you made sure that the top guy, if he
was the guy that was the partisan candidate, you had to have the second
guy be competent and could run the situation, or vice versa. If the top
guy was competent, then your partisan appointee could be the second
guy.
But there arose a situation where we lost touched with reality, and
FEMA represents that. Not only the top officer in FEMA, Mr. Brown, but
we are told by people who are professionals, who worked in FEMA over
the years, people who came out of the Clinton administration. And by
the way, President Clinton made a great effort to professionalize FEMA.
It was one of those places for too many years where political hacks had
been appointed. He tried to professionalize, and he succeeded. But all
of that was wiped away by a new administration that had no respect for
competence. In fact, I would say has contempt for competence, as too
many elected officials in Washington have.
So we are in a situation where one great blunder is draining billions
of dollars out of our coffers halfway across the world in Iraq, and
also thousands of our young people have died. Our standing in the world
has gone down. There are many consequences of the blundering in Iraq.
The Hurricane Katrina blunder showed us that even on a smaller scale
if you have contempt for competence, if you do not really care about
all of the people, if you are going to govern for just a few, you are
going to be preoccupied with big tax cuts while you cut agencies like
FEMA, and other agencies that serve people on the bottom, you could do
not care about safety nets and an education system that is going to
produce the best we can from every human being who has the potential,
you do not care about all of that, well, FEMA brought it home. It
brought it home in a very dramatic way in terms of the combination of
poverty and race.
Poverty and race happens to be a very dramatic way the presentation
came out in New Orleans. I assure Members if those had been white poor
people in the areas flooded, they would have suffered the same fate
from an administration that does not care about all of the people, it
cares about just a few.
These blunders will lead us into a situation where we will not
survive. The Roman Empire survived a lot of blunders. They had Julius
Caesar and many other emperors with various degrees of competence. Some
were complete maniacs like Nero. They survived some maniacs and fools
at the top. They basically survived because the Roman Empire was
unchallenged in the known
[[Page H8495]]
world. There was nothing to compete with the Roman Empire. They could
make blunders for decades and centuries and recover.
The United States of America cannot have more blunders one on top of
another and survive as a leading Nation in the world in terms of
values, in terms of its democratic system, and in terms of its economic
system. I happen to believe that it would not be just a disaster for
Americans, for us who live here, we citizens who love this country, it
would be a disaster for the whole world if our leadership position is
lost. I do not see a rival. Among the rivals, I do not see anyone more
capable of leading in the world in the direction we would like to see
it go, where more people can enjoy the fruits of the earth, where more
people can develop their potential.
The Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution
prevails. There is no Nation on earth that can do a better job. I do
not want our Nation to collapse, not only for my own grandchildren and
great grandchildren and those who survive me, I want the whole world to
benefit from continued leadership by the United States of America. We
should not allow a handful to throw away what so many have labored for
so long to create. We should not let a blundering group of fund-
raisers, a blundering group of fund-raisers, a blundering group of
people who have contempt for competence, who laugh at wisdom, who
ridicule experience, we should not let them dominate our government any
longer.
I think the problems of New Orleans and the problems of the other
sectors hit by Hurricane Katrina are problems we should begin to
examine as possible new opportunities. In the process of rebuilding,
let us not rush to spend billions of dollars. Dollars are very
important. I do not like those who insist when helping the poor, if you
throw dollars at them, you will hurt them. Throwing dollars do not
solve problems. Dollars are the beginning of a solution to the problem.
It does not solve the problem, but at least no solution begins unless
you have resources, unless you have dollars. So it is good we have as
Congress taken the first steps and appropriated $60 billion already to
move the process. Much more will be necessary and it should be
appropriated, but if we do not have the wisdom and the competence and
we do not have the experience, if we do not have an administration that
cares about governing for all of people, not just for a few, then those
dollars are going to be wasted.
Lives that could be redeemed are going to be forever lost. There will
be no comeback. New Orleans will not be rebuilt in a way that is
productive and a signpost for the future.
In the rebuilding of New Orleans, we should build a city of the
future. New Orleans is a great resource. The whole world will always
look at New Orleans as a place, a colorful attraction that they want to
go to. Its traditions with jazz, that is a vital part of it. It is also
located in a place where it will always attract a great deal of
attention.
{time} 1945
So instead of condemning New Orleans and following the leadership of
some people who say why rebuild it, it is too expensive, the next
hurricane may wipe it out, we should look to rebuilding it as a city of
the future, rebuilding it as a hurricane-proof city. There is such a
thing as a city that could withstand a hurricane. There is such a thing
as planning that could take into consideration all the things that went
wrong and deal with the problems that have been revealed.
I think that the challenge of rebuilding New Orleans, the challenge
of recovering from Katrina along the whole path, Mississippi, Alabama,
wherever it hit, that challenge could show us the way to create a
world-class, first-class, adequate homeland security system. Natural
disaster relief merges now with homeland security concerns. Concerns of
recouping from terrorism, of fighting terrorism, coping with terrorism,
now merge with the concerns of natural disaster.
Why not have them merge? It is a way to approach the problem in a
very economical way, it seems, if we are going to in anticipation of
terrorism. And we know very well that it is going to strike only in a
few places because we now are alerted. We have all kinds of mechanisms
to thwart it, but still terrorism may get through; it may strike
someplace. But in order to be prepared, we have got to be prepared
everywhere. If we have got to be prepared everywhere for terrorism, why
not the combination of preparation for terrorism and preparation for
natural disaster be combined, be combined?
Why not deal with the problem revealed in New Orleans of abject
poverty at the same time we deal with how to show that New Orleans can
be prepared not only for future natural disasters but also for any
terrorism threat? Why not show how the residents can be involved in the
process of rebuilding and be involved in the process of creating a new
economy and capitalizing on the fact that the whole world knows New
Orleans and with the exploding world where the middle class is creating
more and more tourists all the time, there will be always enough
tourists to help bolster the economy of New Orleans.
There will always be a fascination with the location of New Orleans
and the river and the various environmental things along that coast. It
is a matter of how do we preserve what is good there and how do we
handle it so that future problems are not there to dwarf the
redevelopment, that business people are not afraid to go back to New
Orleans, that the population itself is not afraid.
It is a great pity that we did not have the foresight the last few
decades to prepare New Orleans properly. We have had experts on top of
experts. We have done studies that showed us the dangers. It is quite
an excellent example, unfortunately, of how our blundering
administration in power and some other administrations in the past have
had contempt for science, contempt for wisdom. The science was there.
The preparations were there. Just last year they ran scenarios of
hurricane level five. All these things have been done, but the
willpower was not there. The wisdom was not there. The competence was
not there to take steps to cope with the problem.
And over the years, we have spent billions of dollars in Iraq and
billions of dollars on other projects, rockets, anti-missile systems;
and there were numerous projects that were great failures and a great
waste of taxpayers' money that could have been jettisoned in order to
provide the money to build decent levees and waterworks of New Orleans.
``Who lost New Orleans?'' And I am reading a few quotes from a piece
that I submitted to the Huffington Post. ``Who lost New Orleans? Our
cities are the greatest treasures of our civilization. So why were the
levees and the pumping stations emplaced to protect New Orleans from
the sea so technologically obsolete?'' The Dutch, the Netherlands have
been controlling the sea for a long time in a much wider area. They
have the expertise. Why did we not bring the Dutch in to do the job
that had to be done if we did not have Americans in the Army Corps, the
engineers, the technological know-how did not exist? We could have in
the world found the people that could do it, and we did not have to go
any further than the Netherlands.
``If the descendants of the American geniuses who built large
artificial ports at Normandy on D-Day could not design adequate
protection, then why didn't we ask the Netherlands to outsource their
expert sea management engineers to us long ago?''
And when we look at what happened on D-Day, we begin to have the
benefit of history in the reruns of movies and the documentaries; and
we see that D-Day was more than about the courage of American soldiers.
That was the critical piece. If there had been no courage, if they had
not kept going forward, all would have been for naught. But if they had
courage and kept going forward and they were not backed up by a
tremendous set of technological innovations, all would have been lost.
They built a port, artificial port, at Normandy, a port big enough to
take trucks and tanks; and it was built in a very short period of time.
If the people who designed that could not provide adequate protection
for New Orleans, or the descendants of the people who designed that,
then we should have gone to the Netherlands and outsourced their expert
sea management engineers to come back to do it for us.
[[Page H8496]]
But I suspect that if the will had been there, if we wanted to do it,
just as we did the impossible on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, we
could have done over a period of time what was necessary to save New
Orleans.
``New Orleans will be lost only for a short period of time.'' As I
just said, it is going to make a comeback.
``In spite of the paucity of spirit and imagination among our ruling
decision-makers, cities will continue to resurrect themselves and
survive. But Americans must learn from the lesson of an almost drowned
New Orleans. No great American city should be needlessly placed at
risk. The rural-centered congressional policies of the last 2 decades
must be radically reversed. The power of Senators, in a Chamber not
based on one man, one vote representation, deal-making for small
population interests must be curbed.''
Taxpayer dollars must not be spent for projects and programs located
where people do not live. They should be spent in places where people
live in large numbers. That should be the priority.
``Who is served by expensive bridges in Alaska?
``Examine the last omnibus budget bill passed by Congress and signed
by the President or review the items listed in the recently signed
Surface Transportation Act. For even a high school sophomore, one fact
will be immediately revealed: the per capita expenditure is far greater
in sparsely populated States than it is in the densely populated States
where the big cities are located.''
This is a leaning, a direction, a trend that has gotten out of hand
in American policy-making and expenditures of taxpayers' dollars over
the last 30 years. We are spending far more per capita in rural and
suburban areas than we are in cities where the people are concentrated.
``Each Senator from a rural State has many more allies than the
Senators from States with big cities. In other words, Senators who
represent urban Americans have less influence.
``Review the scenario of last year's Senate deliberations on the
provision of emergency hurricane relief aid.'' We voted money for the
Florida hurricanes, remember, last year. We started at $6 billion. I do
not know how far it went finally; but I know at the last minute, and I
am not going to read this in great detail, but at the last minute there
was a sudden request in the Senate by people who represented certain
western States that drought relief had to be attached to the hurricane
relief bill. Suddenly, they produced drought relief; and I think $2
billion, an extra $2 billion, was added.
It was kind of blackmail, if one asks me. It was added to the
hurricane money in order to take care of drought relief that suddenly
appeared. The power was there and it was used, unfortunately, to
benefit too few. It was used in a way which was wasteful.
``With billions readily available to make war or implement any other
deadly or wasteful priority our leaders deem necessary, why haven't we
appropriated the funds needed to save, to maintain, to expand, to
glorify our cities? That which is urban is almost synonymous with that
which is civilized. Jefferson notwithstanding, the agrarian life
permitted the flowering of only a few. In the rural domain, nature is
to be placed on a much-deserved pedestal to be observed and admired.
But'' big cities ``keep man's feet on the ground where life can be
hugged and kissed and ravished, where culture is a unique product of
imaginations interacting. Jazz could never have been born in the
countryside, and between rows of corn and cotton, Satchmo could never
have strutted and marched,'' as he did to put New Orleans on the map.
``New Orleans will not be lost forever like Atlantis. Salvaging New
Orleans could prove to be a process which fuels the revamping of the
corrupted Washington decision-making process.'' Salvaging New Orleans
``could spur the salvation of all cities which collectively constitute
the core of our modern American civilization. The process must begin
with less focus on bread and water looters,'' which got a lot of
publicity and we are learning that that was greatly exaggerated, ``and
more'' focus should be made on the ``looting of the Federal Treasury
which has enriched a small percentage of the population'' to the
detriment of cities.
Cities have not been properly funded because there were
administrations like the present one that were not concerned about
legislating for all the people, but were content to legislate just for
a few.
``New Orleans has presented us with a hysterical profile which shows
that in many vital ways, despite our impressive skyscrapers, we are an
underdeveloped Nation. Our masses live in our cities, or the dependant
exurbias and suburbs'' that surround our cities.
``To foster our Nation's security, prosperity and greatness, we must
expend taxpayer resources on planning, programs, and projects which
provide the greatest benefits for the greatest numbers. The Washington
looting mentality must be replaced with a new Washington creative
leadership imperative.'' A creative leadership imperative which governs
for all and not just for the few.
I summed it all up in a short wrap point called ``The Washington
Looting of New Orleans.''
``Washington looters still running loose
Abusers of New Orleans
Embezzlers of canal repair dollars
Big shot necks too big for a noose.
For the Mardi Gras
Neo-con domestic shock and awe
Bush budget blunders trapped in the crayfish claw
Grandmothers and babies cry
Urban peasant victims die;
Oh, when the Saints come marching in
Judgment will fall on merciless men.
Put street looting logs away
Only political atrocities on the dock today.
Washington looters still running loose
Big shot necks too big for a noose.''
Mr. Speaker, I will include in the Record this piece that appeared in
the Huffington Post on September 1, 2005.
Mr. Speaker, we need to combine our concern with homeland security
with our concern with the poor and our concern with the maintenance of
our cities.
I am going to propose, for the benefit of the Congressional Black
Caucus, an omnibus bill to deal with all the various problems relating
to New Orleans. The problems are legion. They are problems of all kinds
that have grown out of the crisis in New Orleans. And every Member of
Congress is concerned. Many suggestions are being made, and they are
not partisan necessarily. There is a great deal of concern on both
sides of the aisle.
My problem is that we have authorized $60 billion without any omnibus
bill to go with it, without any legislation to go with it; so these
ideas out there percolating all around, everybody wanting to do the
right thing, they do not get institutionalized in the proper way. We
need legislation which definitely institutionalizes and codifies and
makes it clear in legislation what it is we are going to do.
There are complaints and there are articles being written, exposes
already about the contracting process, that no-bid contracts are being
spread all over the place and the usual problems we have with large
contractors not honoring subcontractors who are minority. All of those
problems are resulting.
{time} 2000
The President did not want us to take time to debate the legislation
and write instructions as to how the money should be spent. But the
President acted immediately in a very partisan way. He intervened into
this process by first declaring that Davis-Bacon regulations should be
suspended.
What are Davis-Bacon regulations? Why did the President rush into
this process and say right away that Davis-Bacon regulations should be
suspended. The President hesitated, was tardy in responding to the
Katrina disaster. His administration was tardy. All of a sudden, they
rushed in and said Davis-Bacon requirements should be suspended, that
all contractors are not obligated to abide by Davis-Bacon regulations.
What is Davis-Bacon? It is a long-time regulation that says when the
Federal Government is financing a program, building a building, a road,
or whatever, when the Federal Government is concerned, contractors must
pay the local prevailing wages. It is as simple as that. Contractors
must pay the local prevailing wages.
Why would anyone not want contractors to pay local prevailing wages?
As
[[Page H8497]]
you move southward in this country, I know, because I sit on the
committee which is responsible for Davis-Bacon legislation, I know the
charges and how they stack up, the wages that prevail in New Orleans
and many of the southern States are far lower than the wages in any
other part of the country. So they already are low.
Why do we have to rush to intervene and say you do not have to pay
prevailing wages? The problem is they are going to run into situations
where they are going to be paying wages higher than prevailing, because
in order to get people to come in who have the expertise to do some of
the construction, they are going to have to pay higher wages.
But the intervention of the White House immediately to suspend Davis-
Bacon was a blow to a principal that they had enunciated, and we all
agreed with, that priority would be given to the people of New Orleans,
the workers of New Orleans who returned to rebuild their city. If they
are given priority, but you say to the contractors, you do not have to
pay them the wages they are used to getting for carpentry, for
plastering, for operating machinery, you do not have to pay that, you
are undercutting the economy by not paying the citizens the wages that
they were receiving before.
So the suspension of Davis-Bacon was an unfortunate rush of a
partisan nature, because the present administration and the majority
party have relentlessly pursued an effort to sabotage and destroy
Davis-Bacon over the last 4 years. To seize the opportunity for a
partisan thrust like that was most unfortunate.
Then, a few days later, there is an order coming out of the
Department of Labor which says we suspend all affirmative action rules.
Any regulation relating to affirmative action that you have to comply
with, forget about it.
There are not many affirmative action rules that apply to
contractors, but even those small numbers that there are, some kind of
little report you have to write to show you have diversity, et cetera,
the nature of it, that is suspended. This is a second blow to the
people of New Orleans since most of them, as you saw on television, the
city was 67 percent African American, 67 percent. So if you suspend any
requirements that contractors have diversity in their hiring, then you
are certainly not helping to guarantee that those people who lived
there before, who suffered through the hurricane, who suffered through
relocation, can come back and expect to get jobs.
You are encouraging the contractors to ignore that, if it suits their
purpose, and it will suit their purpose if they can get cheap labor
from illegal immigrants, which is one of the problems that we are going
to be confronted with as a result of not having any oversight on Davis-
Bacon or on the affirmative action requirements.
So we are not taking advantage of this catastrophe and making it an
opportunity. It could be an opportunity to show how well the Federal
Government operates to protect the interests of workers, how well we
operate to bring back and guarantee that the people who have suffered
through this are part of the rebuilding process.
I hear that the mayor of New Orleans is creating a commission to come
up with plans to restore and rebuild New Orleans. That is fine. That is
wonderful, and such commissions should exist. But I think it is a
commission that is going to be at the local level, the State and the
city level. They need that.
But we also need another commission, which is made up of national
people, people from the Nation, to participate and help to plan the
rebuilding of New Orleans. We need to look at it as an opportunity for
showing how an ideal city could be structured to better meet the needs
of all the people.
We need to take on the challenge of a location which is hazardous
under normal conditions. How do you make it less hazardous, is the
question. What can you do?
I have a statement I made over the weekend at the Congressional Black
Caucus Education Brain Trust, where I was focusing on the Katrina
challenge in terms of education. I said that faith-based and community-
based organizations could be involved in a very constructive way in the
rebuilding of New Orleans. It is just one of the many ideas that need
to be put into the hopper and made available to those people who could
help oversee a national effort to support the rebuilding of New
Orleans.
Of course, the Congressional Black Caucus, as I said before, has
prepared omnibus legislation to express the ideas that have been put
forward by the leadership of the African American community. Several
meetings have been held.
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Reichert). Would guests in the gallery
please take their conversations outside.
Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to read from that statement that
I read to the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus Education Brain
Trust about Katrina and how education initiatives could be important.
The Katrina hurricane disaster has highlighted the continuing
permanent disaster of national and local policies which neglect the
basic needs of poor Americans. To focus specifically on education,
please be advised that the New Orleans school system is rated presently
as the very worst among numerous struggling urban systems.
From this current tragedy, there is a challenge for all Americans. In
concert with the citizens of New Orleans and Louisiana, there should be
a multi-level effort to redesign and rebuild a 21st century model
education system. In concert with the citizens of New Orleans and
Louisiana, there should be a national effort, a multi-level effort, to
redesign and rebuild a 21st century model education system in New
Orleans. New standards would could be set for physical facilities
constructed to serve as emergency centers as well as schools.
Now, every school, whenever there is a natural disaster, the first
facility utilized, if nearby, is a school. Why do we not better equip
schools to handle emergencies? Why do we not recognize in the building
of schools that they should be built so that they are adaptable for
disasters, whether they are natural or man-made? Why can schools not be
built so there are storage places for extra equipment and supplies and
beds? Why can schools not be built so they have the best of modern
communications equipment, so they will not be isolated, so they can
communicate with the police and the National Guard, et cetera? Why can
we not have that all built into the system? It would not cost very much
more. It is a way to combine the homeland security dollars with the
rebuilding dollars for New Orleans. New standards could be set for
physical facilities constructed to serve as emergency centers as well
as schools.
In my district, I had an organization come and ask for help with the
funding for a new visitors center. It is the botanical garden. They are
building a huge new visitors center. They wanted help from the Federal
Government.
I said, why the Federal Government? They said well, it is a major
economic facility, et cetera. I said maybe in the construction of your
visitors center, you are in the center of Brooklyn, with a large
population. Brooklyn has 2.7 million people. You are a public facility.
You could be one of the places we could depend on in case of a
disaster.
New York, as a city, is considered a high-risk city, so we are in a
high risk area. Why not build in your new center some extras which can
be used in the case of an emergency, a natural disaster or a terrorism
attack?
They accepted that. The architects went to work. They have their
proposal and are proposing and begging for funding to help them with
that process. I am asking for money from the Committee on Homeland
Security. It could be a good model, because every new public facility
should take into consideration the fact that it may be needed in the
future to help respond to an emergency, and in the process of its
construction it would not be exceptionally unusually expensive to build
in some extras.
All of the equipment for electrical wiring and communication services
automatically would be placed at a higher level in such a new building,
on roofs. One of the problems that flooding does is when you have
electricity hooked up in the basement, along with connections to gas,
is that the natural disasters result in impairing electricity early in
the process. Why do we not put our electrical wiring and switches and
facilities higher in our buildings? Schools could lead the way.
[[Page H8498]]
In addition to regular phone, computer and fire alarm communications,
every school should be equipped with a shortwave radio or whatever is
necessary to establish communications with various other entities in
homeland security.
Of equal importance to the physical features, funding should be
provided for the guarantee of the opportunity to learn for every
student, using the standards that already are in place in numerous
suburban school districts across the country. You get in a big debate
when you say we are going to establish some standards so every student
has an opportunity to learn. How much is that going to cost and how can
the Federal Government afford that and what is it?
If you go to most suburban schools, it is already in existence. They
provide the money necessary to guarantee the opportunity to learn for
all their students. The decent libraries are there, with the right
number of books, current and useful books. The laboratories for science
teachers are there. The physical education facilities are there. So we
should build into the new schools what New Orleans schools have not
had, all of those opportunities to learn.
If necessary, a program of aid to families with children in schools
could supplement the education funding in order to systematically
attack the problem of inadequate home and family support.
In addition to the problems of poverty and weak home structures, the
students who go back to school in New Orleans are going to be victims
of trauma. They have had experiences which are very traumatic. They are
going to have numerous problems that deserve some extra support, and we
should build that in. It may come from the Department of Health and
Human Services, which has a program called Aid to Families with
Dependent Children. Why not Aid to Families With Children in School as
another separate program related to the experience of a child in
school?
Attendance and the regularity of parents going to meetings, a number
of things could be done which would encourage a new mindset among
family members and community members regarding education. That is not a
physical feature, but it is an important opportunity-to-learn feature.
The greatest benefit to the people that the government can provide to
the survivors of Katrina is a comprehensive support program which
educates a generation of children to take new positions in their new
City of New Orleans and the Nation, because, I repeat, it is to the
Nation's advantage to have as many of its human beings educated as best
as possible. It is part of the competition we face again.
{time} 2015
Again, we are not like the Roman Empire. We cannot blunder on and on
and expect to maintain leadership in the world. We cannot blunder on
and on without being overrun, and I do not mean overrun militarily. We
will be overrun culturally and economically. Our standard of living
will be greatly changed if some of the great powers that are
maneuvering, not maneuvering. I congratulate the government of India
for providing a first-rate education program so that they are producing
large numbers of scientists and technologists and they are taking over
large swaths of the information industry from the United States.
I congratulate the small Asian countries that are taking some medical
business, opening their own hospitals over there where they provide
much better care than we provide here at cheaper rates. I congratulate
them for educating their population for being able to do that.
I congratulate the government of China. They are graduating 600,000
scientists and engineers every year. That is a marvelous thing to do
for human beings. Their nation, their leadership is not blundering;
they are doing the right thing.
We should stop blundering on matters related to education and
understand that that is where the world is going. If we are going to
survive and outlast the Roman Empire, which is highly desirable, we
should be in the leadership of the world for as long as possible and
stay there. We are going to have to stop the incompetence and the
blundering that exists presently.
Mr. Speaker, let me just take a minute to be very practical about the
coming omnibus bill that the Congressional Black Caucus is preparing.
There are some other groups here on the Hill preparing bills; I am sure
Republican and Democratic groups are preparing some legislation. But by
omnibus bill, we mean we want to take into consideration all of the
various problems that do exist.
We do not want the blundering to go any further. The blundering that
existed in the response to Katrina could be far more destructive as we
prepare for a rebuilding of New Orleans and the coast, which is going
to last for years and years. If we do it wrong, the effects will be
there forever, probably. We will never have another opportunity like
this. Just as with the war in Iraq, we have done it wrong; we lost an
opportunity, as I said before.
Instead of following history, understanding the implications of
history, understanding how much we have learned by waiting out the
Soviet Union, waiting for it to fall; despite its terrible leaders like
Stalin, and despite its advances with nuclear weapons, we waited, and
we won. But in the case of Iraq, the blunder has cost us a great deal.
I am not submitting this for inclusion in the Record at this point,
because I have not found a way to do that, but I want to call
everybody's attention to the fact that USA Today, the national
newspaper USA Today on Thursday, September 22 of this year, had an ad
in its paper which tells the story dramatically about blunders and what
the results can be. On one side it has a picture of all the people who
led us into the Iraq war, and it says, ``They lied.'' On the other
side, it has the listing of all of the people who died in the Iraq war,
and at the bottom it says, ``They died.'' They lied, they died. I will
not submit it for the Record today, but I urge everybody to look up
September 22 USA Today and get a feel for where we are on our way to.
They have all the names listed of all of those who died, just as we
have them listed on the Vietnam Memorial.
Mr. Speaker, 58,000 died in Vietnam. We know we never want to do that
again. But 58,000 died. They are all heroes. In fact, every American
who puts on a uniform, whether he gets killed or wounded or comes back
alive and healthy, is a hero. The minute you put on the uniform of your
Nation, you are at the command, beck and call of our Nation. You go
where you are sent. It is just sometimes luck that you are sent to a
place where you are able to survive. You are a hero, and everybody
should be looked upon, who goes out to serve their country and puts
themselves at risk, as heroes, and we should be heroes in making
certain that we never do it unnecessarily, that they are never put in
situations which do not require those kinds of risks. Those that give
their all should do it for something worthwhile.
We do not want that kind of blunder to ever affect us again. We do
not want to blunder now as we go forward in the peaceful process of
rebuilding New Orleans.
There are several groups who listed things that we should look for as
we rebuild New Orleans and the gulf coast region. This one comes from
Policy Link, but it happens to dovetail and sound very much like what
the Congressional Black Caucus omnibus bill is proposing also, will be
proposing.
One, rebuilding New Orleans and other devastated areas so that all
communities are mixed income communities. Let us not rebuild ghettos
which we have in the low-lying areas where the greatest amount of
flooding took place; you had the poorest people. Probably because years
and years ago, the realtors and the people who did the planning
understood those areas were in danger, were at risk. The land was
cheaper there, so the poor people are all there. The poor people who
service the hotels and the industries, they all live there.
Why not, understanding that we are never going to be totally immune,
no matter how we build the buildings, why not move the population so
that they are on higher ground. Why not mix downtown, higher ground,
why not have moderate-income and low-income housing mixed in among the
hotels, mixed in in areas of high ground, the scenic parts of New
Orleans which have
[[Page H8499]]
been reserved for the old aristocracy. Why not guarantee that there are
places to live for those New Orleans evacuees who want to come back, so
that they do not have to live in danger anymore.
Or if you are going to build in the low-lying areas where the
greatest risk is, build buildings which are flood-proof, on stilts.
There are various ways we can have large buildings which are not
subject to flooding and buildings that hurricanes cannot blow down too.
It is possible to do that.
Beyond that, I would recommend that there would be fewer, and other
people have recommended, that there be fewer residences, but build
institutions in those places. If you have to evacuate or something
happens, the colleges like Dillard University, Xavier University,
Southern University, all of those were inundated with the flood, they
were put out of business for this semester and maybe next semester, and
some may never recover. Those kinds of institutions could be rebuilt in
that area and built with the flood-proofing and hurricane-proofing. But
if something does go wrong, you do not have to evacuate large numbers
of individuals, because institutions have fewer human beings that have
to be dealt with.
Number two, let us have equitable distribution of the amenities and
the infrastructure investments that make all communities livable, so
that parks and schools and so forth are structured so that they
encourage people to live in the neighborhoods and are designated as the
places which are most habitable, less dangerous.
Number three, prioritize health and safety concerns. Let us not
ignore the lessons of 9/11. We cannot ignore the fact that toxins,
pollution, those things are going to kill people later on if we do not
deal with them now. We had problems in New York when large numbers of
our firemen were heroes and went into 9/11 searching for people under
the rubbish, were there for the first few days.
They are now coming down with serious diseases, a few have died, and
much of it was caused by the fact that they went in with no protection.
That is very heroic, but it was not necessary. We should have provided
the protection, the masks, and a few other things that were necessary.
So the people who come back to live there certainly should not be
forced to live in situations which are not thoroughly cleansed of all
of these toxins.
Number four, we should ensure responsible resettlement and relocation
for the people who have been displaced. There should be a guarantee.
Here is where the Federal Government must come in and make it right, if
the State and the city does not do it, a right to return, a right to
resettlement in New Orleans, with the accompanying bonuses, whatever is
necessary to entice people and get them to return.
All of those things should be there, and we should play a major role
in guaranteeing that they are there. We should not discourage people to
go from New Orleans to Idaho permanently, from New Orleans to San
Francisco, New Orleans to Memphis, et cetera, and stay there. They have
gone to these places that reached out and assured some shelter for the
evacuees; they should not be forced to remain scattered. They should
have a right to resettle.
Point five, we should restore and build a capacity of community-based
organizations in the gulf coast region. As I said before, a program
which involves all of the people there ought to be put forward so the
capacity of community-based organizations should be a part of the way
we guarantee some employment to people who live there in the area.
Number six, create wealth-building opportunities to effectively
address poverty.
Number seven, strengthen the political voice of dispersed residents.
We do not want any party to take advantage of the fact that we have
residents dispersed now. It changes the voting patterns; it changes the
political clout of New Orleans. We do not want any party to try to take
advantage of that by leaving the residents dispersed so that they have
no voting power.
Point eight, create a system for meaningful, sustained resident
oversight. They should participate in the $200 billion investment that
is predicted the American taxpayer is going to make. Certainly the
residents of the gulf coast and of New Orleans should be able to have
some voice in the way money is spent.
Point nine, leverage the rebuilding expenditures to create jobs and
liveable wages that go first to local residents. I talked about Davis-
Bacon and the suspension of affirmative action. Both of those do not
help to create the jobs for local residents. We should reverse those
policies as soon as possible.
And finally, number ten, develop a communication and technology
infrastructure that provides residents with the means to receive and
share information related to community-building, support services,
access, et cetera, and for communications to be provided for future
emergencies.
I would propose a homeland security faith and community-based
organization neighborhood mobilization program, on top of whatever else
we do, and this kind of program would provide a defined set of
community services. Each organization would be responsible for, and it
would maintain, a homeland security fail-safe, volunteer committee that
each group would have to maintain; and that volunteer, fail-safe
committee would be laymen who would be first responders, lay people who
could be first responders in case of emergency.
Special homeland security training would be provided for these fail-
safe committees. Establish disaster relief and shelter sites ahead of
time so that these laymen who are part of the process know where to go
and what to do. Increases in auxiliary policemen, increases in
volunteer firemen, all of those kinds of things we can put on the
agenda as part of using the New Orleans and gulf coast experience as a
model for what has to happen in large populations across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to close with a request to submit for the
Record an item entitled ``Fact Sheet.'' This deals with community-based
and faith-based institutions being involved in this process, and one is
called ``Models for Combination Church and School-based Projects for
Possible Funding,'' along with my previous statements for the Record.
[From the Huffington Post]
The Washington Looting of New Orleans
(By Representative Major R. Owens)
Who lost New Orleans? Our cities are the greatest treasures
of our civilization. So why were the levees and the pumping
stations emplaced to protect New Orleans from the sea so
technologically obsolete?
If the descendants of the American geniuses who built large
artificial ports at Normandy on D-Day could not design
adequate protection, then why didn't we ask the Netherlands
to outsource their expert sea management engineers to us long
ago?
New Orleans will be lost only for a short period. In spite
of the paucity of spirit and imagination among our ruling
decision-makers, cities will continue to resurrect themselves
and survive. But Americans must learn from the lesson of an
almost drowned New Orleans. No great American city should be
needlessly placed at risk. The rural-centered congressional
policies of the last two decades must be radically reversed.
The power of senators (in a chamber not based on one man, one
vote representation) deal making for small population
interests must be curbed. Taxpayer dollars must be spent for
projects and programs located where people live. Who is
served by expensive bridges in Alaska?
Examine the last omnibus budget bill passed by Congress and
signed by the president; or review the items listed in the
recently signed Surface Transportation Act. For even a high
school sophomore one fact will be immediately revealed: the
per capita expenditure is far greater in sparsely populated
states than it is in the densely populated states where the
big cities are located. Each senator from a rural state has
many more allies than the senators from states with big
cities. In other words, senators who represent urban
Americans have less influence.
Review the scenario of last year's Senate deliberations on
the provision of emergency hurricane relief aid and the power
of the states with less people becomes apparent. During the
negotiations the Senate rural raiders held the bill hostage
until they could extort an extra two billion dollars for a
sudden need for drought relief. At the end of this extortion
orgy there was no money left for New Orleans where, in 2004,
government officials had conducted a training exercise,
pinpointed the same water control problems which have now
emerged, and accurately predicted the number of casualties we
see occurring today. The knowledge was available but the
sympathy and sensitivity to cities was smothered. In
Washington, particularly the undemocratic Senate, village
mind-sets unwilling and/or unable to manage modern
complexities are firmly in charge.
[[Page H8500]]
With billions readily available to make war or implement
any other deadly or wasteful priority our leaders deem
necessary, why haven't we appropriated the funds needed to
save, to maintain, to expand, to glorify our cities? That
which is urban is almost synonymous with that which is
civilized. Jefferson notwithstanding, the agrarian life
permitted the flowering of only a few. In the rural domain
nature is to be placed on a much deserved pedestal to be
observed and admired. But a city keeps man's feet on the
ground where life can be hugged and kissed and ravished;
where culture is the unique product of imaginations
interacting. Jazz could never have been born in the
countryside; and between rows of corn and cotton Satchmo
could never have strutted and marched.
Ted Koppel wants fervently to lash the New Orleans lawless
looters looking for food and bottled water in the sacred
supermarkets. Where are the commentators with the guts to go
bounty hunting for the government treasury looters who for
decades devoured all of the appropriations that should have
been saved for our needy cities. Throwing dollars at problems
never automatically solves them but in New Orleans there
could have been more planning on how to spray the rapidly
breeding mosquitoes; how to manage the evacuation of the
refugees from the Superdome; how to keep intact a fail-safe
system far repairing a breech in the wall around Lake
Ponchartrain; how to guarantee at vital installations the
necessary auxiliary generating power; how to achieve the
immediate deployment of massive numbers of U.S. military
helicopters and naval small boats to speedily rescue all
stranded inhabitants instead of waiting for the conventional
sluggish National Guard and Red Cross buggies to roll out.
New Orleans will not be lost forever like Atlantis.
Salvaging New Orleans could prove to be a process which fuels
the revamping of the corrupted Washington decision-making
process. It could spur the salvation of all cities which
collectively constitute the core of our modern American
civilization. The process must begin with less focus on bread
and water looters and more scrutiny of the Washington
leadership which has for decades allowed the continuous
looting of the federal treasury to enrich the small
percentage of the population not dependent on cities.
New Orleans has presented us with a hysterical profile
which shows that in many vital ways, despite our impressive
skyscrapers, we are an underdeveloped civilization. Our
masses live in our cities (or the dependent exurbias and
suburbs). To foster our nation's security, prosperity and
greatness we must expend taxpayer resources on planning,
programs and projects which provide the greatest benefits for
the greatest numbers. The Washington looting mentality must
be replaced with a new Washington creative leadership.
the washington looting of new orleans
Washington looters still running loose
Abusers of New Orleans
Embezzlers of canal repair dollars
Big shot necks too big for a noose.
For the Mardi Gras
Neo-con domestic shock and awe
Bush budget blunders trapped in the crayfish claw.
Grandmothers and babies cry
Urban peasant victims die;
Oh when the Saints come marching in
Judgement will fall on merciless men.
Put street looting logs away
Only political atrocities on the dock today.
Washington looters still running loose
Big shot necks too big for a noose.
____
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS EDUCATION BRAINTRUST
Fact Sheet
summary definition
The Faith-Based and Community Initiative was designed to
``enlist, equip, empower, and expand the heroic works of
faith-based and community groups across America.'' It
includes increased tax incentives for charitable giving, an
extension of Charitable Choice rules to most federally funded
social service programs, and the Compassion Capital Fund, an
HHS program. President Bush established a White House Office
of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and set up Centers
for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in 10 federal
agencies to ensure that faith-based and community
organizations have improved access to the programs operated
by their agencies.
white house office of faith based and community initiatives
The purpose of this office is to: Identify and eliminate
federal barriers to the full participation of faith-based and
community serving programs in the provision of social
services; Give these organizations the fullest opportunity
permitted by law to compete for federal funding; Encourage
greater corporate and philanthropic support for faith-based
and community organizations through public education and
outreach activities; Existing evidence shows that only
partisan favored groups have received priority to date.
compassion fund
The Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) administered by the
Department of Health and Human Services, since its inception
three years ago, has provided $99.5 million in grants to 197
organizations and sub-grants to over 1,700 grassroots
organizations. CCF administers two grant programs: the
Demonstration Program and the Targeted Capacity Building
Program. Operated almost as a covert domestic program, for a
long period no objective criteria was established for the
handouts of these taxpayers dollars.
application procedures
Except for the very flexible Compassion Capital Fund (CCF),
there are no publicly earmarked faith-based funds set aside
for faith-based organizations. For the CCF there was no
transparent review and selection process; and no timely
announcements of funds awarded. At present, ``where
appropriate'' certain programs are granted ``Novice
Eligibility'' and given 5 extra points when being reviewed in
the various cabinet level Departments.
church vs. state constitution issue
Faith institutions have always participated in community
based programs. Indeed, the record shows that in the ``War
Against Poverty'' and Head Start'' programs the best
performing agencies were often church based. The current
controversy concerning government funding of religious
institutions relates to the position of the Bush
administration which insists that religious affiliation can
be a factor in hiring program personnel. Also religious
doctrine and dictates may be incorporated into any activities
or curriculum of these Bush funded programs. To avoid the
continuing denial of needed funds to poor community
recipients this constitutional question should be left to be
decided by the Federal courts.
components of proposed fair and balanced faith and community based
funding initiatives
Poor communities throughout the nation, for the last thirty
years, have seen Federal funds drained from their grassroots
organization. Funding which places resources in the hands of
front-line efforts is desperately needed. All public
decision-makers should support fair competition for community
based grants. The standards and procedures for the unbiased,
transparent, objective notification, processing, review and
evaluation of community-based programs have been well
established by the Economic Opportunity Act and its
successor, the Community Services Block Grant.
contacts for additional information
White House Office of Faith-based and Community
Initiatives, Jim Towey, Director.
Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
Department of Justice, Patrick Purtill, Director,
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fbci
Department of Health and Human Services, Bobby Polito,
Director, www.hhs.gov/fbci
Department of Education, John Porter, Director, www.ed.gov/
faithandcommunity
Agency of International Development, Linda Shovlain, Acting
Director, www.usaid.gov/fbci
Small Business Administration, Joseph Shattan, Director,
www.sba.gov/fbci
Department of Labor, Brent Orrell, Director, www.dol.gov/
cfbci
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ryan Streeter,
Director, www.hud.gov/offices/fbci
Department of Agriculture, Juliet McCarthy, Director,
www.usda.gov/fbci
Department of Commerce, David Bohigian, Director,
www.commerce.gov/fbci
Department of Veteran Affairs, Darin Selnick, Director,
www.va.gov
The Katrina Challenge To Faith-Based And Community Initiatives
Education
The Katrina Hurricane disaster has highlighted the
continuing permanent disaster of national and local policies
which neglect the basic needs of poor Americans. To focus
specifically on education please be advised that the New
Orleans school system is rated as the very worst among
numerous struggling urban systems. From this current tragedy
there is a challenge for all Americans. In concert with the
citizens of New Orleans and Louisiana there should be a
multi-level effort to redesign and rebuild a 21st Century
Model Education System. New standards could be set for
physical facilities constructed to serve as emergency centers
as well as schools. Extra spaces for the storage of vital
equipment and provisions would be incorporated into the new
architecture which places all buildings on stilts with grassy
playgrounds beneath them. All of the equipment for electrical
wiring and communication services would be placed at higher
levels or on roofs instead of easily flooded basements. In
addition to regular phone, computer and five alarm
communications, every school should be equipped with a short
wave radio on the newly established Homeland Security
standard frequencies.
As equally important as the physical features funding
should be provided for the guarantee of the Opportunity-To-
Learn for every student using the standards already in place
in numerous suburban school districts across the nation. A
program of Aid to Families With Children In School must
supplement education funding in order to systematically
attack the problem of inadequate home and community support.
Stipends should be paid to parents who regularly attend
meetings and volunteer. Bonuses should be paid to families
where students maintain good attendance and high grades.
Grants should be given to churches and other organizations
who provide support for families with children in school.
[[Page H8501]]
The greatest benefit that the people and the government can
provide for the survivors of Katrina is a comprehensive
support program which educates a generation of children to
take productive positions in their new city of New Orleans
and in the nation.
Models for Combination Church/School Based Projects for Possible
Funding
I. Supplemental Education Services (SES) Network Using Retired Teachers
Program Purpose and Function
Tutorial, After-School and Weekend Programs for low-
performing, low-income students attending low performing
schools. Church and Community Organization Sites could
provide more intimate settings in close proximity to the
homes of students.
Possible Funding Sources
Funding is mandated by the Department of Education (DOE)
through all recipients of Title I Funds. Other DOE Funds
could be made available. Title I funds will cover the cost of
tutors; however, to establish and maintain a network with
additional enticements and incentives for pupils would
require some auxiliary funding.
Administration and Operations
The Local Education Agency will determine the contents and
processes for the tutoring although State licensing or
approval may also be required. Funding beyond the cost of
tutors will allow for flexibility in creating enrichment
activities and maximizing family and community involvement.
It is particularly important to maintain continuity of the
Supplementary Education Services presence during each Summer
recess. Assuming the attachment to a parent entity which
provides space, bookkeeping and financial services, the
budget for a project serving 50 children should be enough to
finance: A coordinator's salary; stipend for two parents;
phone and computer services; indoor game materials; field
trips, snacks for students and parents. An application should
be submitted for $150,000 to 250,000.
II. Counseling For Children Of Incarcerated Parents
Program Purpose and Functions
This is an initiative that has been highlighted by the Bush
Administration as a highly desirable function. There are no
detailed guidelines in place and this allows for a great deal
of creative flexibility. Advice and examples of models should
be requested from the Department of Justice. Educators should
insist that schools are in a pivotal position to play a major
role in producing worthwhile results for such a program. This
does not rule out collaborations and partnerships with
agencies and churches serving prison inmates and ex-
offenders.
Possible Funding Sources
Although the Department of Justice (DOJ) is the obvious
starting point, possible funding should be explored with the
departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Housing
and Urban Development (HUD). The latter funds a number of
programs for uplift and improvement in the low-income public
housing under its jurisdiction.
Administrative and Operations
The professional advice of social workers, psychiatrists
and psychologists must be at the core of such a project,
however, community residents who are ex-offenders or the
relatives of current inmates may make invaluable
contributions. Assuming that the project will operate under
the administrative and fiscal umbrella of an already
established church or community organization (or the school
system), the budget for a project serving 50 children should
be enough to finance: A coordinator; Stipends for Volunteers;
Fees for Professional Consultants; Prison Visit Trips. An
application should be submitted for $200,000-300,000.
III. Auxiliary Disciplinary, Patrolling, Policing Services Using
Parents
Program Purpose and Function
Security is a major problem in many urban schools and many
have chosen to use local police or private guards. Pilot
projects are needed to show that utilizing parents, church
members, and community residents would injure student self-
esteem less and also cost less.
Possible Funding Sources
The Department of Education (DOE) is concerned about the
increase of spending on security and should entertain new
approaches. The Department of Justice (DOJ) will accept
proposals which are in harmony with its juvenile delinquency
prevention mandate. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
should be offered proposals which demonstrate the
possibilities of training these same parents and community
residents to be volunteer first responders for emergencies.
Administration and Operations
Where necessary, local school systems have already
developed structures for maintaining security. The pilot
programs proposed here should be funded long enough (one
year) to prove that they can accomplish a better result for
less money. A request should be made (for one school) for
$200,000-300,000.
IV. Cooperative Technology, Training and Repair Project
Program Purpose and Function
Large numbers of computers and other educational technology
devices are grossly underutilized as a result of the absence
of mechanics and technicians to make repairs and perform
preventive maintenance. A church or community organization
based project could provide an ongoing service for local
schools while at the same time it trains a group of local
residents.
Possible Funding Sources
The Department of Education (DOE) and the Department of
Labor (DOL) should be solicited for funds to accomplish this
worthwhile objective. It is possible that the E-Rate
discounted coverage of expenses could be utilized for such a
project after the appropriate negotiations.
Administration and Operations
The project is obviously best suited for a cluster of
schools with a reasonable critical mass of computers and
other equipment to be maintained. A supervisor instructor
with the necessary assistants and interns to serve a minimal
cluster could be sustained with an annual appropriation of
$200,000--300,000.
____________________