[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.

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