[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 51 (Wednesday, May 3, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H1984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RAISING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRESIDENT'S FLU PLAN

  (Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, later this morning, the President will 
unveil his plan for responding to a flu pandemic. The Homeland Security 
Department will be playing a key role in the response. That is right, 
the pandemic flu response will be brought to you by the same people who 
gave us one heck of a job in responding to Hurricane Katrina.
  The other great initiatives were duct tape as a national response to 
chemical weapons and the Dubai Ports fiasco. According to reports, the 
President's plan predicts chaos, quote-unquote, with a scenario of 
nearly 2 million American deaths. Given the Department of Homeland 
Security's track record, are these really the folks you want in charge 
of managing our response to a crisis of this magnitude?
  The Homeland Security Department had a plan for New Orleans: they 
just ignored it. And the parts they did follow were so bungled and 
mismanaged, we are still dealing with the aftermath.
  Mr. Speaker, no well-funded plan can go forward without a good 
general. At a time in which we need Grant, we have got McClellan. 
Forget the compassionate conservative this President promised; at this 
point, I would settle for a competent conservative.

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