[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20349-20398]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. RES. 437, ESTABLISHING THE SELECT 
BIPARTISAN COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE PREPARATION FOR AND RESPONSE TO 
                           HURRICANE KATRINA

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 439 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 439

       Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it 
     shall be in order without intervention of any point of order 
     to consider in the House the resolution (H. Res. 437) to 
     establish the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the 
     Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina. The 
     resolution shall be considered as read. The previous question 
     shall be considered as ordered on the resolution to final 
     adoption without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of 
     debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and 
     ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules; and (2) 
     one motion to recommit which may not contain instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The gentleman from California 
(Mr. Dreier) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from Rochester, New York (Ms. 
Slaughter), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the 
purpose of debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 439 is a closed rule providing for 1 
hour of debate for consideration of H. Res. 437, a resolution 
establishing a select bipartisan committee to investigate the 
preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina.
  The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill 
and provides one motion to recommit which may not contain instructions.
  Mr. Speaker, the human suffering and physical damage wrought by 
Hurricane Katrina is heart-wrenching and overwhelming. We all know that 
very well. Lives have been lost and uprooted. Families are separated 
without homes and without jobs.
  Our initial focus has been on restoring hope and rebuilding community 
on the gulf coast. With great urgency Congress came together and with 
virtual unanimity passed legislation to fund the very important relief 
efforts. Over $60 billion has been appropriated so far. Also critical 
has been the outpouring of support and generosity from fellow Americans 
and very importantly from 94 countries around the world. From small 
businesses to large corporations, people are pitching in.
  That said, as President Bush has stated, there were aspects of the 
immediate response to Hurricane Katrina that were not acceptable. He 
said that this week, and I am sure that it will be made clear in the 
remarks that he gives to the Nation this evening.
  Already we have seen the head of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency resign. Clearly, many lessons are to be learned from what has 
happened. As debris is removed, water recedes and homes are rebuilt, we 
in Congress must now assume our very serious and consequential 
constitutional oversight role of the executive branch and Federal 
agencies so that we can find out exactly what went wrong and what went 
right in the early response to Hurricane Katrina.

                              {time}  1045

  We need to get to the bottom of what happened, when it happened and 
why it happened.
  Mr. Speaker, to fulfill our oversight responsibility, we are 
following precedent and honoring tradition by creating a bipartisan 
select committee to look at the response of the government to Hurricane 
Katrina. This select committee will allow us to take a sober, serious, 
nonpartisan look at the development, coordination and execution of 
relief by State, local and Federal authorities.
  At the same time, we must take great care not to interfere with the 
ongoing Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Critical personnel are 
still on the ground and actively involved in a time-sensitive, 
decision-making process. Congress can help uncover a better way 
forward, but it should not disrupt the progress that is being made at 
this moment.
  Mr. Speaker, this rule serves as the most practical vehicle by which 
to consider this critically important legislation. I urge my colleagues 
to support the rule and the underlying legislation.

[[Page 20350]]

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, President Bush said that he took 
responsibility for the recent failure of the Federal Government to 
fulfill its ultimate duty of saving the lives of its own people within 
its own borders.
  But what does responsibility mean? If it means anything, it means the 
sincere concern for what has happened under his watch. It means 
stopping at nothing to find out why a Nation led by officials who claim 
to care about keeping Americans safe presided over a recovery effort 
which left behind so many innocent men, women and children as they were 
crying out for help. It means caring about the truth, and it means 
putting people before politics.
  Today, this Congress has to offer the American people its own 
definition of responsibility. The appalling aftermath of Hurricane 
Katrina, which swept over citizens from Louisiana to Alabama to 
Mississippi, was the product of a combination of failures: failures of 
planning, failures of execution, failures of accountability. It is the 
responsibility of this body to examine why our Federal Government was 
behind so many of those failures.
  There is only one way to do this and only one path the public will 
respect, only one route to producing real answers to real questions 
which the American people will trust. We need a 9/11-type commission 
for Hurricane Katrina. The 9/11 Commission was our government's 
response to the tragedy of September 11, 2001; and after an exhaustive 
study, it produced a report that was trusted by the American people and 
by the members of our government.
  This trust was earned. The 9/11 Commission was not beholden to any 
interests besides those of its own integrity and the good of the 
country.
  This honorable response to the tragedy of September 11 puts to shame 
what has been proposed today in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. What was 
perhaps our Federal Government's greatest failure to date to defend 
life at home is being met with a failure of leadership and openness and 
honesty in this Chamber today.
  The Republican leadership of the House and Senate has called for the 
creation of an overtly partisan congressional committee to investigate 
the government's pre- and post-Katrina actions. They have specified 
that it would be a committee appointed by Republicans, with a 
Republican majority. They would give Republicans control of every 
aspect of the proceedings, and they alone would control who would be 
subpoenaed. They alone would control which documents could be examined, 
and they alone would control the scope of the investigation. They would 
have the power to take the investigation in any direction they chose, 
with no checks, no balances and no incentives to get real answers. They 
have nominated the fox to guard the hen house.
  Mr. Speaker, I do not object to such a plan because Republicans would 
be in control as opposed to Democrats. I object to it because it is the 
Republican Party which controls the levers of government and, as such, 
manages FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security and every other 
Federal institution which must be examined.
  The conflicts of interest that are present are so obvious that it is 
incredible anyone would deny them, but the members of the majority do 
not only do this, but they put forth one justification after another 
for their plan, each one less convincing than the one before it. They 
tell us that the structure of the committee is based on precedent and 
cite the bipartisan commission which investigated the Iran-Contra 
affair as evidence of this. Never mind that in that situation a 
Republican President was being investigated by a Democratically 
controlled committee, eliminating the political pressure to sweep 
truths under the rug.
  Last night, in the Committee on Rules, they told us, rather 
incredibly, that nobody is better to evaluate in this body than its own 
Members. But the American people do not believe that. After all, 
accountability has not exactly been the hallmark of this Republican 
leadership.
  This majority did not investigate those who concealed the Department 
of Health and Human Services' real estimate of how much the 2003 
Medicare legislation that we passed would cost. It did not investigate 
the role of top Bush campaign contributors in writing Vice President 
Cheney's energy plan. It did not investigate the Valerie Plame scandal. 
It did not investigate what led to our dehumanizing and shameful 
treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and Abu Ghraib in 
Iraq.
  Why did these investigations not take place? The majority has no 
answer, except promising to us that this time things will be different.
  Last night, the chairman did offer his personal assurances again and 
again that the commission would allow the Democrats to ask questions. 
It probably never occurred to us that we would not have been able to do 
that, but this is ultimately a promise that he cannot keep.
  Only allowing a hand-picked group of witnesses to be questioned 
prejudices the investigation before it has even begun. If a true 
interest in a fair, open, thorough and independent investigation runs 
that deep with my Republican colleagues, why not just create the 
independent panel?
  That is the central question I have for my colleagues today. Why will 
you not support the creation of an independent commission? What are you 
afraid of? The American people clearly had faith in the 9/11 Commission 
model. Why do you not?
  A commission controlled by the politicians of one party charged with 
investigating itself will face tremendous internal political pressure 
to eliminate embarrassing truths from the public eye, to defer blame 
and to hide facts. That is the fundamental truth, because we all know 
how politics works.
  Politics, by the way, is exactly why those recent scandals I just 
mentioned were never investigated.
  Is the creation of an independent commission an abdication of our 
responsibility? Absolutely not. In fact, exactly the opposite is the 
case. If we intentionally create a partisan, political investigation, 
that, Mr. Speaker, would be an abdication of our responsibilities.
  The American people need answers, they need true accountability, and 
the only way that we can live up to our responsibility and give them 
answers they can trust is through an independent commission.
  The public already overwhelmingly supports the creation of such an 
independent commission by 76 percent, and over 160 Members of this 
body, representing more than 100 million of our Nation's people, have 
already supported the creation of such a commission through a 
substitute resolution by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), my 
colleague. Its findings would not just help us to prevent another 
terrible disaster from taking place, they would also help our 
government to regain its credibility in the eyes of the public.
  A Newsweek poll from earlier this week found that fully 57 percent of 
the general population has doubts that government officials will 
respond well the next time a disaster strikes. Those doubts would not 
be reduced until people believe that a real, independent investigation 
of Katrina has taken place. But the findings of the congressional 
commission being proposed by the Republican leadership will be forever 
tainted by the pervasive public belief that details were overlooked or 
truths hidden for political reasons. We have plenty of evidence to 
believe that.
  Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, our government missed an opportunity to 
rise to the occasion when it was sorely needed. The consequences were 
worse than we could have imagined. We cannot afford to miss another 
opportunity here today, and we object to the fact that this resolution 
is titled ``bipartisan commission'' because, truly, there will not be 
one.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As I prepare to yield to my friend from Charleston, let me just say 
that

[[Page 20351]]

the short answer to the question posed by my friend from Rochester 
about why it is we would not establish a commission, it is very clear. 
Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution states it, that we have to do 
our job. We have the responsibility to deal with this issue.
  There are very important questions that have been raised by Democrats 
and Republicans and people from the outside community; and we, as the 
representatives of the people, have the responsibility to get to the 
bottom of this. That is what the establishment of this bipartisan 
committee is, in fact, going to do.
  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Charleston, West Virginia (Mrs. Capito), my very good friend and 
hardworking member of the Committee on Rules.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the creation of 
a select bipartisan committee to investigate the preparation for and 
response to Hurricane Katrina.
  As representatives, we are elected by the American people, and it is 
our duty to ensure that the numerous Federal agencies of which we have 
oversight and that we fund on an annual basis serve the taxpayers 
efficiently and effectively, and I think from the images that we have 
seen and from the reports from that area of the country, we have had 
serious problems.
  This is a job best performed by the elected leaders of the United 
States. We are charged with the responsibility of oversight. We can be 
trusted by our constituents to find the truth.
  To those who are critical of the makeup of this committee, I say to 
them, the United States Congress has responded in similar fashion 41 
times, most recently with the formation of the Select Committee on 
Homeland Security in 2002 and 2003.
  Mr. Speaker, we must form this bipartisan committee quickly so that 
the Members from both sides of the aisle can begin the vital task of 
finding the problems that plagued the response to Hurricane Katrina on 
the local, State and Federal levels. If we fail to act expeditiously 
and devolve into finger pointing and bickering, we are putting other 
areas of our Nation at greater risk. Mother Nature will not wait for 
the United States Congress to act.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), a member of the Committee on Rules.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule and to 
the underlying resolution.
  The Federal response to Hurricane Katrina was absolutely 
unacceptable. The American people deserve to know what went so terribly 
wrong and what we must do to make sure it never, ever happens again.
  Unfortunately, the partisan committee being proposed by the 
Republican majority will not give the American people any confidence 
that Congress is asking tough questions and demanding straight answers.
  Apparently, Mr. Speaker, after the flood comes the whitewash.
  For over 4 years, the Republican majority has refused at every turn 
to hold the Bush administration accountable for its mistakes. There has 
been no meaningful oversight, no tough investigations on anything.
  Instead, Congress has turned a blind eye, and the bill we have before 
us represents more of the same.
  The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), our colleague, has a 
different approach, a better approach. The commission established by 
his legislation would be truly independent, and its recommendations 
would carry far more weight. This independent commission would be 
similar to the 9/11 panel that was such an effective, meaningful force 
for change.
  Because what the American people deserve at the end of this process 
is a document that does not necessarily agree with everything I say or 
does not cover the President's back, which is what the Republicans are 
trying to do today, but that actually helps fix the problems that 
Hurricane Katrina exposed.
  Let me be clear, Mr. Speaker. The purpose of the commission 
established by the gentleman from Florida's (Mr. Hastings) bill is not 
simply to assign blame. Rather, an independent commission would take a 
tough, honest approach to an incredibly complicated problem.
  Pre-identifying vulnerable areas, strategically deploying resources, 
anticipating potential stumbling blocks as we prepare for disasters, 
these need to be the guiding principles of our national response plan. 
An independent commission would produce recommendations that enhance 
our national response plan and enable FEMA to be structured 
appropriately.
  Furthermore, this commission will show whether or not, as I believe, 
FEMA lacked appropriate leadership, leadership with experience in 
disaster management, and then recommend ways in which the agency can be 
better prepared, both in terms of personnel and resources. Unlike the 
President, I do not think Brownie did a heck of a job. An effective 
response to a disaster or crisis cannot happen unless the best 
qualified people are coordinating the efforts, equipped with the best 
resources.

                              {time}  1100

  The partisan committee put forward by the Republican majority just 
does not cut it. Instead, it would be made up of Members of Congress, 
and there are three problems with that approach:
  First, there are some Members whose time would be better spent 
dealing with the immediate recovery and reconstruction needs created by 
the hurricane. Second, Republican politicians would be 
``investigating'' other Republican politicians. And, third, some of the 
problems we saw in the gulf coast include bad funding choices made by 
Congress itself.
  Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government's response to Hurricane Katrina 
was a national disgrace. The job of this Congress is not to run 
interference for the Bush administration; it is to do what is best for 
the American people. Seventy-six percent of the public want an 
independent commission because, quite frankly, they do not trust the 
Republican majority to do it right. They have a pattern of sweeping 
problems under the rug, of turning everything into a political fight. 
That pattern has to stop, and we can stop it today.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this rule.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and as I prepare to yield to my friend from Moore, Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), 
I want to say to my good friend from Massachusetts that it is very 
clear that Members of the United States House of Representatives do 
have the ability to deal with a disaster and at the same time engage in 
a very, very important investigatory process.
  It is also very important to note that this is not going to simply be 
Republicans asking questions of other Republicans. As I said earlier, 
and I know my friend from Rochester raised this when she said it was 
nice of me to say that Democrats would have the opportunity to ask 
questions, but we know that Democrats, by virtue of this being a 
bipartisan committee, will be able to be deeply involved and engaged in 
this process as well.
  Once again, I think it is important to note, as my colleague and 
friend from West Virginia said, that we are the elected representatives 
of the American people and this is our constitutionally mandated 
responsibility which we should not pass on to someone else.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. 
Cole), a hard-working member of the Committee on Rules.
  Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House 
Resolution 439 and in support of the underlying resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, the minority objects to House Resolution 437 on the 
basis that the bipartisan committee it creates will be inherently 
unbalanced and unfair. One suspects they believe it will be unfair 
largely because while they will have full rights of representation on 
the committee in question, they will inevitably be the minority on any 
panel that fairly represents the composition of both the House of 
Representatives and the other body.
  It would be easy and entertaining to lampoon the consistency of the 
so-

[[Page 20352]]

called Party of the People rejecting a committee composed of the 
elected representatives of the American people in favor of one made up 
of individuals who are both unelected and unaccountable to the voters 
of this country, but I will avoid that temptation.
  Frankly, there are deeper issues here. The first is our faith as 
individuals in the efficacy of democracy itself. As the minority in 
this House for 11 years, I fear my friends on the other side of the 
aisle have lost their faith in the American people, because of the 
choices they have made at the ballot box in recent years. Having served 
as a member of a seemingly permanent minority in the Oklahoma State 
Senate earlier in my career, I understand the frustration on which that 
sentiment is based.
  However, as adherents to the ideals of democracy, we should trust 
that over time the people will get it right and that if our views are 
sound, they will prevail. In the meantime, our job is to argue our 
point of view in the court of public opinion and accept the outcome at 
the polls when the verdict is rendered.
  The second issue at stake here is the wisdom of empowering people who 
are neither elected nor accountable to perform the task our 
Constitution assigns to the elected representatives of the American 
people. Frankly, I share the sentiments Winston Churchill famously 
voiced when he said ``democracy is the worst form of government, except 
for all those others that have been tried.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is fundamentally unsound and undemocratic to turn 
over the function of congressional oversight to a group of individuals 
who have neither been elected by the people nor accountable to the 
people for their actions or recommendations. Appointing a commission is 
the easy way out. It is a way for us, the representatives of the 
people, to avoid our responsibilities. Its members, however expert and 
well-intentioned, did not design or create the agencies and processes 
we wish to examine in connection with Hurricane Katrina. We did. 
Similarly, they will not be responsible for reforming these agencies or 
finding the solutions to our current problems. Those duties belong to 
the elected representatives of the American people.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle often complain there is 
insufficient congressional oversight. This is our chance to exercise 
that oversight, and the voters will surely hold all of us accountable 
for how well we do the job.
  My fellow Members, let us have faith in the American people, our 
democratic institutions, and ourselves. Let us do the job we were 
elected to do, rather than hand it off to those who were neither asked 
nor chosen by the American people to govern their affairs. I urge 
support of House Resolution 439 and the underlying House Resolution 
437.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, if an independent commission is an 
abdication of our authority, why did we all vote unanimously to 
establish the 9/11 Commission?
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Hastings).
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Slaughter), the distinguished ranking Democratic member 
on the House Committee on Rules, for yielding me this time.
  A footnote right there, Mr. Speaker. I hope the irony is not lost on 
the House that the gentlewoman, a New York Member, is being lectured to 
about homeland security issues and why there is no need for an 
independent Katrina commission. New Yorkers were told 3 and 4 years ago 
that there was no need for an independent commission on 9/11.
  I note peripherally that the distinguished chairman of the Committee 
on Rules has other business and has left the floor; but I was prepared 
to ask him, and perhaps his replacement in the chair for the majority 
can answer for me, what did the House of Representatives do in the last 
3 years with reference to the tragedy of 9/11? What we wound up doing, 
because the victims and New York pressed forward, was establishing an 
independent commission.
  The chairman pontificates that we should exercise our constitutional 
mandate; and so does his replacement, my friend and colleague on the 
Committee on Rules, say what our constitutional duty is. Every one of 
us is mindful of our constitutional duty. But are you then prepared to 
admit that we did not exercise it correctly in the 9/11 Commission 
period and that is why the 9/11 Commission came into existence in the 
first place?
  Last year, as we all know, four hurricanes ravaged my home State of 
Florida and some of the gulf coast. Three of them literally destroyed 
parts of the district that I am privileged to represent. In the 
immediate and long-term aftermath, our communities saw FEMA's 
shortcomings. We saw that a once-reliable agency had been placed on the 
back burner as an afterthought in the Department of Homeland Security. 
Natural disaster preparedness and response programs have become trapped 
in a homeland security bureaucracy.
  FEMA has lost its focus, and Floridians and others know that. Our 
delegation literally begged the committees of jurisdiction to hold 
hearings on what we saw in Florida. I even introduced bipartisan 
legislation in March with our colleague on the majority side, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), to address what we perceived to be 
FEMA's largest problems. Yet every time we took our concerns to the 
committees, we were told it is not a big enough problem to consider on 
its own. Our staff was told we do not think that an oversight hearing 
is needed.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, what America saw in the gulf coast resembles the 
Federal Government's absolute incompetence that Florida saw last year. 
Despite a whole lot of lip service, nothing has changed.
  The 9/11 Commission was created to provide a full and complete 
accounting of the 2001 terrorist attacks. Implicit in this mandate is 
the simple fact that Congress alone would not or could not provide such 
a full and complete accounting. There is no reason to expect that the 
Republican Katrina commission will do any better.
  That is why I and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) and 
156 of our colleagues yesterday introduced H.R. 3764, legislation 
establishing a real independent commission, immune from political 
influence and absolute partisanship. And while they cannot officially 
cosponsor our bill, a significant part, 76 percent, of the American 
people agree with us. They question this Congress' ability to exercise 
real oversight and are calling for an independent and bipartisan 
Katrina commission.
  Supporting the American people's concerns, you, Mr. Speaker, said at 
one point, and I quote, ``Our party controls the levers of government. 
We're not about to go and look beneath a bunch of rocks to try to cause 
heartburn.'' Put another way, Mr. Speaker: we helped create this mess, 
and we are not going to be able to investigate it ourselves. So forgive 
me, Mr. Speaker, if I question the majority's ability to conduct 
effective oversight with this type of political candor.
  Substantively, the Republican plan is partisan. And because my 
colleagues say it is bipartisan does not make it so. It is inadequate. 
In stark contrast to the 9/11 Commission, Republicans outnumber 
Democrats on the majority's partisan Katrina commission. In contrast to 
the 9/11 Commission, which was given 18 months to do its job, the 
majority's partisan Katrina commission is only given 5 months. As the 
chairman put it last night, do it quick, do it fast. Quickly, he said.
  Despite the 9/11 Commission's $15 million budget to do its job, the 
majority's commission they propose is only given $500,000.
  Footnote right there. What about the committees of jurisdiction 
already in existence in Congress? And what about creating a circus 
atmosphere that drains resources from this Congress do you not 
understand?
  Shamefully, the House will not have an opportunity to vote on the 
Hastings-Menendez independent Katrina commission legislation, because 
Republicans have blocked us from offering it. Just as they always

[[Page 20353]]

do, Republicans block what they cannot defeat.
  Despite what Republicans will suggest, today's debate is not about 
politics. It is about the need for truth to assure the American people 
that we all know their needs. For my constituents, it is about the 
failures of this Congress, and for others it is about the failures in 
New Orleans and in the States and at the Federal Government. It is 
about saving lives and rebuilding communities.
  Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to 
temporarily control the time of the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Dreier).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Oklahoma?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I just want to make a couple of 
quick points, and then I will reserve the balance of my time.
  I would disagree very strongly with my good friend from Florida about 
the 9/11 Commission. There were, in fact, many investigations in this 
Congress about the tragedy that took place 
on 9/11, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence amongst them. 
We did actually do oversight.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I beg to differ with the 
gentleman about what the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 
did. I serve on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The 
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence conducted an investigation; the 
House did nothing.
  Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker, and I respect 
the opinion of my good friend from Florida, but I think there was 
oversight.
  But I would actually agree with his fundamental point in the sense 
that I think oversight is more effectively done by the elected 
representatives of the people, by the appropriate people who are 
responsible for implementing the solution. I do not think we should 
take that model and follow it again here.
  I also would suspect that the situation between a deliberate attack 
on the United States and a natural disaster are very different.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), a member of the Committee on 
Rules.
  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York for 
yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, when Hurricane Katrina came ashore and ravaged the gulf 
States and the levees in New Orleans, Americans united in their support 
of those in need and the communities devastated by this terrible 
disaster. As Katrina passed over the gulf States and in the days that 
followed, Americans saw firsthand the devastation and human suffering 
that resulted. We were also eyewitnesses to the tragedy of hundreds of 
thousands of people who had escaped the wrath of the terrible storm 
only to then be stranded in the Superdome, the convention center, or 
trapped on the roofs, surrounded by rising flood waters with little in 
the way of food, water, or medical care. Mr. Speaker, we saw and felt 
the ensuing heartbreak. Mothers became separated from their children, 
elderly parents were unaccounted for, and siblings were trying to look 
after each other.
  With the passage of time, our outrage and frustration set in. 
Reporters and the media managed to get to the heart of the disaster; 
yet there was little sign of our Federal relief efforts. Just as the 
American people united to aid the victims of Katrina, so too must 
Congress. Our constituents demand no less. They are more interested in 
getting answers than pointing fingers. They want to know that we are 
finding solutions and making recommendations to ensure our responses 
are never again at a snail's pace.
  It is time for Congress, as part of the Federal Government, and 
therefore an element of the relief response, to shoot straight with the 
American people. An independent commission, removed from the partisan 
fray, is better positioned to find answers. Why were we not preparing 
our responses to Katrina near land? Where was the coordination between 
Federal, State, and local efforts? There are many questions that must 
be answered and an independent commission is a means that can provide 
the answers.

                              {time}  1115

  We saw the successful implementation following the tragedy of 
September 11, and following this model Congress will reassure the 
American people the answers that the independent commission finds and 
the recommendations they make are ones in which the Nation can trust.
  I know my constituents are closely following this. My hometown of 
Sacramento lies in a floodplain at the confluence of two great rivers 
and faces the constant threat of floods. If we find ourselves in dire 
circumstances, can my constituents be assured that they can count on 
prompt Federal Government response?
  This is not a blame game. I am not interested in pointing fingers, 
nor are the American people. They are more interested in identifying 
areas of weakness and making the necessary improvements. This is about 
preventing another tragedy similar to what we witnessed in New Orleans 
and the gulf States. We must ensure that the Federal Government does 
its job of protecting the American people, and with an independent 
commission we will do so.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), the ranking member on the Committee on 
Homeland Security.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition 
to House Resolution 437. This resolution puts a partisan congressional 
committee in charge of the investigation.
  The rule that has been offered does not allow for meaningful debate. 
It also does not allow for an amendment offered by the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Hastings) that would create an independent commission to 
investigate this catastrophe. I am also an original cosponsor of that 
amendment. Letting Congress investigate the government failures of 
Hurricane Katrina is like letting the fox guard the hen house. We are 
not protecting what we need to protect, and there will be a lot more 
questions than answers in the end.
  More than ever, the last 2 weeks have shown that we need an 
independent assessment of what happened. Where did the Federal 
Government go wrong? What could the State and locals have done better? 
What happened to citizens' preparedness?
  In my role as ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I 
have looked for answers and have tried to put together a timeline of 
events. I am submitting with my statement today for the Record a 
timeline that the staff of the committee has put together for me 
showing what happened compiled from public sources. This document shows 
the complexity of the issues and the need for an independent assessment 
of what happened.
  I do not understand the opposition from the other side of the aisle 
against creating an independent commission that the American people 
have asked for. It was done, with opposition from Republicans, after 9/
11; it was done after Pearl Harbor; and after the Khobar Towers 
terrorist attacks. We have always had it. Indeed, the type of 
commission proposed by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) and 
others has historically been used after large events that affect the 
country. Why not here? What does Congress want to protect? What is 
Congress trying to hide?
  After 9/11, Congress did the right thing. On September 20, they sent 
the largest contingent ever to travel to New York City to view the 
devastation of the World Trade Center and console the families of the 
victims. It has been

[[Page 20354]]

nearly 3 weeks since Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf Coast, and there 
have been no official congressional delegations to the region.
  Mr. Speaker, what do we have to hide? Indeed, I have twice requested 
the Committee on Homeland Security to travel to the area and was 
refused. I was told that it did not make good sense for Congress to go 
down and conduct oversight and fact-finding missions at the time. Yet 
we went to New York, but now we cannot go to my area of the country.
  Now we want Congress to take charge of this investigation. For the 
good of the Nation, let us put aside partisan politics and not create a 
strawman committee. I encourage a vote against the rule so we can 
consider the independent commission option, give it a vote and let the 
American people know we are listening to their requests. 

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[[Page 20394]]

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, time and time again here on the floor of 
the House I hear speeches: ``We will never forget 9/11; we will better 
prepare and defend America.''
  But the most basic lesson of September 11, where we tragically lost 
so many first responders in the collapse of the towers, was that they 
lacked secure interoperable communications. They could not talk and 
communicate with those first responders, and many died needlessly. We 
have not learned that most basic of lessons.
  In fact, President Bush this year zeroed out Federal assistance to 
local communities for secure interoperable communications. How quickly 
some have forgotten, yet they say it will never happen again.
  Well, Hurricane Katrina was not a terrorist attack, but the Federal 
response was worse and degraded from the capabilities that we had on 9/
11. On that day, FEMA was a high-functioning, independent, 
professionally run agency. Today, it is subsumed into this gigantic 
morass of the homeland security bureaucracy, downgraded to subagency 
level with a political hack as its director, and most of the 
professional staff has resigned and gone on to run State management 
agencies around the country. There are still some good professionals 
there, but the leadership, appointed by the White House, and the fact 
it was subsumed in the bureaucracy at the insistence of the Republican 
majority and the White House, they took away its independent agency 
status.
  We had a vote on the floor to restore its independent agency status. 
We predicted these problems, but they opposed that amendment. Now they 
want to investigate themselves. Will the other side of the aisle fess 
up, like the White House never does, that they were wrong to follow the 
lead of the White House to downgrade this agency, to politicize it, 
subsume it in a huge bureaucracy, and that we are less capable than we 
were on 9/11 to respond to these types of disasters? I think not.
  Mr. Speaker, we need an independent agency outside of this highly 
partisan body. They will not admit to those mistakes. There were 
certainly mistakes made at the local level, and they will probably 
highlight those, and those should be rectified, too. But all mistakes 
should come out, the failings of the Federal Government, the State 
government, and the local governments, with an independent, nonpartisan 
commission. That would be greatly preferable to this coverup that is 
going to go on here.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Marietta, Georgia (Mr. Gingrey), a hard-working member of the Committee 
on Rules.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 437. I 
think we are completely doing the right thing for the right reasons.
  I have heard the other side of the aisle argue that what is the 
hurry, you are rushing to create an oversight committee and let us wait 
a couple of months. I want to point out to my friends on the other side 
of the aisle that we are still in the hurricane season. In fact, we are 
just getting into the hurricane season, and we need to get this 
investigation going as soon as possible. It is very important that we 
not wait. We have a 5-month opportunity to study this problem and find 
out exactly where the responsibilities lie.
  The other side of the aisle also is suggesting that this is a 
Republican majority investigating a Republican administration. I point 
out we were not focusing just on the Federal aspects of this, as they 
would like us to do, but we are also focusing on the local and State 
aspects of this. There are Democrats and Republicans all up and down 
the line. This is not a partisan thing. This is a way to do it. This is 
what Congress has a responsibility to do and has done 41 times over the 
last 30 or 40 years. I could name any number of instances. My 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle know that is true.
  The creation of an outside independent commission, as they call it, 
they are calling for doing that and spending an additional $5 million 
to $10 million. We do not need to do that. We have the staff within 
this Congress on both sides of the aisle, both in the majority and on 
the minority, and hopefully we would not spend more than $500,000 to 
get this work done and get it done in a bipartisan fashion. That is why 
we call it the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the 
Preparation for and the Response to Hurricane Katrina. I am fully in 
support of that.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. George Miller).
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, for so many reasons my 
colleagues on this side of the aisle have articulated, this resolution 
should be rejected. Because it is neither bipartisan in terms of its 
authority, nor bipartisan in terms of its power, nor bipartisan in 
terms of its subpoena power. That will all rest with the majority.
  The question that must be answered is how is it that FEMA, which 5 
years ago was a world-class agency that was being praised by 
Republicans and Democrats alike, by local officials, by governors, by 
mayors, by the international community, who were coming and visiting 
and taking lessons from FEMA, how in 5 years was that agency so 
incredibly hollowed out that it could not respond to Hurricane Katrina?
  This President and this administration made some horrible decisions 
about putting political hacks and their cronies in charge of the agency 
that is in charge of the safety of the people of the United States, 
whether it is western fires, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes or 
hurricanes. He appointed political hacks. Is he going to investigate 
that himself, as he says?
  This Congress, powerful Members of the Senate and the House, made 
decisions about using FEMA as a honey pot to take resources out of and 
divert them elsewhere. The Committee on Appropriations chairmen of both 
houses, the leadership, the Republican leadership of both houses, are 
they going to investigate that themselves?
  That is like asking Enron to investigate corporate ethics, baseball 
to investigate steroids, Dick Cheney to investigate energy policy. It 
just cannot happen, and the American people know that. That is why, 
when they are asked on this question, 75 percent of the American people 
want a 9/11 Commission. They want a 9/11 Commission because they saw 
that the 9/11 Commission was the only way that the citizens of this 
country were going to get the answers, not the answers the politicians 
wanted them to get, and that is what this bipartisan, phony committee 
is about. They want to give you the answers they want you to get. The 
citizens want the answers to the questions that they want to ask.
  The power in our democracy is with the citizens, and the citizens 
want a citizens' committee. They want a citizens' committee to answer 
these questions because the questions are going to have to be asked of 
a Republican President, a Republican Congress, a Democratic mayor, a 
Democratic governor, a Republican governor and that simply will not be 
able to be done.
  The President has said he takes responsibility. The question that 
must be asked is: Did he act responsibly as the President of the United 
States to protect the people of this country? So far, the question is a 
resounding, no.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), the minority leader.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member, the gentlewoman 
from New York (Ms. Slaughter), for yielding me this time and commend 
the members of the Committee on Rules for their important work on this 
subject, particularly the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) who is 
the author of the legislation, along with the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr.

[[Page 20395]]

Menendez), the chairman of our caucus, on legislation which will bring 
truth to this situation, an independent commission, modeled after 9/11, 
respected by the American people.
  Following the tragedy of 9/11, the American people expected and 
deserved the truth. People of New York and New Jersey were strong 
advocates for such a commission. The people in Louisiana and 
Mississippi and the gulf region are displaced. They are trying to put 
their lives back together. They have lost their homes, their jobs, 
their livelihoods, their communities. They really do not have time to 
lobby Congress for an independent commission.
  But our country is grateful to the 9/11 families because they not 
only gave us that commission to review that terrible tragedy that 
befell our country, they gave us a tradition of transparency and 
finding the truth and holding people accountable and hoping to do so in 
a way that prevents future loss of life.

                              {time}  1130

  We endanger the American people when we ignore the truth. So on 
behalf of the people in the region, I plead with my colleagues in this 
body to reject any sham committee. Supposedly bipartisan; not so. 
Supposedly bicameral; not so. One thing we know, it is a vehicle to 
whitewash, to whitewash, and not have a true look into what went wrong.
  There was a natural disaster, a terrible natural disaster in the gulf 
coast States. It was compounded by a manmade disaster because the 
Federal response of FEMA fell so very, very short. And FEMA, now its 
Director has resigned, but FEMA is fraught with problems systemically 
throughout it.
  That does not mean that many, many people who work for FEMA and many 
people, our first responders, police and fire, health care providers in 
the area and volunteers from every walk of life did not rise to the 
occasion. They certainly did, and we commend them for the sacrifice 
they were willing to make to rescue others in the time of the immediate 
recovery. But there are so many unanswered questions; and instead of 
having a sham, why can we not have a real commission to look into this?
  So the choice on the floor today, we have heard all of this 
discussion over and over. The fact is that we should be spending our 
time figuring out how we are going to help the people of the region 
rebuild their communities, to create jobs, to educate their children, 
to rid themselves of the toxic, literally toxic, environment, and that 
is the situation that they are in there. Instead, we are wasting the 
public's time on a subject that is unworthy of this tragedy, and it did 
not have to be.
  I certainly respect the congressional role of oversight. We have 
called for it over and over again, whether it was the war in Iraq or 
the price gouging at the pump of gasoline for America's consumers, 
whether it is Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo. Name it. There are so many 
subjects that this Congress has been delinquent in its duty in doing 
oversight. So I fully support congressional oversight by the committees 
of jurisdiction.
  In order to expedite help to the region, I suggested to the Speaker 
that we have a truly bipartisan committee that could streamline how we 
would go forward. At the time, I intended it just to be on the positive 
side, and that was early, when Katrina was just hitting, and then when 
we saw things go wrong, we added the charge that we would see what went 
wrong. So the idea of this Congress having a role in terms of oversight 
in a bipartisan special committee is one that I supported. I suggested 
it.
  But what the Republicans came back with was really a slap in the face 
to the people who were affected in the region. We owe them the truth. 
Why is this Congress afraid of the truth? Over and over again, Iraq, 
name it, price at the pump, why is this Congress afraid of the truth? 
Sometimes it is really important, as we try to find our common ground, 
we stand our ground where we cannot find that common ground, but we 
always have to come down in favor of the people, to yield on points. 
Because we are here to get a job done. Maybe not exactly the way we 
would want to get it done, but get a job done. So now, today, the 
Republicans are putting up an obstacle to doing just that.
  So I urge my colleagues to honor the sacrifice, the situation, that 
has affected the people in the region by at least telling them the 
truth and vote against this committee today, to vote against this 
committee, to say come back to the drawing board when they want to have 
honesty in what we are doing. But, first and foremost, we must have a 
truly independent commission, again, in the manner of the 9/11 
Commission that took testimony, that issued a report, that gave 
transparency and openness to the process and gave some level of truth 
to the American people.
  Because the people in the gulf States, many of them affected are poor 
and economically disadvantaged and not as sophisticated, perhaps, as 
some of the people stricken with grief in the New York/New Jersey area 
at the time of 9/11, and in Pennsylvania and in the Pentagon. Because 
these people are of a different economic status and because they are 
living in shelters and the rest and not really able to speak for 
themselves to the Congress of the United States, we, the House 
Democrats, will speak for them in asking for the truth and appealing to 
our Republican colleagues for us to work together in a completely 
nonpartisan way to help meet their needs.
  I know that some Members have visited the region, certainly those 
affected. The gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor) spoke with such 
eloquence on the floor yesterday. Senator Landrieu, in the Senate last 
week, brought the Nation to tears with her presentation on what she saw 
in her beloved State of Louisiana. And the gentleman from Louisiana 
(Mr. Jefferson) has told us firsthand of what he has seen there. The 
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), our ranking member on the 
Committee on Homeland Security, spoke from authority in standing on the 
committee but experience as a Mississippian. They know because they see 
firsthand.
  I could only see secondhand, joining the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson-Lee), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green), the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Gene Green), going to Houston to meet with the victims 
of Katrina in the Astrodome and also in the George R. Brown Convention 
Center. We saw children, little children, adorable little babies that 
we could hold in our arms, and 90-year-old great grannies, all of them, 
not the little babies, they did not speak for themselves, but their 
older siblings said, ``We want to go home.''
  They praised the hospitality, the warmth, the generosity of the 
people of Houston. And they are to be commended. As I said when I was 
in Houston, I do not know of any city in America that could have risen 
to the occasion so quickly and so compassionately as Houston. Mayor 
White, Judge Eckels, the Commissioner of Harris County; Representative 
Noriega, so many people in the community came together to help the 
victims of Katrina. But still, with all of the respect that they 
extended to their guests, with all the health care, with all the care 
and feeding, still, of course, there is no place like home.
  So let us find out how we can bring these people home. And a good way 
to have them come home and have confidence in the future that, should 
another hurricane strike, and we know that it will, that the 
precautions will have been taken, the accountability will be assigned, 
and that the people will be protected. We can do that by finding the 
truth. We can find the truth with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Hastings), the gentleman from New Jersey's (Mr. Menendez) commission, 
Senator Clinton leading the way in the Senate on this important issue, 
and we can do it by rejecting this committee.
  I stand open and welcome to any cooperation with the Republicans when 
the Speaker is ready to cooperate on true bipartisanship, true 
openness, and true accountability to the American people.

[[Page 20396]]

  With that, I just close again to say that our hopes and prayers are 
always with the people of the region. It is our resolve that they will 
be made whole as soon as possible, and that has to be a bipartisan 
commitment.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I ask for a ``no'' vote on the previous question so I can amend the 
rule and allow the House, instead of H. Res. 437, to consider H.R. 
3764, which creates an independent 9/11-like commission to investigate 
the events involving Hurricane Katrina. I offered this amendment in the 
Committee on Rules last night, but, sadly, it was rejected.
  I want to reiterate that 76 percent of Americans in a recent ABC/
Washington Post poll preferred that a commission of outside experts, 
similar in nature to the 9/11 Commission, and, in fact, I wish for the 
same people, to investigate the devastating events surrounding 
Hurricane Katrina, and that is not just Democrats that were asked. 
Sixty-four percent of Republicans in that same poll said they, too, 
supported an independent commission to investigate the government's 
preparedness and response effort.
  Please vote ``no'' on the previous question so we can authorize an 
independent commission that will not be influenced by partisan politics 
instead of a Republican-controlled committee investigating the failings 
of a Republican-controlled administration. Too many people's lives were 
turned upside down because of the failure of governmental officials to 
adequately prepare for and respond to the impact of Hurricane Katrina. 
Let us not fail them a second time.
  I urge a ``no'' vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the amendment 
be printed in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the previous 
question.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as we deal with this great challenge, one cannot help 
but think back to the days following one of the most tragic events in 
our Nation's history, that being, of course, the attacks on the World 
Trade Center, flight 93 going down in Pennsylvania and, of course, the 
plane hitting the Pentagon. We all know that, following that tragedy, 
Democrats and Republicans came together. They came together committed 
to ensuring that we would never see the kind of terrorist threat that 
happened on September 11 hit the United States or our allies or anyone 
in the world again. And that really embarked us upon this massive 
global War on Terror, and that has been the focus of the Federal 
Government. We know that the top priority on September 11, 2001, became 
this bipartisan goal of trying to deal with the global War on Terror.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the Democrats in this House who have 
come together in a bipartisan way to work with Republicans in our 
shared goal of winning the global War on Terror. It is an important 
struggle, and it is one which many say will last beyond our lifetimes, 
but I am convinced that Democrats and Republicans will continue to work 
together to ensure that we win that global War on Terror.
  We know that 2\1/2\ weeks ago we faced another kind of disaster. It 
was a natural disaster that hit our fellow Americans, our fellow 
citizens, on the gulf coast. And we know that, as we sit here today, 
another hurricane, Hurricane Ophelia, continues to pose a threat in the 
Carolinas. And I will tell the Members, as I stand here at this moment, 
Mr. Speaker, I live constantly with the prospect of a massive 
earthquake hitting the largest, most important State in the Union, 
which I am proud to represent here.
  We in California deal with the threat of fires on a regular basis. I 
represent the Angeles National Forest, and that threat is a very 
serious one. And in the wake of those fires following that, we, of 
course, have terrible mudslides which impact tremendous numbers of 
people.
  We have gone through disasters in the past. Obviously, as President 
Bush has said, this is the worst natural disaster in our Nation's 
history, Hurricane Katrina. But we have faced many, many struggles. In 
California, one of the most prominent was the Northridge earthquake on 
January 16 of 1994. I know my friend from San Francisco, the 
distinguished minority leader, suffered the Loma Prieta quake.
  And I will say that, having gone through all of this, Mr. Speaker, it 
is absolutely absurd, it is absurd, to believe that any Member of this 
House, that any Member of this House would not want to get to the truth 
of exactly what happened in the case of Hurricane Katrina.

                              {time}  1145

  Now, earlier this week, President Bush came forward and said that he 
takes full responsibility for the Federal Government's problems when it 
came to the preparation for and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Just 
yesterday, Governor Blanco, the Democratic Governor of Louisiana, said 
that she takes responsibility for what took place in her State.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, we have a Republican President and a Democratic 
Governor coming forward and saying they take responsibility for their 
roles in the governments that they serve, the Federal Government and 
the State government.
  The gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert) has come forward saying 
that it is very important for us to work in a bipartisan way. He has 
tried to work with the minority leader to make sure that, in appointing 
this select committee, we will have a chance to work in a bipartisan 
way. Speaker Hastert has just called for members of the Committee on 
Appropriations to go to the gulf coast to look at this situation and to 
report back to us, because the very important responsibility of 
oversight right now that the Committee on Appropriations has over the 
$60 billion-plus that we, in a bipartisan way, have appropriated to 
deal with this, needs to be addressed. So this notion that there is not 
a bipartisan commitment to get to the bottom of this is absolutely 
ludicrous.
  I want to make sure that if my State faces an earthquake, a fire, a 
mudslide that we are able to have the best response possible. I will 
tell my colleagues that this bipartisan committee is something that I 
think can play a very important role in ensuring that for all of us who 
face the prospect of a disaster in our States that we will be able to 
address it in a better way.
  Mr. Speaker, I am a proud institutionalist. I know that is not a 
popular thing to say; but I serve on the Committee on Rules, and by 
virtue of that, I think it makes me an institutionalist. This is my 
25th year serving here, and I am proud of the role that I have been 
able to play in trying to address very important institutional 
concerns, and we have been able to address many issues in a bipartisan 
way.
  Now, I will acknowledge that, on occasion, the Committee on Rules can 
be a very partisan place; but on occasion we also can be very 
bipartisan. We just reported out a rule that enjoyed strong bipartisan 
support dealing with Coast Guard reauthorization, and passage of rules 
like that are noncontroversial, they do not get attention, and those 
are things that we have worked on. In fact, I would argue that we do 
more things coming out of even the Committee on Rules in a bipartisan 
way than we do the things that we do that are very, very strident and 
partisan. But if you look at other committees around this place, Mr. 
Speaker, such as the Committee on Transportation, the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Financial Services, you can go 
right down the line, Democrats and Republicans come together to address 
major public policy concerns that are out there.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, everyone wants to make sure that no one suffers 
again as the people have along the gulf coast. I do feel for our 
colleague Mary Landrieu in the other body, and the

[[Page 20397]]

gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor); but I also think it is 
important for us to note that in the other body, our colleague Trent 
Lott lost his home. We have seen tremendous loss from people like the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jindal) on our side. So the point is that 
this is a disaster which has impacted Democrats and Republicans, and 
that is why I believe that it is incumbent upon us.
  Because article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution makes it very 
clear that we have the responsibility for congressional oversight, 
oversight of the executive branch; and this bipartisan select 
committee, Mr. Speaker, will focus not just on the Federal Government. 
It will focus on State government, on local governments, on even 
private entities that have been involved in this process.
  Accountability is something that an independent commission will not 
have anything to do with. The 9/11 Commission was not accountable at 
all. We are accountable as the elected representatives of the American 
people to the American people. And I think that it is very clear that 
moving quickly is the right thing to do. The reason that I believe that 
it is important for us to move quickly is that, as I said, Hurricane 
Ophelia is at this moment posing a threat to the Carolinas, and there 
are other disasters on the horizon.
  I believe that Democrats and Republicans should come together. The 
Speaker, again, has reached out to the Democratic leader and very much 
wants to have appointments made, and Democrats will be able to ask any 
question that they want; they will be able to participate in the 
process of bringing witnesses before the committee. Again, everyone 
wants to make sure that we take the steps to ensure that this never 
happens again.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule. I urge my 
colleagues to support the underlying legislation which will establish 
this very important committee so that we can address this question and 
ensure that the American people will not go through what we have seen 
happen in the last several weeks.
  The amendment previously referred to by Ms. Slaughter is as follows:

Previous Question for H. Res. 439, the Rule for H. Res. 437 The Select 
Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane 
                                Katrina

        Amendment to H. Res. 439 Offered by Rep. Slaughter (NY)

       Amendment in nature of substitute:
       Strike all after the resolved clause and insert:
       ``Resolved, That immediately upon the adoption of this 
     resolution it shall be in order without intervention of any 
     point of order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 3764) 
     to establish a congressional commission to examine the 
     Federal, State, and local response to the devastation wrought 
     by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Region of the United States 
     especially in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, 
     and other areas impacted in the aftermath and make immediate 
     corrective measures to improve such responses in the future. 
     The bill shall be considered as read. The previous question 
     shall be considered as ordered on the bill to final passage 
     without intervening motion except: (1) one hour equally 
     divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on Rules; and (2) one motion to 
     recommit.''

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I 
move the previous question on the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The question is on ordering the 
previous question.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
  The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
  Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair will reduce to 5 minutes 
the minimum time for electronic voting, if ordered, on the adoption of 
the resolution.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 222, 
nays 193, not voting 18, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 471]

                               YEAS--222

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Bachus
     Baker
     Barrett (SC)
     Bartlett (MD)
     Bass
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonner
     Bono
     Boozman
     Boustany
     Bradley (NH)
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chocola
     Coble
     Cole (OK)
     Conaway
     Crenshaw
     Cubin
     Culberson
     Cunningham
     Davis (KY)
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal (GA)
     DeLay
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Drake
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     English (PA)
     Everett
     Feeney
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick (PA)
     Flake
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Fossella
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gingrey
     Gohmert
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Gutknecht
     Hall
     Harris
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Hostettler
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hyde
     Inglis (SC)
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Keller
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MN)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kline
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kuhl (NY)
     LaHood
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Lucas
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     McCaul (TX)
     McCotter
     McCrery
     McHenry
     McHugh
     McKeon
     McMorris
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Murphy
     Musgrave
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nunes
     Nussle
     Osborne
     Otter
     Oxley
     Paul
     Pearce
     Pence
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe
     Pombo
     Porter
     Price (GA)
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Renzi
     Reynolds
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Saxton
     Schmidt
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simmons
     Simpson
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Sodrel
     Souder
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Sweeney
     Tancredo
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Turner
     Upton
     Walden (OR)
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson (NM)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wolf
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                               NAYS--193

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bean
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (OH)
     Brown, Corrine
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carson
     Case
     Chandler
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Cramer
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Emanuel
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Ford
     Frank (MA)
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Herseth
     Higgins
     Hinojosa
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Kind
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lynch
     Maloney
     Markey
     Marshall
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy
     McCollum (MN)
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Michaud
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (VA)
     Murtha
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Ross
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sabo
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sanders
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schwartz (PA)
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sherman
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Spratt
     Stark
     Strickland
     Stupak
     Tauscher
     Taylor (MS)
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Towns
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Van Hollen

[[Page 20398]]


     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Wexler
     Wu
     Wynn

                             NOT VOTING--18

     Barton (TX)
     Beauprez
     Bishop (UT)
     Doggett
     Doolittle
     Hinchey
     Istook
     Jindal
     Jones (OH)
     Melancon
     Nadler
     Rogers (MI)
     Rothman
     Schwarz (MI)
     Solis
     Tanner
     Weiner
     Woolsey

                              {time}  1213

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia and Mr. BACA changed their vote from ``yea'' to 
``nay.''
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  Stated for:
  Mr. SCHWARZ of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 471 I was 
inadvertently detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''
  So the previous question was ordered.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Emerson). The question is on the 
resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.


                             Recorded Vote

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 221, 
noes 193, not voting 19, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 472]

                               AYES--221

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Bachus
     Baker
     Barrett (SC)
     Bartlett (MD)
     Bass
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonner
     Bono
     Boozman
     Boustany
     Bradley (NH)
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chocola
     Coble
     Cole (OK)
     Conaway
     Crenshaw
     Cubin
     Culberson
     Cunningham
     Davis (KY)
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal (GA)
     DeLay
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Doolittle
     Drake
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     English (PA)
     Everett
     Feeney
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick (PA)
     Flake
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Fossella
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gingrey
     Gohmert
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Gutknecht
     Hall
     Harris
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Hostettler
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hyde
     Inglis (SC)
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Keller
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MN)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kline
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kuhl (NY)
     LaHood
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Lucas
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     McCaul (TX)
     McCotter
     McCrery
     McHenry
     McHugh
     McKeon
     McMorris
     Mica
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Murphy
     Musgrave
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nunes
     Nussle
     Osborne
     Otter
     Oxley
     Paul
     Pearce
     Pence
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe
     Pombo
     Porter
     Price (GA)
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Renzi
     Reynolds
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Saxton
     Schmidt
     Schwarz (MI)
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simmons
     Simpson
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Sodrel
     Souder
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Sweeney
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Turner
     Upton
     Walden (OR)
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson (NM)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wolf
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                               NOES--193

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bean
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (OH)
     Brown, Corrine
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carson
     Case
     Chandler
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Cramer
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Emanuel
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Ford
     Frank (MA)
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Herseth
     Higgins
     Hinojosa
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Kind
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lipinski
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lynch
     Maloney
     Markey
     Marshall
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy
     McCollum (MN)
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Michaud
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (VA)
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Ross
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sabo
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sanders
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schwartz (PA)
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sherman
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Solis
     Spratt
     Stark
     Strickland
     Stupak
     Tauscher
     Taylor (MS)
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Towns
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Wexler
     Wu
     Wynn

                             NOT VOTING--19

     Barton (TX)
     Beauprez
     Bishop (UT)
     Hinchey
     Istook
     Jindal
     Jones (OH)
     Lewis (GA)
     Melancon
     Miller (FL)
     Murtha
     Nadler
     Rogers (MI)
     Rothman
     Shays
     Tancredo
     Tanner
     Weiner
     Woolsey

                              {time}  1225

  So the resolution was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 472 I was inadvertently 
detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I missed rollcall vote No. 472 on 
September 15, 2005. This was a suspension vote on agreeing to the 
resolution H. Res. 439--a resolution to establish the Select Bipartisan 
Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane 
Katrina.
  If present, I would have voted rollcall vote No. 472, Establish the 
Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and 
Response to Hurricane Katrina--``aye''.

                          ____________________