[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21490]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              REPUBLICANS FAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH INQUIRY

  (Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, yesterday House Republicans convened their 
partisan investigation into what went wrong in the aftermath of 
Hurricane Katrina. It is clear Republicans want to fix all blame on the 
back of former FEMA director Michael Brown.
  Republicans were willing to ask tough questions yesterday, but that 
is simply not enough. For 5 years now, House Republicans have ignored 
their oversight responsibilities of the Bush administration. Are we now 
supposed to believe that House Republicans will conduct an 
investigation that will not only determine what exactly went wrong but 
also how we can prevent such a slow response from ever happening again?
  The New York Times said that Washington is faking a Katrina inquiry. 
The paper determined that a government dominated by one party should be 
disqualified from investigating itself. Democrats here in the House 
strongly agree.
  We simply will not be a part of a sham investigation. The American 
people want real answers, not a cover-up. An overwhelming 87 percent of 
Americans are demanding an independent commission similar to the 9/11 
Commission.

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