Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act to Meet Immediate Needs Arising from the Consequences of Hurricane Katrina

EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT TO MEET IMMEDIATE NEEDS ARISING FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF HURRICANE KATRINA, 2005 -- (House of Representatives - September 02, 2005)

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, ``National Preparedness Month,'' an initiative of the Department of Homeland Security and the American Red Cross to ``encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools'' began on September 1st. As the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I serve as the Honorary Congressional Co-Chair.

I was filled with sadness and disbelief when a press release from the Department came across my desk on Thursday announcing the initiative, saying that it would help Americans take simple steps such as ``get a kit, make a plan, be informed, and get involved.'' The release seemed hollow and inappropriate in light of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and my home State of Mississippi.

My message to the Department and others in government is simple: we will need more than a few emergency kits and press releases to ensure that our Nation is adequately prepared to respond to a natural disaster or terrorist attack.

Hurricane Katrina was an unprecedented natural disaster, but to government officials tasked with protecting our Nation's communities, it should not have been a surprise.

Risk assessments have long told us that the Gulf Coast was in danger. The New Orleans Times-Picayune did a series of articles as early as 2002 about the risks to New Orleans from a hurricane. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created reports and conducted exercises on Gulf Coast preparedness and response issues. Yet, it pains me that here we are a week after the hurricane struck with potentially thousands of

deaths, communities razed, a city underwater and under siege, and gasoline shortages and price gouging across the Nation.

From what I am seeing here in Mississippi, our government failed in both its preparedness and its response to this disaster. I also believe that if terrorists, rather than a hurricane, had attacked the Gulf Coast--the result would have been no different.

It appears our preparedness plans did not anticipate that thousands of people would be stranded in a stadium or convention center. Or that citizens would be roaming the streets begging for food and water and seeking shelter wherever they can find dry spots--as they're doing in Mississippi.

Instead of a well-prepared plan, victims have had to rely on ad hoc charity from cities with big hearts such as Houston that are opening up venues to house now-homeless evacuees.

I have even heard that people are being put on two-day bus rides to Washington, DC, for shelter. While Washington should be commended for opening the DC Armory to victims, there is something wrong with having to put evacuees who have lost everything on buses for several days so far from what might be left, if anything, of their communities.

How will families and friends of these evacuees know how to find them? The same could be asked of those who are being turned away from the Astrodome and moved on to Dallas or San Antonio.

I also wonder how an electrical outage could take down such critical infrastructure as two oil and gas pipelines servicing a large section of the country? In 1998, President Clinton issued a presidential directive that required the government to look at pipeline and electrical grid security. In December 2003, President Bush issued a homeland security directive that repackaged the government's efforts.

The last several years in Congress, we have continually heard that the administration and private sector are working to secure our critical infrastructure. Yet, a power outage managed to cripple the pipelines, resulting in skyrocketing gas prices across the Nation. Overnight, some communities saw gas prices rise 40 cents, others $2.00.

What message does this send to terrorists if our petroleum systems are so vulnerable? I also wonder what extra steps the Federal Government and the energy sector are taking today to ensure that these facilities are bolstered against attack from terrorists who might try to exploit the current situation.

Despite the increasing threat of hurricanes, especially this year, our government continued to cut the funding of the Army Corps of Engineers, thereby cutting the funding for flood control projects. In 2005, President Bush only requested $3.9 million for the floor projects in New Orleans, although the Army Corps of Engineers said it would be able to spend $20 million if the funds were only provided. Congress increased the funding to $5.5 million, which still was insufficient to fund new construction contracts to secure the levees. For Fiscal Year 2006, the President has asked for even less, requesting only $3 million. Allowing dams and levees to remain vulnerable to disaster and attack simply is unacceptable.

The administration must focus on the very real threats to our communities, towns, and cities if we are to secure our Nation. Preparedness is our prime defense against natural disasters and terrorist attacks. What Americans face today is a result of what happens when our government fails to prepare.

Natural disaster or terrorist attack--our government must do better. We all deserve better.

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