Second Katrina Supplemental Appropriations Bill
SECOND KATRINA SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 08, 2005)
SPEECH OF
HON. DIANA DeGETTE
OF COLORADO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
Ms. DEGETTE Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the bills today to be taken up under suspension of the rules. However, I strongly oppose taking up H.R. 3673, the Second Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act to Meet Immediate Needs Arising From the Consequences of Hurricane Katrina, which includes $51.8 billion for the relief effort, including $50 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under suspension. Doing so limits the opportunity for debate and amendments at a time when many legitimate questions are being raised about FEMA. We surely can spend some time debating these issues and offering amendments to make sure that FEMA spends this money properly.
Based on the performance so far, I have no confidence that either FEMA, or its director, Mr. Michael Brown, can manage the funds Congress is appropriating. Mr. Brown had no experience in disaster management prior to being appointed director of FEMA, and that lack of experience has shown all too clearly. Mr. Brown waited for hours after Hurricane Katrina hit the United States to issue a department-wide call for help from the Department of Homeland Security. According to Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, FEMA also prevented the Coast Guard from providing fuel to local emergency personnel and turned back trucks filled with drinking water for victims. Neither FEMA nor any other federal agency appeared to be in charge as lawlessness broke out in New Orleans. Three days later, on Thursday, September 1, Director Brown said that federal officials had just learned that people had taken refuge in the New Orleans Convention Center. This was despite numerous previous news reports showing Americans gathering there. These are just a few examples of the delayed and badly conceived response to this disaster.
Many of these problems stem from the incompetence of FEMA management or perhaps its position in the enormous Department of Homeland Security, which is the amalgamation of 22 federal agencies. FEMA is no longer a cabinet-level agency, reporting directly to the President, as it was under President Clinton. People have raised questions whether this change, and FEMA's move into the Department of Homeland Security with a focus on dealing with terrorist events, have made it less able to help Americans deal with and recover from natural disasters. With the situation ongoing and FEMA to be heavily involved for months to come as the Gulf region recovers, we need to get the answers to these questions now. We cannot do that when the majority shuts off debate and prevents amendments.
Furthermore, I am concerned about providing FEMA more money, $50 billion, at a time when many Americans, including myself, have lost confidence in its ability to manage this crisis. How can we have faith that this money will not be wasted, based on FEMA's performance to date? Particularly now, with a budget deficit of over $300 billion, we cannot afford to waste any of our resources. In this time of need, we must come together as Americans and spend whatever is necessary to help our citizens rebuild. But, quickly appropriating money without accountability will not solve the problems of the Gulf region, if that money is not going to be well-spent. Instead of ramming this money through without discussion, we should be talking about how we can ensure FEMA uses this money in the best way possible to help the citizens affected by Hurricane Katrina without unnecessarily blowing an even bigger hole in the budget deficit.
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