Durbin Tells Homeland Seucrity Secretary Chertoff Americans Want Assurances That Government Can Repsond to Next Major Disaster

DURBIN TELLS HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY CHERTOFF AMERICANS WANT ASSURANCES THAT GOVERNMENT CAN RESPOND TO NEXT MAJOR DISASTER

With hurricane season fast approaching, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today told Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that Americans want assurances that the federal government will be able to respond to the next major disaster.

"We need to hear what America is prepared to do to help these members of America's family, who are still suffering six months after Katrina. We need to ensure that the catastrophe within the catastrophe -- the preparation and response to the hurricane -- never happens again," Durbin said during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the President's request for emergency funding for recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast.

Durbin's opening statement, as delivered, is below:

"Secretary Chertoff, on September 3rd, six days after the briefing from Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center, you and several top officials in the Bush Administration held a press conference in Washington to tell America and the world what had been done and what would be done to respond to Hurricane Katrina."

"At the press conference you said, "The United States, as the president has said, is going to move Heaven and Earth to rescue, feed, shelter and restore the life and health of the people who are currently suffering."

"Mr. Secretary, six months later, many of Katrina's victims are still suffering, still without homes, still without jobs, still without basic health care. All of them and all of us are wondering when this nightmare is going to end."

"Not only has our government and FEMA failed to move Heaven and Earth, we haven't been able to move FEMA trailers to the right location."

"There are many unmet needs of Katrina survivors, not only in that region but now those scattered across the country."

"We need to hear what America is prepared to do to help these members of America's family, who are still suffering six months after Katrina. We need to ensure that the catastrophe within the catastrophe -- the preparation and response to the hurricane -- never happens again."

"We knew before Katrina hit that it was going to cause massive damage. We now know that the president, that you, that others in the administration were warned in advance by the director of National Hurricane Center that Katrina would do massive damage to the Gulf Coast and quite possibly to the levees protecting New Orleans."

"We've all seen the videotape. Director Max Mayfield said during a videoconference on August 28th: "I don't think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not, but that's obviously a very, very grave concern. Despite that explicit warning, Administration officials from the president on down repeatedly insisted in the days after Katrina that no one anticipated the breach of the levees."

"Instead of indignation and determination from this Administration, too often we sense resignation and more bureaucratic doubletalk."

"We need serious and experienced emergency managers who listen to the warnings of their professional staff and act on those warnings. With the start of a new hurricane season only a few weeks away and the continued threat of a terrorist attack, we are told that those threats are always with us. We don't have a day to waste."

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=252353&&