Nevada Senator Harry Reid, Democratic Party Leader, has published a letter to the Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, listing 13 questions upon which the joint committee to investigate the response to Katrina should focus. Reid Letter to Chairman Collins on Oversight Hearing
From the preface paragraphs: "Most experts felt a major hurricane in this section of the Gulf Coast was inevitable. Federal officials were apparently well-informed about the consequences of such a storm as well as the measures needed to respond before and after such a storm hit. Despite these facts and several days notice that a major hurricane would strike the Gulf Coast region, the federal response was "unacceptable", as the President has acknowledged. For too many days, residents in New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast were left to fend for themselves.
Nearly four years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 sent a clear signal that we needed to be better prepared for major catastrophes on U.S. soil, the American people have a right to expect their government to perform better. It is essential that this body fully exercise our oversight responsibilities to ensure that we understand what happened in this instance and what needs to be done to ensure that the federal government will be better prepared to respond to future emergencies."
Thanks to beSpacific: Oversight Hearings Will Review Feds Response to Katrina
Posted by dougsimpson at September 8, 2005 05:16 AM