Posted on 09/14/2005 6:28:57 AM PDT by sheltonmac
WASHINGTON — President Bush on Monday urged Congress to examine whether the White House needs stronger powers to deal with catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina.
Bush’s backing for the congressional inquiry raised the possibility that lawmakers might expand presidential authority to:
“It’s really important that as we take a step back and learn lessons--that we are in a position to adequately answer the question: ‘Are we prepared for major catastrophes?”’ Bush said during a tour of hurricane damage in New Orleans.
He said if there was a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction, such as germ-warfare agents, “we’ve got to make sure we understand the lessons learned to be able to deal with catastrophe.”
Asked whether the federal government needed broader authority to “come in earlier or even in advance of a storm that (is) threatening?” Bush replied: “I think that’s one of the interesting issues that Congress needs to take a look at.”
Bush’s comments came as outside experts urged a variety of changes they said could improve the federal government’s ability to respond to natural disasters or terrorist attacks.
Richard A. Falkenrath, a former homeland security adviser at the White House during Bush’s first term, said officials “need to look very, very closely” at expanding presidential authority to override “a delayed and ineffective evacuation order at the state and local level” that he said had occurred before the hurricane.
“It’s entirely possible we would need such authority in a biological weapons attack and the destruction of a chlorine tanker and nuclear weapons attack, where local and state capabilities would be instantaneously overwhelmed, and so it would be good to get this one sorted out,” said Falkenrath, now a scholar at the Brookings Institution.
Michael O’Hanlon, a national security scholar at Brookings, said the White House ought to create an emergency response team within the armed forces that could be rushed to disasters “where every hour counts.”
O’Hanlon said it had taken too long to get Navy and Air Force helicopters into the New Orleans area to assist early search-and-rescue operations by police and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Take that, Blanco and Nagin you incompetants!
I knew this was coming... be careful what you ask for DEMmies..
The Federal government has too much power already.
"Bush says he may need more powers in disasters."
No, thanks. You have more than enough now. (Including, by the way, the power to control the border.)
Ahh, no thanks.
Bush will only be in office for 3 more years. I advise you to think this one over before you run out to buy party hats.
the general public doesn't know that Bush didn't have the power to order immediate civilian evacuation. Will they even hear about this? I know President Bush's comments were covered on Fox last night, but is anyone else covering it?
Uh, oh. This treads on dangerous territory IMO, regardless of who the President is at the time or his party affiliation.
No doubt, no good can come of this.
President "Hillary!" is salivating at the thought.
How do you equate my statment with wishing to buy party hats?
True to form, they want it both ways, which makes them irrelevant in any sober debate of this issue.
So, then, we need to look at the issue at hand ourselves and figure out if this is a good idea.
I think it isn't - the framework is already there for federal intervention IF THE GOVERNOR REQUESTS IT - as Pete Wilson did during the LA riots. Having a governor involved in the decision-making prevents a president from abusing this power.
And this is why it is so key to make sure that Blanco's malfeasance in this disaster is highlighted - if the voters of Louisiana had elected a competent Chief Executive, we wouldn't be having this debate now. Folks are unaware how much power and authoritiy governors have in a major disaster, and are prone to think it's all the responsibility of the federal government. It's not. So they in turn need to realize that if they vote an incompetent hack into the governor's mansion, they are setting themselves up for problems in a disaster.
Hey, you're starting to sound like a pessimist. ;-)
It goes without saying that this has "slippery slope" written all over it.
It would be better to suffer the incompetence of local fools like these so the people can correct it, than to vest such unbridled authority in the Federal government. A person like Bush we could trust with it perhaps...but there will be others later whom we cannot and we dare not allow it to come into being for that reason alone.
Why do you think she only wants to examine the federal response and not the failures of Blanco before, during and after the disaster?
So she can call for greater federal powers, as well as pin the blame on Bush.
Bingo! Keep your eye on the ball people. This is what this is all about. The Rats have dreamt about more Federal power, they are being opportunistic.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.