Posted on 10/18/2005 5:18:17 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
WASHINGTON - Texas Gov. Rick Perry joined other governors Tuesday in stating his opposition to a federalized first response to natural disasters.
Perry said the inadequate federal response to Hurricane Katrina underscored the need to maintain state and local control of first responders to emergencies.
Placing the federal government in charge would add layers of bureaucracy and possibly cost lives, he said.
"This is first and foremost a state responsibility," Perry, a Republican, told reporters on the eve of his testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security.
The National Governors' Association released a statement urging Congress and the Bush administration to refrain from placing the military over initial response to natural disasters.
The military, Perry said, had expertise in preparing for and fighting in wars.
Training the armed services to be a first responder was the equivalent of turning soldiers into the "Maytag repair man," trained but waiting for the next cataclysmic event, Perry said.
The governors' statement said state leaders are responsible for the welfare of their citizens, and urged the federal government to provide assistance and resources to accomplish that goal.
While increased communication and coordination between federal, state and local entities is encouraged, a preempting of state authority in emergencies "is opposed by the nation's governors," the NGA statement read.
The NGA statement was signed by its chairman, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, and vice chairman, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat.
Two weeks after Katrina devastated portions of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, President Bush suggested in a televised speech from New Orleans that Congress consider giving the military a lead role in cataclysmic events.
Military leaders told Bush in a Sept. 25 briefing in San Antonio that initial military response following Katrina was a "train wreck." They said a national search and rescue plan with a military component would eliminate errors and duplication of effort, citing as an example a case in which five helicopters were dispatched to rescue one person in New Orleans.
In a speech earlier Tuesday to the conservative Heritage Foundation, Perry said military assets used in disaster response should be under the authority of a state adjutant general, with command of the National Guard and state militia.
Perry also called on Washington to address the problems associated with hundreds of thousands who remain displaced from Katrina. There are 400,000 evacuees from Katrina in Texas hotels and shelters, and 6,000 special needs evacuees in Lone Star state hospitals and nursing homes. Perry cited continued failure by federal agencies.
"Keeping people in hotels and shelters for months on end is no plan," he said.
Perry suggested the federal government issue housing vouchers that would allow evacuees to pay mortgages, rent and get out of temporary shelters and rebuild their lives.
The governor also suggested the federal government focus its efforts on other major problems, like controlling the 2,000-mile border with Mexico.
"The lead role of federal officials should be preventing disasters, not managing them on behalf of states," Perry said.
Once disaster strikes, Perry said it was imperative "for states and localities to take the lead in responding because they know their communities best."
gmartin@express-news.net
Damn straight Governor Perry BUMP!!
Good on Gov Perry!
Calling Governor Blanko, Calling Mayor Nagin.
Bush is wrong, and unconstitutional, in wanting to use US troops to respond to emergencies without being asked by the states having the problem. The US armed forces job is to secure our borders as it clearly states in the constitution, all else is to be left to the states. Way to much power being thrown around by Bush in this matter.
Perry Ping!
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
I'll be impressed when Breelcream figures out that the feds should fund superhighway boondoggles and not the Texas taxpayer.
It is?
I can think of four men from, or born in Texas who became President. George W. Bush is the only one of the four who was Governor.
Ike, LBJ, Bush 41, Bush 43.
One other that I know of tried, Governor Connelly.
"If Perry was serious about controlling the border he could have formed his own Minuteman group...."
He already has the volunteer Texas State Guard!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1438647/posts
You can't be Governor of a state for more than an hour before the cost of illegals is going to enter the conversation indirectly or directly.
The fact that Perry didn't assign them to the border within the first week of his taking Office shows me he's just talkin to hear himself talk.
"Y'know...Governor of Texas is a traditional stepping stone to the Presidency. . ."
Nope. GWB is the only Texas governor to have run and won, and Rick Perry is not presidential material. Good hair, bad ideas.
I have been pleased with his camera time during the recent hurricanes and feel he represented Texas well in those instances.
But he wants to use eminent domain to take lots of Texas farmland for massive privately-owned tollroads, and he's been impotent in dealing with the legislature, particularly in re-tooling our school funding mess.
I agree. IMO the feds could beef up the Coast Guard and put them and FEMA into a separate disaster response agency. And if the Coast Guard needs more logistical help, THEN call up active-duty military.
And the CG should also train a deployable MP contingent for restoring order when it has broken down. That problem is dealt with in very few disaster plans.
Perry is pretty much an ass but, when you running for re-election, you'll say the darndest things. I really have my doubts wheather I'll vote for him in 06.
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