Posted on 10/19/2005 6:46:27 PM PDT by LinnKeyes2000
Dear Greg,
Thank you for contacting my office about Hurricane Katrina and the situation along the Gulf Coast. I appreciate hearing from you.
Katrina was the most devastating natural disaster to befall this country in generations. As with any catastrophic event, a certain amount of discombobulation was inevitable at the outset. But the leadership failures and chaos that ensued after the levees gave way in New Orleans were inexcusable. Katrina exposed a shocking lack of preparedness in our emergency-response systems at the local, state and, most importantly, federal level. It almost defies belief, for example, that help was delayed for hours because radios used by New Orleans police and FEMA officials used different frequencies. Although the performance of our disaster-recovery agencies was not as stumbling in response to Hurricane Rita, it is clear that Congress and the Executive branch need to move quickly to improve policies and procedures, and, where needed, personnel, for dealing with large-scale catastrophes, including possible terrorist acts.
I was in Pyongyang, North Korea, and then Beijing, China, when Hurricane Katrina hit our shores. While Americans came to learn of thousands of acts of citizen heroism and kindness, the rest of the world watched CNN and only saw cracks in our civilization. They looked at a great city wracked by divisions of race and wealth; they witnessed governmental incompetence and were told of shots being fired at rescue helicopters, stores being looted, and alleged rapes being committed in a public stadium.
The America which responded so nobly to the tsunami that caused such havoc in the Indian Ocean looked inept in defending itself. Katrina may have been as cataclysmic a foreign policy event as it was a natural disaster.
It is clear that rejuvenating life and commerce in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast will require substantial assistance. Whatever the final sum turns out to be, the funds must be invested carefully and honestly. It is an unfortunate fact that when large amounts of money are involved, the potential for waste and abuse is proportional to the haste with which the funds are appropriated and disbursed. To that end, I have introduced legislation, H.R. 432, to create a select committee of the House, modeled after the Truman Commission established during World War II, to monitor and investigate the allocation and expenditure of federal Katrina- related funds. The American taxpayer should be assured that his and her tax dollars are not squandered on profiteers and shady operators.
Taxpayers should also be secure in the knowledge that reconstruction will not simply replicate the former housing and building stock, which included slum conditions in low-lying areas particularly prone to flooding. The post-Katrina world must be brighter and less vulnerable than the one Katrina washed away. Rejuvenation does not mean replication. Accordingly, I have proposed legislation, H.R. 3749, to convene a 21-member commission of experts - urban planners, architects, transportation specialists, financial and tourism professionals - to identify and help coordinate the steps necessary to rebuild neighborhoods in such a way that future assaults by the elements will not cause a repeat of this year's catastrophic events.
Finally, a note about priorities and the environment. The evidence is now overwhelming that global warming is a factor increasing the likely ferocity of hurricanes and possibly their incidence. It may not be a certitude that Katrina and Rita are themselves the result of global warming, but it is scientifically clear that the warming of the world's oceans provides a great energy base for hurricanes and makes it more likely that higher intensity storms will occur. Hence, the case for reduction of use of coal and petroleum products includes concern not only for the pocket book and the atmosphere, but effects on the oceans.
Sincerely,
Jim Leach Member of Congress
Please do not reply to this e-mail. The mailbox is unattended. If you wish to send me another letter, please visit my website at http://www.house.gov/leach
Jim Leach Member of idiot in Congress
I confused Leach with McDermitt and asked that post #2 be removed.
The MSM accomplished its mission with that comment....8^(
No Jackass least importantly at the Federal level.
Getting political advise from superiors?
____________________________________________________
I was gonna say: who sponsored those little jaunts? Really Mr Leach...were those meetings over there really necessary? Have we nothing better to do than to fly to China and North Korea and sample the local delicacies?
If I had ever voted for Jim Leach, I too would feel discombobulated.
Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
Can you supply Greg's letter that prompted Leach's tsunami of oral diarrhea?
I broke the dam.
Most sane people blame it on what's commonly known as 'hurricane season' - no?
I broke the dam. With a boat. That wasn't mine.
I feel hot. I'm in the last stages of hypothermia.
unfortunately, the orig letter was one of those
things done online. i believe it was in regards
to the mention of Casino's getting rebuild money
from the hurricanes.
Can I use that line? It's classic!
...and cause others to vote Constitution Party. Pubbies - Democraps what's the diff?
There are significant "diffs".
They may not be as large as you think they should be, but that is no reason to support Democrats in the hope of provoking some future right-wing revolution.
No, I still think it was the crab people.
Oh my gosh. Leach is my Rep. What nonsense.
The crab people was a suprise.
"from the hurricanes"
rather... because of the hurricanes' damage.
we all know that the money comes from the
government and not the taxpayers...
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