Hurricane evacuee sex offender list now in state's hands (TX)

AUSTIN (AP) - Weeks after demanding the information, state officials have received the names of registered Louisiana sex offenders who sought federal disaster assistance in Texas after Hurricane Katrina.

Texas has been seeking the names so it can give them to law enforcement agencies around the state. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security provided the computerized list Monday to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Using its own resources, the state determined there were at least 140 of the evacuee sex offenders in Texas, but officials expect there are more.

It will take several days to run the names provided by the federal government against other criminal databases and determine precisely how many are in Texas, Kathy Walt, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry, said Tuesday.

"We're pleased that we finally got the information that will help Texas try and ensure the safety of its residents from sex offenders who were registered in Louisiana," Walt said.

Although state officials pressed federal authorities for the information for weeks, the Federal Emergency Management Agency refused to provide a list of all evacuees who signed up for help in Texas, citing federal privacy laws.

They reached a compromise by agreeing to check the names of disaster aid beneficiaries against a list of known Louisiana sex offenders, and then give Texas the names of those who matched. But the process dragged on for weeks and became a major source of tension between Perry and FEMA.

Two weeks ago, Perry sent a blistering letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who oversees FEMA.

Chertoff, in a recent letter to Perry, wrote that he would like to handle disputes "informally" in the future.

"I'm sorry I learned about your letter through a press release instead of through a phone call," Chertoff wrote.

FWIW >>>

Perry: In natural disasters, let local officials take lead
Rick Perry, GOVERNOR OF TEXAS

Friday, October 21, 2005

The following is from testimony that Texas Gov. Rick Perry gave Wednesday to the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, which was holding a hearing on disaster response.

I testify before you today with a clear point of view: I oppose the federalization of emergency response efforts to natural disasters and other catastrophic events.

I say this with no malice toward the federal government or the military, which can and should bring tremendous resources to bear in responding to catastrophes.

I have great appreciation for the capabilities of our military because I served for four and a half years. I know what the military does best: its expertise is in preparing for wars, fighting wars and winning wars.

The mission of our military is not that of a fire department or police department or hospital; it is not designed to be a civil first responder. Our firefighters, peace officers and EMS personnel respond to emergencies every day in our local communities. They know their communities best, they have done the emergency training exercises in those communities, and they can respond the quickest to emergencies in their communities.

I say leave first response to the first responders, leave decision-making in the hands of local and state leaders and leave for our military the important job of fighting wars and keeping the peace.

The idea of federalization raises many questions, the first being perhaps the most important: If, from the president on down, we recognize the federal response was not adequate during Hurricane Katrina, does that inspire confidence that a greater federal role is the solution?

If the federal government takes this over, will it perform 150 emergency exercises in Texas over the next four years, as we did in the last four years, while also tending to the needs of the other 49 states?

Will the federal government take over responsibility for coordinating with our state's 1,200 nursing homes, and hundreds of hospitals, concerning the evacuation of people with special needs?

If the military creates a special division of first responders, will we have highly trained, well-equipped federal troops unavailable for duty overseas as they wait for an emergency large enough for their activation?

Would this not turn them into the equivalent of the military Maytag repairman, waiting for the call when emergency strikes at home, but underutilized as part of our main military mission at home and abroad?

First responders must train together because they respond together. When you add a new layer of bureaucracy, decision-making becomes paralyzed, decisions are placed in the hands of those who know less about the community and miscommunication becomes rampant as lives hang in the balance.

Think about it this way: when you call 911 because your loved one's life is on the line, do you want an operator who knows your community, or do you want someone at a switchboard in Washington, D.C.?

The military's most vital role in a disaster is to provide specialized heavy equipment and aviation assets and the personnel to operate them.

The lesson of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is that while federal resources are very important, no state or local community should wait on the federal government to act. We are responsible for the safety of our own citizens before and after a natural disaster, and we are responsible for creating detailed emergency response plans and testing them.

In Texas, we ran into challenges and had to adapt to unforeseen events. But most important to our response is that we had a clear chain of command, we had responsible local leadership, we had tested our capabilities during training exercises, and we implemented a plan that did not depend on the federal bureaucracy's execution. Because of that, and despite the challenges that remain, I would call the Texas response to both hurricanes a success.

In conclusion, the discussion of federalizing emergency response makes me wonder what local leaders like Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz, or Woodville Mayor Jimmie Cooley, would say if they were told the federal government would lead the response to the next major hurricane. I think they would tell you give us your resources and manpower, but let Texans run Texas.

It would be a great mistake to do otherwise.

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