WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) has joined several of her Senate colleagues in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), renewing the call for the formation of an independent Katrina Commission to investigate the federal government’s failures in response to the hurricanes that devastated the Gulf Coast this past fall.

The letter expresses concerns that the White House has not cooperated with current investigations and that an independent investigation is necessary to assure the country is better prepared the next time a disaster strikes.

The letter was co-signed by Senators Hilary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.).

The text of the letter is below:

January 25, 2006

The Honorable William Frist, M.D.
United States Senate
509 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Mr. Majority Leader:

In the past few days we have heard troubling reports that the White House is withholding critical information from, and failing to cooperate with, the Senate investigation into what went wrong with the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That the President's Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, and the Domestic Security Advisor, and others are withholding testimony and documents indicates the lack of seriousness with which the Administration is dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The American people deserve to know what went wrong so that we can assure them that the inept government response to the Katrina tragedy will never happen again. We ask that you promptly schedule a vote on, and support, S. 1748, which would establish an independent commission to investigate what went wrong and how we can do better in the future. This legislation would create the Katrina Commission and is already on the Senate calendar. All that is required is your leadership to have it considered and approved by the Senate.

We know that federal officials were warned of levee breaches and catastrophic destruction that would result from Hurricane Katrina both in previous preparedness exercises and in reports sent to the White House Situation Room. If officials within the Executive Branch, who are responsible for the federal government's response to a national catastrophe, refuse to cooperate with an investigation into a storm that caused over $100 billion in damage, killed over 1,000 of our fellow Americans, and caused the relocation of hundreds of thousands more, then it is incumbent upon us to move swiftly to demand their compliance in whatever way necessary. There are hearings ongoing at the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and within the House of Representatives.

The lack of cooperation from the White House may suggest to many Americans that the President is uninterested in getting to the bottom of the problems with the federal government response. Worse, it may suggest to some that the Administration is hiding embarrassing facts. While many issues remain unclear in this disagreement, what is clear is that there is no singular, coordinating, central entity compiling and analyzing all of the information being gathered so that a comprehensive set of recommendations can be presented to Congress and the President for prompt, sweeping action.

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck, we sponsored legislation creating the Katrina Commission. The Katrina Commission - fashioned after the 9-11 Commission - would focus on the critical reforms needed and make recommendations to fix existing problems quickly. The Gulf Region, and in particular the city of New Orleans and the surrounding parishes, remain in ruins with no significant progress being made toward rebuilding and no assurance response capabilities are ready to meet the 2006 hurricane season.

There have been no discernable improvements in response capabilities, especially at the federal level, and thousands of our fellow citizens, displaced residents of New Orleans, remain scattered across the United States uncertain of their future. Many are still missing. If we are unable to prepare and begin to implement a comprehensive set of recommendations soon it will represent a colossal misstep in our effort to reform the local, state, and federal governments' ability to work cooperatively. This in turn will hinder our ability to formulate an effective homeland security policy especially since interoperability, planning, response, recovery, and mitigation problems still persist four years after the September 11th terrorist attacks. That is inexcusable.

Therefore, in the interest of public safety, we ask that you call up S. 1748, a bill establishing the Katrina Commission, which is pending on the Senate calendar and that you allow the Senate to vote on this legislation. We are convinced that in the event of another catastrophic disaster our nation will not be fully prepared to implement a working response and recovery effort. We urge you not only to schedule a vote on this legislation soon, but also that you ask the entire Senate to vote in favor of this proposal.

250812