FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2005

CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616

House Democrats Release Report on Republican Failures to Meet Needs of Hurricane Katrina Survivors

Washington, D.C.– House Democrats released a new report today outlining the failures of the Republican Congress to meet the immediate needs of families impacted by Hurricane Katrina.  Americans endured unprecedented tragedy and destruction from hurricanes Katrina and Rita but the Congress has failed to provide adequate housing, education and medical services to the victims – even now more than 100 days later.

As thousands of Gulf Coast families prepare to spend Christmas in tent cities instead of in secure homes, Democrats are working for an Independent Commission to get honest answers about what went wrong before and after the Gulf Coast hurricanes and pledge to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the survivors.  

The full text of the report can be found here:  http://www.democraticleader.house.gov/pdf/Katrina.htm. 

Below are key areas documented in the report where Gulf Coast citizens’ needs are not being met, as well as the executive summary of the report:

Housing:

Republicans have no clear housing plan

Democrats have plan to provide one-year guarantee of housing assistance for all survivors                     

Small Business

Republicans delay response to disaster SBA loan applications

Democrats have plan to provide emergency resources to SBA, authorize loans and grants to small businesses

Health Care

Republicans leave tens of thousands without health care coverage

Democrats have plan to ensure temporary access to health care coverage

Education

Republicans have no plan, have given no assistance to schools and displaced students 

Democrats have plan to rebuild schools, hire new teachers, find additional classroom space, purchase new materials

Voting Rights

Republicans have no plan to protect voting rights of evacuees

Democrats have plan to ensure full voting rights

Contracting

Democrats have plan to create anti-fraud commission to prevent waste, fraud and abuse

Independent Investigation

Republicans set up partisan select committee, blocked independent commission

Democrats have plan for real independent commission modeled on 9/11 Commission

* * *

KATRINA: A FAILED RESPONSE AND UNMET NEEDS

More Than Three Months Later, The Need for Immediate Aid for Survivors, Rebuilding, and Contract Integrity Remains Unmet

Executive Summary

Republicans Failed in the Immediate Response to Katrina

Many current and former FEMA officials contend that disaster preparedness and response have been severely undermined over the last four years under the Bush Administration.  “It’s such an irony I hate to say it, but we have less capability today than we did on September 11,’ said a veteran FEMA official involved in hurricane response.” (Washington Post, 9/4/05)  As a result, as Americans witnessed on their television sets, when Katrina struck, FEMA failed to adequately address the needs of hurricane victims.  For days, there were tens of thousands of people in New Orleans who failed to get the food, water, medicine and evacuation assistance that they desperately needed.

Republicans Have Failed to Meet the Needs of Katrina Families, Small Businesses, and Communities

Three and a half months after Katrina, Congress has yet to enact a clear housing plan for the hundreds of thousands of Katrina survivors.  Furthermore, thousands of survivors are still living in tents and shelters – waiting for promised trailers that have not appeared.  Many Katrina families may also lose their rental assistance by the end of December.  The needs of small businesses are also not being met; only about 5 percent of small business disaster loan applications have so far been approved.  Also, the GOP Congress has denied Katrina-impacted communities the same ability to obtain the loan forgiveness that communities impacted by a disaster have received in the past.         

Republicans Have Failed on Rebuilding

More than three months after Katrina, Republicans have failed to provide an outline of what support the federal government will provide in rebuilding.  As the Washington Post (11/21/05) has recently reported, “It is yet to be determined just how much of a role the federal government will play in picking up the tab [on rebuilding]. … State and local officials say they are growing increasingly concerned that the federal government will not end up putting in the kind of money needed to rebuild the region.”

Republicans Have Failed In Managing Katrina Contracts – Leading to Waste, Fraud and Abuse

In awarding Katrina contracts, the Bush Administration has adopted the same pattern of no-bid and limited-bid contracts awarded on the basis of cronyism, rather than experience or local expertise, which it used in Iraq.  All 10 companies with the largest Katrina contracts are located outside the Gulf Coast region, most are politically connected, and most got their work after a limited bidding process.  “There’s no doubt, no question, there’s going to be fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement [in Katrina contracts] – there already has been,” Comptroller General David Walker, head of the Government Accountability Office, told Knight Ridder.

Republicans Have Failed to Create Independent Commission to Study Katrina Response

National public opinion polls show that the vast majority of the American public supports an independent commission to investigate the failed federal response to Katrina.  An independent Katrina commission would be modeled on the highly-successful 9/11 Commission.  Unfortunately, the GOP leadership has blocked such a commission.  Instead, the Leadership created a partisan select committee, where Democrats would not have the ability to subpoena their own witnesses.  As a result, Democrats have refused to appoint members to this sham committee.

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi