WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the United States House of Representatives passed legislation sending an additional $10.5 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the military to support recovery and rebuilding efforts in areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland), a Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, issued the following Congressional Record statement on the package and the response to the disaster:

“Our first concern over the coming weeks must be assisting those who need to be rescued, who need essential supplies and medical attention, and who need temporary shelter to survive these difficult days.  I am committed to helping provide that assistance and Congress was correct to pass this aid package today to ensure that immediate resources are available for those efforts.

“However, as the recovery continues and we begin the rebuilding process, we cannot forget about the problems that have plagued our response to the hurricane.  It is not too soon to ask what went wrong so that we can avoid those missteps in the coming weeks and in future disasters.

“Early indications point to the fact that once again, our response teams have been hampered with the inability to effectively communicate with one another.  In Oklahoma City in 1995, at Columbine in 1999, and then again in New York in 2001, our first responders were unable to communicate.  The Administration has done little to address this problem despite my efforts over the last four years.  We must find out exactly how communications deteriorated as quickly as they did and put in place a real interoperability plan.

“In addition, there appears to be a massive disconnect between the information the government has issued on the aid effort and what individuals on the ground have experienced.  We have to make sure that aid gets to those in need immediately – right now, too many still lack basic necessities and that is simply unacceptable.

“We have known that the levees in New Orleans could not withstand the most severe storms.  Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt recently stated that in the 1990s, planning for a New Orleans nightmare scenario included the pre-deploying nearby of hospital ships and ships with pumps to remove water from the below-sea-level city.  We have to ask - why was this not done?  Was it incompetence, a lack of leadership or has the deployment of National Guard troops to Iraq slowed recovery efforts?

“We also need to ask if reorganizations of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offer us the best protection against all hazards.  Prior to the creation of DHS, FEMA was largely viewed as a very effective organization.  Since it has been placed in DHS, FEMA’s role in preparedness and response has changed.  Does the current departmental organization offer the best model of response to any type of hazard, be it a natural disaster or man-made?

“These are difficult questions but they are necessary ones.  In the coming weeks, I will push for answers even as I work with Members of the Homeland Security Committee to make sure that the current crisis is addressed and victims are given the assistance they still so desperately need.”