Week In Review

September 9, 2005

NOW IS A TIME FOR LEADERSHIP NOT PARTISANSHIP
This is one failure we will not allow the Republican attack machine to spin away with their usual barrage of photo-ops, finger pointing and press conferences Americans demand accountability and a clear accounting for the failures that compounded the effects of the disaster so that this utterly inadequate response never happens again. It is appalling to see how quickly President Bush and Karl Rove mobilized a political strategy to shift blame, but failed to mobilize a swift response to either keep the people in the Gulf Coast region safe or aid the victims after the storm.

The Republicans even planned to push through an estate tax break totaling over $750 billion to the wealthiest Americans last week while millions were still reeling from this disaster. How could Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist even think of extending the estate tax when those funds can be used to rebuild America. The GOP has finally heeded the call of Democrats to drop the current effort to repeal the estate tax at such an inappropriate moment.

THE HARSH TRUTH: FEDERAL EMERGENCY NOT MANAGED WELL
The current political "blame game" - fueled largely by a White House spin machine pointing fingers at dedicated local officials - cannot hide the utter failure of FEMA to respond in a timely and adequate manner. President Bush's decision to slash critical funding, demote agency officials and bury them in layers of bureaucracy has had catastrophic consequences for residents of the Gulf Coast and left relief workers, public safety officials and even generous foreign governments frustrated.

DNC research prepared a chronicle of FEMA's actions in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Bush Administration's repeated refusal to give the agency the resources it needs.

BUSH'S FEMA TURNS NATURAL DISASTER INTO BUREAUCRATIC DISASTER

FEMA Urged First Responders Not To Respond To Hurricane Areas. While the situation in New Orleans became increasingly worse, FEMA issued a press release urging all fire and emergency services departments not to respond to counties and states affected by Hurricane Katrina without being requested and lawfully dispatched by state and local authorities. [FEMA Press Release, 8/29/05, http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18470]

FEMA Refuses to Ship Trailers to Mississippi To Help With Relief Efforts. "Senator Trent Lott called on President Bush to authorize the immediate release of 20,000 trailers sitting idle in Atlanta. Lott said FEMA has refused to ship the trailers because of red tape and paperwork." [CNN, 9/6/05]

FEMA Would Not Let Red Cross Deliver Food to New Orleans. As the National Guard delivered food to the New Orleans convention center, American Red Cross officials said that FEMA authorities would not allow them to do the same. "The Homeland Security Department has requested and continues to request that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans," said Renita Hosler, spokeswoman for the Red Cross. [Pittsburg Post-Gazette, 9/4/05]

FEMA Refused Amtrak's Offer Of Trains To Evacuate Victims. "Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency of 'dragging its feet' when Amtrak offered trains to evacuate victims. 'Offers of medicine, communications equipment and other desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to be ignored by the agency,' she said." [Financial Times, 9/5/05]

BUSH BURIED FEMA "BENEATH A MASSIVE BUREAUCRACY"

Bureaucratic Reconfigurations Have Stripped FEMA Of Its Focus. When FEMA was folded into the Department of Homeland Security, it became part of the new department's prime focus on terrorism, not winds or floods. The result has been shakeups and reconfigurations that have left the old agency stripped of many of its funding programs and some of its money, prompting cries of protest from emergency managers across the country. [Editorial, Wall Street Journal, 8/16/04]

Former FEMA Director James Lee Witt: Extra Bureaucracy Hindered FEMA's Success. Former FEMA Director James Lee Witt shared his concerns with the House Government Reform Committee in 2004: "We are greatly concerned that the successful partnership that was built between local/state/federal partners and their ability to communicate, coordinate, train, prepare, and respond has been sharply eroded. Second, FEMA... is being buried beneath a massive bureaucracy whose main and seemingly only focus is fighting terrorism while an all hazards mission is getting lost in the shuffle. I firmly believe that FEMA should be extracted from the DHS bureaucracy and re-establish it as an independent agency reporting directly to the President... Third, the FEMA Director has lost Cabinet status and along with it the close relationship to the President and Cabinet Affairs." [House Government Reform Committee, 3/24/04]

BUSH CUT FEMA'S DISASTER RELIEF FUNDS

Disaster Mitigation Programs Slashed Since 2001. Since 2001, key federal disaster mitigation programs, developed over many years, have been slashed and tossed aside. FEMA's Project Impact, a model mitigation program created by the Clinton Administration, has been canceled outright. Federal funding of post-disaster mitigation efforts designed to protect people and property from the next disaster has been cut in half, and now communities across the country must compete for pre-disaster mitigation dollars. [Baltimore City Paper, 9/29/04]

Bush Continuing To Propose Cuts To Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps of Engineers will be cut in 2006. Bush's 2005 budget proposal called for a 13 percent reduction in the Army Corps of Engineers budget, down to $4 billion from $4.6 billion in fiscal 2004. [Associated Press, 2/6/05; Congressional Quarterly Online, 2/3/04]

WHILE AMERICANS RUSHED TO AID NEIGHBORS, THE GOP...
Much has been said about President Bush partying with John McCain, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on a shoe shopping trip and Vice President Cheney on vacation - all while Americans on the Gulf Shore needed their leadership.

But wait, there's more. Washington Republicans haven't taken a break from actions that make regular American's scratch their head and wonder...

After continual delays and a promise to US Senators that a decision would be forthcoming by Sept. 1, the FDA once again denied women increased access to Plan B emergency contraception (EC) also known as the "morning-after pill." Despite multiple medical and scientific evidence and support of the safety and effectiveness of Plan B, the FDA has put a ruling on hold indefinitely. In protest, Susan Wood who served as assistant FDA commissioner of the Office of Women's Heath resigned after 5 years of service. Woods told the Washington Post she could no longer serve as staff when "scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here, has been overruled."
Recent data from the US Census Bureau tells us the average earnings by women declined by about $330 in real dollars during the past year, from $31,550 to $31,223. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table A-2]. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi noted since President Bush took office, 5.4 million more Americans are living in poverty, 6 million more are without health insurance, and families are stretched too thin as household incomes have declined by almost $1,700 in the last four years.
The US Navy has awarded Halliburton, a company previously run by Vice President Dick Cheney, to repair naval facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina. According to the Houston Chronicle, the work was assigned to Halliburton's KBR subsidiary under the Navy's $500 million CONCAP contract. Coincidentally, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during the first two years of the Bush administration, which is tasked with responding to hurricane disasters, became a lobbyist for KBR.
And speaking of Halliburton updates, the Bush administration demoted the Army's top procurement official last month, after she was critical of a no-bid multibillion-dollar contract award to Halliburton for repair of Iraqi oil fields. Bunnatine Greenhouse had publicly questioned the decision saying the abuse of the contracts was 'the most blatant an improper abuse I have witnessed." [Washington Post, 8/29/05]

But there is some justice to be announced: This week a grand jury handed down five felony indictments to a political action committee formed by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and a Texas business group in connection with 2002 legislative campaign contributions.

SUPREME COURT NOMINATION: FIT TO BE CHIEF JUSTICE?
This week Americans mourn the passing of Supreme Court Justice William Renquist. The President has now said he will nominate Judge Roberts as Chief Justice instead of the nomination to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Conner, the stakes are higher and the Senate's Advice and Consent responsibility is even more important.

It is the Chief Justice who sets the tone among the justices, presiding over their private conferences and case discussions as well as assigning responsibility for drafting the decisions. On a Supreme Court that accepts fewer and fewer cases each year, the Chief Justice sets the initial agenda for discussions of which cases are worthy of its consideration, and determines whether the audio of Supreme Court arguments are made publicly available.

It is the Chief Justice who chooses which federal judges serve on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the court that reviews secret electronic surveillance and searches by the federal government.
The Chief Justice assigns judges to assist over-stressed courts.
It is the Chief Justice who heads the entire Judicial Conference, an organization of the nation's federal judges that makes policy of matters affecting the judiciary including its internal ethics, disclosure guidelines and rules of procedure.
The Chief Justice is the most important judge in the country, with even more responsibility for the protection of the rights and freedoms of all Americans. Only 16 Americans have held this position since the birth of our country. Thus, John Roberts bears a heavier burden when he comes before the Senate. At a time when this country, the Congress and even the Supreme Court seems so split, having a Chief Justice who can create consensus may be needed more than ever.

John Roberts's record has raised serious concerns about his role in the early 1980s in seeking to weaken voting rights, roll back women's rights, and impede our progress toward a more equal nation. Before the Senate acts on John Roberts's new nomination, we should know even more about his record, and we should know whom the President intends to nominate as a replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor.

DEMOCRATS TAKING THE LEAD
DEMOCRATS CALL FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION TO HELP VICTIMS

Senate Democrats are calling for immediate access to Medicaid, emergency housing vouchers, and food stamps for victims and the expansion of the Disaster Unemployment Insurance Program.

Democrats want to alleviate the burden on school districts with funding for additional teachers, teachers' aides, and counselors and are proposing the establishment of an "800" number for a national victims database and information.

Democrats want to give private employers incentives to hire displaced victims by temporarily qualifying them for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and ensure that Guard units serving in the Gulf Coast qualify for federal benefits.

Democrats are also calling for the President to submit regular reports to Congress on the status of recovery efforts.

DEMOCRATIC LEADERS RESPOND TO VICTIMS WITH OPEN ARMS AND OPEN HEARTS

Below are excerpts from a message to victims staying in Texas from Susan Criss, a Democratic State District Judge in Galveston, Texas. Galveston was struck 105 years ago by a similarly devastating hurricane. After devastation and martial law over a century ago, the whole city of Galveston was raised and rebuilt.

The first thing that I want you to know is that you are very welcome here. We are so glad that you are safe. Many, many people here want to do what ever is necessary to help you.

The second thing that I want you to know is that we understand what is to suffer through and survive hurricanes here. Although many of us have survived dangerous and destructive storms, none of us have suffered through a storm as horrific as Katrina. But this island that is our home has. Up until Katrina this nation's worst natural disaster was the Storm of 1900.

Over 8000 lives were lost. There had not been any evacuation as the storm was not expected. People climbed up to their attics. Many ended up spending the night clinging to tree limbs. When daylight came and the storm had passed they found corpses all over the streets and yards. Water was contaminated. There was concern over sanitation, disease, disposing of the dead and looting. Galveston was under martial law for a week.

Some questioned whether it made sense to rebuild. But most stayed and began the challenging work of rebuilding. Before the storm Galveston was 9 feet below sea level. After the cleanup, city officials decided to "raise the grade". The entire city was raised by 17 feet. The lifting of the city began in 1903 and cost about 3 and a half million dollars.

In the year 2000 we celebrated the 100 year anniversary of Galveston's surviving the Storm of 1900. We thanked God that our ancestors had the courage and foresight to rebuild this beautiful home of ours. We realized that many bonds had formed between families who rode out the storm together. Those bonds have survived several generations and exist today.

We know that your cities can be rebuilt. If it was possible in 1900, it is possible now. Our ancestors could not have rebuilt this city without hope despite overwhelming desperation and fear. Please remember that hope is there for you also.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."-- Barbara Bush, in Houston [Associated Press, 9/6/05]

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.