Topics in the News: Katrina
Bobby Jindal on Environment
: Nov 15, 2010
Too-big feds failed on BP oil spill just like on Katrina
During the oil spill some critics said that I was being hypocritical because I believed in limited government and was also demanding more federal assistance. But they miss the point entirely. I'm not an anarchist. I believe government has a role--and at
its most basic level the role of government is to protect life, liberty, and property. Dealing with a disaster like the oil spill certainly fits the job description. I believe that part of the reason the federal government failed to respond effectively
to the oil spill (and for that matter, five years earlier during Hurricane Katrina) is precisely because government has become too big. The federal government's response to the oil spill was lackadaisical from the start.
Shortly after the oil well blew, we asked federal authorities how they were going to prioritize and deploy resources to protect our shoreline. We grew frustrated when they would not adjust their plans to respond adequately to a crisis of this magnitude.
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Source: Leadership and Crisis, by Bobby Jindal, p. 4
Bobby Jindal on Environment
: Nov 15, 2010
Faith-based groups moved faster than feds during Katrina
A sheriff in my district had called federal offices to ask for Katrina assistance and was told he would have to email his request. The bureaucrat was just following procedure, you see, to have a record of the request. When the sheriff mentioned that he,
like the rest of his town, had no electricity, the bureaucrat suggested he call someone who could email the details--and be sure to include the part about not being able to email in the email. Almost every other official around the table told a similar
story of the red tape maze.In many cases, charities, faith-based groups, and not-for-profit organizations move faster and are more flexible than federal programs. Don't get me wrong--there is a role for government, which has to build those levees and
otherwise ensure our basic safety. And we must acknowledge that the National Guard responded to Katrina with stunning courage, as did the Coast Guard, which is estimated to have rescues 33,000 people. But FEMA's centralized model simply didn't work.
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Source: Leadership and Crisis, by Bobby Jindal, p.122-124
Bobby Jindal on Technology
: Nov 15, 2010
Same communication problems during Katrina as on 9/11
I had been in Congress for eight months when Katrina, a 300-mile-wide hurricane, hit Louisiana in August 2005. Conditions rapidly deteriorated. My staff began receiving reports that New Orleans was filling up with water. The expected assistance just
wasn't there. Michael Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told us unequivocally he had "resources in place" ready to move in with water, food, and clothing in the event the levees failed (though at the time, no one really
considered that likely). But these resources were nowhere to be found. The initial response was further hampered by communications problems among first responders. After New York City police and fire departments had trouble communicating on
9/11, billions of dollars were spent to improve responder communication and homeland security--but state, federal, and local officials in Louisiana still had the same problems during Katrina. They were not communicating on the same frequencies.
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Source: Leadership and Crisis, by Bobby Jindal, p.113-116
Bobby Jindal on Education
: Feb 24, 2009
Reinvented New Orleans with private/parochial scholarships
We need to make sure every child in America gets the best possible education. After Katrina, we reinvented the New Orleans school system, opening dozens of new charter schools, and creating a new scholarship program that is giving parents the chance
to send their children to private or parochial schools of their choice. We believe that, with the proper education, the children of America can do anything. And it shouldn't take a devastating storm to bring this kind of innovation to education.
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Source: GOP response to the 2009 State of the Union address
Bobby Jindal on Government Reform
: Feb 24, 2009
Strength of America is not in government but in our citizens
Let me tell you a story. During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. He was yelling into the phone: "Well, I'm the Sheriff and if you don't like it you can come and arrest me!" He told me that he had put out a call
for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters. The boats were all lined up ready to go, when some bureaucrat showed up and told them they couldn't go out on the water unless they had proof
of insurance and registration. I told him, "Sheriff, that's ridiculous." And before I knew it, he was yelling into the phone: "Congressman Jindal is here, and he says you can come and arrest him too!" Harry just told the boaters to ignore the
bureaucrats and go start rescuing people.There is a lesson in this experience: The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and the enterprising spirit of our citizens.
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Source: GOP response to the 2009 State of the Union address
Newt Gingrich on Environment
: Dec 18, 2007
Katrina's collapse of New Orleans was avoidable
As much as any one things, it was the government's failure to respond to the catastrophe of Katrina that made me determined to launch American Solutions and to insist on a bipartisan national movement to get America back on track.
Here are the unspoken--and apparently unspeakable--facts about the disaster in New Orleans.- The collapse of New Orleans was unavoidable.
- The collapse of the relief effort among the very poor was unavoidable.
-
The lack of national, state, and local leadership and decisive intervention was avoidable.
- The Army Corps of Engineers failed to do its job and ensure that the levees would work when put to the test by a large-scale hurricane, which was a
clearly foreseeable situation.
- The politicians in Washington clearly had other things they wanted to spend money on and preferred to run the risk of a city-crippling catastrophe.
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Source: Real Change, by Newt Gingrich, p. 44-45
Rudy Giuliani on Environment
: Aug 29, 2007
Prepare better for next Hurricane Katrina
Rudy Giuliani released the following statement today commemorating the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina: “On this anniversary, Americans come together to remember all those who lost their lives, suffered or were affected by the
devastation of Hurricane Katrina. We must now use the lessons learned to ensure we are better prepared in the future. By building on the courage and skills of all our citizens, America will become a stronger, more resilient nation.”
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Source: Press Release, “Second Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina”
Barack Obama on Civil Rights
: Aug 26, 2007
Strengthen the Americans with Disabilities Act
Obama is committed to strengthening and better enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Obama believes we must restore the original legislative intent of the ADA in the wake of court decisions that have restricted the interpretation of this
landmark legislation. One of the most devastating aspects of Hurricane Katrina is that most of the stranded victims were society’s most vulnerable members, including Americans with disabilities.
Too many states and cities do not have adequate plans in place to care for special-needs populations. Obama passed legislation to require states to properly plan the evacuation of special-needs individuals.
Obama understands that children with special needs require meaningful resources to succeed both inside and outside the classroom. Obama is a strong supporter of increased funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
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Source: Campaign website, BarackObama.com, “Resource Flyers”
Barack Obama on Welfare & Poverty
: Aug 26, 2007
Engages people of faith on all aspects of his public service
Obama has a record of engaging people of faith on all aspects of his public service. His first job out of college was bringing churches together to help address the poorest Chicago neighborhoods’ pressing problems. After Hurricane Katrina,
Obama united relief organizations and churches to discuss rebuilding the Gulf Coast. Obama also passed legislation that saved tithing from bankruptcy courts. In June of 2006, Obama delivered what a Washington Post columnist called perhaps the most
important speech on religion and politics in 40 years. Speaking before an evangelical audience, Senator Obama candidly discussed his own Christian faith and the need for a deeper, more substantive conversation about the role of faith in
American life.
In December of 2006, Obama joined Pastor Rick Warren to discuss moral leadership and Global AIDS. And in June of 2007, Obama challenged Americans to come together around a ‘Politics of Conscience’ to move our nation forward.
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Source: Campaign website, BarackObama.com, “Resource Flyers”
Barack Obama on Government Reform
: Aug 19, 2007
Prayer can’t prevent disasters; good policy can handle them
Q: Do you believe that, through the power of prayer, disasters like Hurricane Katrina could have been prevented?A: I believe in the power of prayer. And part of what I believe in is that, through prayer, not only can we strengthen ourselves in
adversity, but that we can also find the empathy and the compassion and the will to deal with the problems that we do control. Most of the issues that we’re debating here today are ones that we have the power to change.
We may not have the power to prevent a hurricane, but we do have the power to make sure that the levees are properly reinforced and we’ve got a sound emergency plan. And so, part of what I pray for is the strength and the wisdom to be able to act
on those things that I can control. And that’s what I think has been lacking sometimes in our government. We’ve got to express those values through our government, not just through our religious institutions.
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Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate on “This Week”
Hillary Clinton on Principles & Values
: Aug 19, 2007
I believe in prayer; I’m dependent on my faith
Q: Do you believe that, through the power of prayer, disasters like Hurricane Katrina could have been prevented or lessened?A: I don’t pretend to understand the wisdom and the power of God. I do believe in prayer. And I have relied on prayer
consistently throughout my life. I like to say that, if I had not been a praying person before I got to the White House, after having been there for just a few days I would’ve become one. So I am very dependent on my faith, & prayer is a big part of that
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Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate on “This Week”
Joe Biden on Principles & Values
: Aug 19, 2007
Prayer gives you strength, but doesn’t prevent crises
Q: Do you believe that, through the power of prayer, disasters like Hurricane Katrina could have been prevented?A: My mom has an expression. She says that, “God sends no cross you’re unable to bear.”
The time to pray is when you’re told, as I was, that my wife and daughter are dead, to have the courage to be able to bear the cross. Pray that God can give you the strength to deal with what everyone is faced with in their life, serious crosses to bear.
The answer to the question is, no, all the prayer in the world will not stop a hurricane.
But prayer will give you the courage to be able to respond to the devastation that’s caused in your life and with others to deal with the devastation.
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Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate on “This Week”
Barack Obama on Technology
: Aug 14, 2007
As Senate freshman spoke out on Katrina ramifications
Obama was, in his own words, “a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views,” or that the higher he soared, the more this politician spoke in well-worn platitudes and the more he offered warm, feel-good
sentiments lacking a precise framework.In his two years in the minority party in the US Senate, he had the clout to pass only one substantial piece of legislation or that he avoided conflict at all costs, spending none of his heavily amassed political
capital on even a single controversial issue he believed in. Indeed, through his first year in the
Senate, he had to argue with his cautious political advisors to speak out, however carefully, on a topic dear to him--the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its racial and economic ramifications.
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Source: From Promise to Power, by David Mendell, p. 12
Hillary Clinton on Environment
: Aug 8, 2007
Put someone in charge of Katrina recovery who actually cares
Q: It’s been nearly two years now since Hurricane Katrina. What is the first thing you would do as president to improve the recovery in New Orleans?A: Well, the first thing I would do is put somebody in charge who actually cared about the people of
New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and was willing to really do what it took. I outlined a 10-point plan--I can’t say it in 30 seconds--but briefly it is put somebody in charge, make sure that the
White House has a system where that person reports to the president, which is what I would expect every single day. And my questions [to the person in charge] would be: What have you done to get the hospitals open? What have you done to get people
to move back? What have you done to make sure the levees are strong enough to withstand whatever might come next? We’ve got to recognize rebuilding New Orleans is an American problem, not a New Orleans or Louisiana problem alone.
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Source: 2007 AFL-CIO Democratic primary forum
Haley Barbour on Environment
: Jul 26, 2007
Improving, rebuilding & renewing our coast, post-Katrina
A job that won’t be finished for a while is the rebuilding and renewal of our Coast after Katrina. Our state bore the brunt of the worst natural disaster in American history. I remember flying over in a helicopter the morning after the storm; it looked a
if the hand of God had wiped away the Coast; in some places for blocks, in some places for miles. Yet there were many reasons for hope & optimism:- Great work by local officials & first volunteers;
- Wonderful efforts by hundreds of thousands of
volunteers, who are still coming;
- Unprecedented amounts of federal funds: more than $25 billion so far.
But the most important reason I’m not only optimistic but absolutely confident about Mississippi’s future is the spirit and character of our
people. We got knocked down hard, but Mississippians got right back up, and went to work, helping themselves and helping their neighbors. In the process, Mississippi’s response to Katrina has done more than anything else to improve the image of our state
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Source: Speech at the Neshoba County Fair
Joe Biden on Environment
: Jun 28, 2007
America should guarantee Katrina reconstruction
Q: Would you support a federal law guaranteeing the right to return to New Orleans and other Gulf regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina?KUCINICH: Absolutely. The aftermath underscores everything that’s wrong in this country about race.
GRAVEL:
Yes.
DODD: I would as well. New Orleans and Katrina have become a symbol of everything that went wrong with this administration’s failure to respond to a people in need.
CLINTON: I have proposed a 10-point Gulf Coast Recovery Agenda, because even
if we were to give people a right, there is nothing to return to.
BIDEN: We got to step up and pay to rebuild those firehouses, pay to bring those cops back, pay to rebuild those hospitals. It is a nation’s problem, it is not the problem merely of the
people of Louisiana or New Orleans. This is an American city incapable on its own of doing this. It’s an American problem. We should guarantee the reconstruction.
RICHARDSON: Yes, I would support that. I would also support the Katrina Recovery Act.
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Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Barack Obama on Environment
: Jun 28, 2007
Give Katrina contracts to locals, not to Halliburton
Q: Would you support a federal law guaranteeing the right to return to New Orleans and other Gulf regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina?KUCINICH: Absolutely. The aftermath underscores everything that’s wrong in this country about race.
GRAVEL:
Yes.
DODD: I would as well. New Orleans and Katrina have become a symbol of everything that went wrong with this administration’s failure to respond to a people in need.
CLINTON: I have proposed a 10-point Gulf Coast Recovery Agenda, because even
if we were to give people a right, there is nothing to return to.
BIDEN: It’s an American problem. We should guarantee the reconstruction.
RICHARDSON: Yes, I would support that. I would also support the Katrina Recovery Act.
EDWARDS: This
is an issue I care about personally and deeply.
OBAMA: Halliburton or Bechtel getting the contracts to rebuild instead of giving the people in New Orleans the opportunity to rebuild and get jobs and training is a further compounding of the outrage.
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Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Hillary Clinton on Environment
: Jun 28, 2007
Overcome almost criminal indifference to Katrina rebuilding
Q: Would you support a federal law guaranteeing the right to return to New Orleans and other Gulf regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina?KUCINICH: Absolutely. The aftermath underscores everything that’s wrong in this country about race.
GRAVEL:
Yes.
CLINTON: I have proposed a 10-point Gulf Coast Recovery Agenda, because it’s sort of as a chicken and an egg issue. First, we’ve got to get the hospitals back up, [then] the law enforcement and the fire departments. This administration has
basically neglected with almost criminal indifference the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, in particular New Orleans and the parishes. Even if we were to give people a right, there is nothing to return to. We have got to rebuild New Orleans,
and it’s not only the protection from the levees, it is all the infrastructure.
EDWARDS: This is an issue I care about personally and deeply.
OBAMA: Halliburton or Bechtel getting the contracts to rebuild is a further compounding of the outrage.
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Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Hillary Clinton on Health Care
: Mar 24, 2007
Require electronic medical record for all federal healthcare
I want to start requiring that people who do business with the government, namely Medicare, Medicaid, VA, you name it, they’re going to have to move toward electronic medical records. And I’m willing to put some up front money into that to create a
system where all these different health care IT systems can talk to each other, [so no matter where you are], you start with a history. After Hurricane Katrina I went down to Houston to see the people who had been evacuated, most in them from the
convention center. The elderly, the frail. People who were very dependent upon health care, their records were gone. Those 15 pieces of paper were destroyed. And a lot of doctors told me their biggest problem was trying to figure out what prescriptions
to give to people. The only people they could help were the people who had shopped at chain drug stores because they had electronic medical records. If we had that for all of our health records, we’d get costs down & we’d have higher quality health care.
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Source: SEIU Democratic Health Care Forum in Las Vegas
Hillary Clinton on Technology
: Mar 14, 2007
Fight for interoperable communications for first responders
We have been fighting for interoperable communications since September 12. We have put in legislation. We’ve asked for more money, but when firefighters can’t talk to police officers, when emergency responders can’t talk to each other,
we not only saw it on September 11, we saw it again during Hurricane Katrina. What was a natural disaster was turned into a national disgrace, and we need to get the funds directly where they are needed.
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Source: 2007 IAFF Presidential Forum in Washington DC
Haley Barbour on Crime
: Jan 15, 2007
More state troopers; plus pay raises for state police
Another priority we have focused on is law enforcement. Our Highway Patrol and other state law enforcement have received the biggest pay raises in history to get them on a level with our neighboring states. Two [new] trooper schools in one year--one paid
for with federal funds after Katrina--have added 92 new highway patrolmen to the force. We plan a third trooper school in the next fiscal year to get us back closer to the authorized number of troopers.
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Source: 2008 State of the State address to state legislature
Haley Barbour on Energy & Oil
: Jan 15, 2007
Supports $1.3 billion coal gasification plant
East Mississippi is healthy, but I believe there are more opportunities, and we are focused on them. The announcement of the Mississippi Power $1.3 billion coal gasification plant in Kemper County and continued strong performance on I-20 and Neshoba
County show the Meridian area is moving forward. Katrina reconstruction plus the building of a more than $1 billion Strategic Petroleum Reserve facility near Richton will fuel more job growth.
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Source: 2008 State of the State address to state legislature