Sen. Landrieu said:
"Yesterday, I was hoping President Bush would come
away from his tour of the regional devastation
triggered by Hurricane Katrina with a new
understanding for the magnitude of the suffering and
for the abject failures of the current Federal
Emergency Management Agency. 24 hours later, the
President has yet to answer my call for a
cabinet-level official to lead our efforts. Meanwhile,
FEMA, now a shell of what it once was, continues to be
overwhelmed by the task at hand.
"I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had
water-tanker aircraft available to help douse the
fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA has yet to
accept the aid. When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate
significant numbers of victims -- far more efficiently
than buses -- FEMA again dragged its feet. Offers of
medicine, communications equipment and other
desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to
be ignored by the agency.
"But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the
breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site
yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to
be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a
major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this
critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours
later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed
a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo
opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we
saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely
piece of equipment. The good and decent people of
southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast -- black and
white, rich and poor, young and old -- deserve far
better from their national government.
"Mr. President, I'm imploring you once again to get a
cabinet-level official stood up as soon as possible to
get this entire operation moving forward regionwide
with all the resources -- military and otherwise --
necessary to relieve the unmitigated suffering and
economic damage that is unfolding."
Today's aerial tour of the 17th Street levee will be
featured tomorrow on ABC's This Week with George
Stephanopoulos. Later, Sen. Landrieu will also appear
on CBS's 60 Minutes.
