(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter spoke to his colleagues on the floor of the U.S. Senate today about his first-hand accounts of being in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina and the rescue and recovery efforts in the following days.

            The submitted text of his remarks follow:

            “Mr. President, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I want to thank my colleagues who have joined me here this morning – especially the senior Senator from Louisiana, Senator Landrieu, and the distinguished Senators from Mississippi and Alabama. And I want to thank all of my colleagues who have offered their heartfelt thoughts and prayers, as well as concrete help, over these past two difficult weeks.

            “I arrived yesterday back from the battlefields of the other Gulf War, and I stand before you to offer my firsthand report.

            “I don’t mean to be overly dramatic in my use of the analogy to war. I mean to be accurate. I mean to effectively convey the magnitude of the destruction, the enormity and complexity of the ongoing human impacts, and perhaps most importantly, the level of national resolve and commitment that we need to win the recovery effort.

            “We’ve all seen very powerful and destructive storms come ashore. We’ve seen them cause enormous damage, create short-term flooding, even take lives. And then the next day, we respond. And the residents of the stricken area walk through their community and try to begin picking up the pieces.

            “This is different. It’s not just fiercer or bigger, it is wholly different.

            “Yes, Katrina was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever. When it hit Louisiana’s coast, it did so with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. Its low pressure reading of 920 at landfall made it one of the three strongest storms ever to hit the United States, along with Camille in 1969 and the Labor Day Storm of 1935.

            “But it was more than that.

            “Katrina was also one of the largest hurricanes ever geographically. Those ferocious winds extended 100 miles from the eye of the storm, which means they pounded the stricken area for hours.  It devastated an area roughly the size of Great Britain.  A region roughly two and a half times larger than that devastated by Hurricane Andrew.

            “But it was even more than that.

            “You see, Katrina was a ferocious, huge hurricane that hit a treasured coastline, an entire region, including a major American metropolitan area. And that population center which Katrina chose is one of the poorest in the country. And it is the only one that sits largely under sea level, protected by levees . . . until some of the levees broke.

            “So what does that mean?

            “Storm surges of up to 25 feet. Large portions of Southeast Louisiana with flooding of up to 20 feet. Tens of thousands of people who had not evacuated, most in one-story wooden houses, driven to their attics and roofs, many to be trapped there.

            “But the crisis didn’t stop or stabilize there.

            “In the ensuing days it meant the break-down of basic institutions. The failure of all communications systems. Lawlessness which began spiraling out of control.  Thousands of evacuees collecting in “safe havens” like the Louisiana Superdome and New Orleans Convention Center, which quickly became some of the most unsafe hell-holes imaginable.

            “And what does it all mean now?

            “It means a major American metropolitan area evacuated. This is the first time this has happened since the Civil War – there’s that war theme again. But the difference is American cities have grown quite a bit since then – this metro area is home to 1.3 million people.

            “It means hundreds of thousands of evacuees from Southeast Louisiana. These are numbers comparable to some of the historic dislocations during World War II. But the difference is it’s right here in America.

            “During all of this I was in Southeast Louisiana. My wife Wendy and I packed up our minivan and our four kids and drove to Memphis the Saturday before the storm. After leaving them safely with family, I returned to Baton Rouge that Sunday, where I slept in a true safe haven, the State Police compound, and began traveling into all of the devastated areas beginning Tuesday morning.

            “And much like in war, what I saw covered the whole spectrum of human activity. Indeed, it tended to concentrate on the two ends of the spectrum – great acts of personal heroism followed by a truly awesome military operation beginning on day five, on one end of the spectrum. Looting and worse and bureaucratic incompetence on the other.

            “Let me be very clear and precise about this because some reports of my critique of the initial relief effort have caused consternation. I was quoted after the first few days as saying that the early government relief effort was a failure. I was quoted correctly. And this was clearly, unequivocally, indisputably true. In that initial relief effort, FEMA failed us miserably. And the State of Louisiana’s hurricane preparation and emergency bureaucracy in Baton Rouge failed us miserably, too.

            “Don’t take my word for it, though. Talk to the mother with her young daughter who I met at a Lafayette shelter. They were still in shock – not from the storm, but from the hell on earth they had been placed in at the Louisiana Superdome.

            “Or talk to nurse Judy Lopez, who was holed up in Lindy Boggs Hospital, or Dr. Tom Kiernan, trapped at Tulane Hospital, who struggled to keep patients alive for days with no sign of help.

            “Thank God other people and institutions succeeded.

            “The first group of heroes who held on and overcame amazing challenges in those first few days were local leaders and citizens on the ground.

            “This was true in every community I visited – New Orleans, St. Bernard, Slidell, Bogalusa, Amite, Kenner, to name just a few.

• Sheriff’s deputies in St. Bernard who were living on a small riverboat so they could continue their vital work. Eight days after the storm most still hadn’t seen their homes or talked to their families, but they were committed to keeping St. Bernard safe and putting their duty above their families and property.
• Hundreds of private citizens, like David Fakaouri of Baton Rouge, who pulled his boat down to New Orleans and spent days combing the city for survivors, saving more than 60 people. These private citizen rescuers slept in their boats and trucks, used their own fuel, and witnessed the suffering at a level we cannot imagine.
• Local leaders, like State Senator Ben Nevers of Washington Parish, who worked tirelessly to secure police reinforcements, water, food, gasoline, even chain saws to cut trees.
• The lunch crew at Belle Chasse High School in Plaquemines Parish, who, operating on emergency power only, fed hundreds of relief workers every day. When I left them they were planning to feed the Army Rangers who had just arrived to provide support and security.

            “These local leaders and private citizens were also aided by counterparts from around Louisiana and around the country. They collected food, water, ice, generators, fuel, and other necessities. And – with no plan and no budget – they got it to the devastated areas, in many cases over a week ahead of the bureaucrats.

• Local police units from communities in Kentucky and Illinois, who were among the first to show up and offer assistance to our local police forces. Similar dispatches from communities in California and Ohio sent security reinforcements for their comrades in Gretna.
• Wal-Mart, which voluntarily offered its Kenner store as the food supply and distribution center for the entire City of Kenner the day after the storm hit. And then, after the Kenner Wal-Mart was depleted, Wal-Mart national continued to send two truckloads of relief per day to keep the effort going.
• Members of the Young President’s Organization who raised millions in essential supplies to turn over to their fellow YPO member, State Senator Walter Boasso. Walter used his company barges and worked with other local leaders to set up their own dock operation and get supplies to St. Bernard Parish.
• The small town of Vinton in Southwest Louisiana, whose mayor, David Riggins, partnered with Mayor Ronnie Harris of Gretna to get relief there.
• Acadian Ambulance, a private, Lafayette-based ambulance service, whose people not only inundated the area with ambulances to evacuate hospitals and nursing homes, but who actually created and implemented an ad hoc but effective evacuation plan while the state Department of Health and Hospitals dithered.

            “These local leaders and private citizens – heroes both throughout the devastated area and around the country – got us through these first crucial days. And then a second group of heroes helicoptered in – the men and women of our military.

            “We turned a corner in our relief efforts the Friday after the storm – day five – because it became a full-scale military operation. And with that came a completely different mindset, a completely different culture than the bureaucratic one we had been fighting for five days. “We can’t do that” and “that’s not our job exactly” was replaced with not just “Yes” but “Yes, sir.”

·        Members of the Coast Guard, who were out saving lives Monday afternoon, before the storm’s winds even died down, rescuing more than 33,000 people.

·        U.S. Army Lieutenant General Russell Honore from Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, who assumed command of the active-duty military effort in our state and personally took charge to establish that “can-do” attitude the military brings to the situation.

·        National Guard leaders like Lieutenant Colonel Kathy Viddoria, making a tremendous difference behind the scenes ensuring that ice, water, and food began getting to where it was vitally needed.  

·        The 82nd Airborne, which took charge of New Orleans Airport that Saturday, organized the operation overnight, and evacuated thousands. This same organization that landed in Normandy, where the Higgins Boats made in New Orleans were key to victory on D-Day, also helped in the rescue efforts by dropping in food, water, and supplies to help thousands in need.

·        Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen, now in charge of relief efforts, and now pushing the same can-do attitude onto the bureaucracies of FEMA and the state that floundered in the early response.

            “These groups of heroes – local leaders partnered with private citizens, and the military – have stabilized efforts in the devastated areas. But enormous challenges remain.

            “In the areas hardest hit by Katrina, these challenges include reinstituting the necessities of a modern, civil society like a full-fledged New Orleans police force and criminal justice system; replacing countless miles of electricity and phone lines; establishing huge communities of temporary housing; bulldozing and rebuilding entire neighborhoods and parts of the metropolitan area; bringing businesses and jobs back.

            “And beyond the devastated areas, the radius of our challenges has expanded to wherever there are large numbers of evacuees – Houston, San Antonio, Charlotte, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, and every town across the rest of Louisiana. You see, so many of the evacuees lived paycheck to paycheck. So many others depended on Social Security. They need immediate help. And unfortunately, the bureaucrats are still in charge of this.

            “As we tackle these challenges, let’s remember what worked in the initial relief effort and what didn’t work.

            “As we investigate – and we must – let’s focus on that central question – what worked and what didn’t work?

            “I’ve heard many Washington talking heads say that heads must roll. I’m all for that, and have my own personal list. But that alone isn’t enough. We need to look at the big picture – not just what people failed but also what institutions and models failed, and, just as importantly, what others worked against all odds.

            “A new head bureaucrat is not the solution to a failed bureaucracy. We need to look at the successful can-do military culture and to the startling success of people power and private initiative.

            “Government outlays alone will not rebuild a great American metropolitan area and repopulate it with jobs. We need mega-enterprise zones to harness private sector investment power and to recreate jobs.

            “Merely returning to the same routine of begging and scraping for flood and hurricane protection will ensure that this happens again. We need energy royalty sharing as a stable source of revenue for the Corps of Engineers and hurricane protection projects, and we need to invest in coastal restoration to protect Louisiana and our nation’s oil and gas supply.

            “Sending the tens of billions of dollars in government relief money through FEMA and the state Office of Emergency Preparedness – the very same agencies which failed us – will lead to more failure. We need a Katrina Reconstruction Commission headed by a no-nonsense, non-political, businessman/manager so that we all have something lasting to show for this spending.

            “I’m working with my colleagues in the Louisiana delegation, Senator Landrieu and all of our House members, to introduce a comprehensive legislative package for implementing these ideas. And we’ll be outlining our specific proposals in the very near future.

            “In closing, let me make one final plea. And that is, as we do all of this, let’s do it together, in a sincere spirit of bipartisanship.

            “I saw horrific scenes in the days after the storm. I smelled sweltering stench. But what I sometimes heard coming out of Washington was far more sickening.

            “Ridiculous arguments tying this horrific suffering to the war in Iraq and the Reagan deficit. Talk of boycotting bipartisan hearings and stonewalling independent commissions.

            “You see, nobody in the stricken area is talking about that nonsense. They’re rebuilding lives.

            “So perhaps the best thing we can do as leaders is to follow – follow the basic goodness and common sense of Louisianians and Americans.

            “If we don’t, if we allow this matter to become just another partisan political football, then we will have done one thing – and that is victimize the victims of Hurricane Katrina all over again.

            “Two of Louisiana’s beloved football teams, the New Orleans Saints and the LSU Tigers, lifted our spirits with victories this past weekend. The Saints beat the odds, and the Tigers won in the game’s last seconds with a pass verging on a Hail Mary. It reinforced for us what we already knew – that even in dark times hope springs eternal, prayers are answered, and a can-do attitude pays dividends.

            “I have no doubt that Louisiana’s resolve and spirit will be demonstrated in the coming months as our families rebuild their lives and their communities. America has joined with us in that same spirit. Let’s follow their example.

            “Thank you.”