Thank you, Madam Chairman and Ranking Member Lieberman. I wish to compliment both of you for once again taking the lead on an issue so critical to this nation -- the response to Hurricane Katrina.
The devastation to the Gulf Coast region is staggering. To the millions of Americans affected by this catastrophe, I extend my prayers for those who have lost their lives and to those who are in mourning. We have the difficult task of making sure that those in need, and those who seek to provide relief are served well by their government.
Over 90,000 square miles have been impacted by Hurricane Katrina -- an area as large as Great Britain. We know that hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their homes and worldly possessions. Loved ones and strangers alike have opened their homes and hearts to those who have been forced to seek refuge. Much of New Orleans was submerged under flood waters that have since become a polluted, toxic swamp, endangering the health and lives of storm survivors and their brave rescuers -- a major U.S. city of a half-million people rendered uninhabitable. Entire communities in Mississippi and Alabama have been wiped out.
This national emergency -- which was televised worldwide -- is a humanitarian crisis of enormous dimension. The world has witnessed tens of thousands of Americans lacking the basic necessities of food, water, shelter, safety, and medicine.
Sadly, when Katrina's victims needed the federal government most, there was a crisis of leadership. On Friday, September 2nd, four days after the battered levees broke, victims in major shelters reported not seeing a single federal official. Organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, along with private citizens and businesses sought to rescue and bring relief to the Gulf residents.
I am not pointing fingers or assigning blame. But I know that many Americans are angry and are seeking accountability. I have received hundreds of letters from my own constituents. Hawaii is also threatened by hurricanes and has been badly battered in the past by them. It is the hurricane season now. My constituents want to know what their leaders did wrong and what they did right. They want to know how their government can do better. They want to be assured that if Hawaii is hit again that there will be help. All Americans want that assurance.
Since September 11, 2001, the Congress has given considerable attention to making Americans more safe. Yet there are disturbing similarities between Hurricane Katrina and 9-11. Similarities in what was known beforehand and how the government reacted to pending dangers.
On 9-11, we found that the President and other senior leaders received intelligence and law enforcement reports about imminent threats to Americans. In the case of Katrina, the National Weather Service tracked the hurricane for a week across the Atlantic and through the Gulf of Mexico, and the Administrator of NOAA rightly stated "this storm was reported as widely as any I have ever seen." Moreover, there were numerous studies and news reports about the dangers of this strong a hurricane would pose to the levees.
In the four years since 9-11, we should have done a better job in preparing to protect Americans.
This unprecedented disaster is a test of our nation's character. It is also an opportunity to improve.
We need to re-examine our national priorities and give greater attention to the needs of Americans, including a review of whether the structure of DHS services those needs. We must search for ways to do better.
Thank you, Madam Chairman. I welcome our witnesses and look forward to their testimony.
