Posted on 10/19/2005 6:46:27 PM PDT by LinnKeyes2000
Dear Greg,
Thank you for contacting my office about Hurricane Katrina and the situation along the Gulf Coast. I appreciate hearing from you.
Katrina was the most devastating natural disaster to befall this country in generations. As with any catastrophic event, a certain amount of discombobulation was inevitable at the outset. But the leadership failures and chaos that ensued after the levees gave way in New Orleans were inexcusable. Katrina exposed a shocking lack of preparedness in our emergency-response systems at the local, state and, most importantly, federal level. It almost defies belief, for example, that help was delayed for hours because radios used by New Orleans police and FEMA officials used different frequencies. Although the performance of our disaster-recovery agencies was not as stumbling in response to Hurricane Rita, it is clear that Congress and the Executive branch need to move quickly to improve policies and procedures, and, where needed, personnel, for dealing with large-scale catastrophes, including possible terrorist acts.
I was in Pyongyang, North Korea, and then Beijing, China, when Hurricane Katrina hit our shores. While Americans came to learn of thousands of acts of citizen heroism and kindness, the rest of the world watched CNN and only saw cracks in our civilization. They looked at a great city wracked by divisions of race and wealth; they witnessed governmental incompetence and were told of shots being fired at rescue helicopters, stores being looted, and alleged rapes being committed in a public stadium.
The America which responded so nobly to the tsunami that caused such havoc in the Indian Ocean looked inept in defending itself. Katrina may have been as cataclysmic a foreign policy event as it was a natural disaster.
It is clear that rejuvenating life and commerce in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast will require substantial assistance. Whatever the final sum turns out to be, the funds must be invested carefully and honestly. It is an unfortunate fact that when large amounts of money are involved, the potential for waste and abuse is proportional to the haste with which the funds are appropriated and disbursed. To that end, I have introduced legislation, H.R. 432, to create a select committee of the House, modeled after the Truman Commission established during World War II, to monitor and investigate the allocation and expenditure of federal Katrina- related funds. The American taxpayer should be assured that his and her tax dollars are not squandered on profiteers and shady operators.
Taxpayers should also be secure in the knowledge that reconstruction will not simply replicate the former housing and building stock, which included slum conditions in low-lying areas particularly prone to flooding. The post-Katrina world must be brighter and less vulnerable than the one Katrina washed away. Rejuvenation does not mean replication. Accordingly, I have proposed legislation, H.R. 3749, to convene a 21-member commission of experts - urban planners, architects, transportation specialists, financial and tourism professionals - to identify and help coordinate the steps necessary to rebuild neighborhoods in such a way that future assaults by the elements will not cause a repeat of this year's catastrophic events.
Finally, a note about priorities and the environment. The evidence is now overwhelming that global warming is a factor increasing the likely ferocity of hurricanes and possibly their incidence. It may not be a certitude that Katrina and Rita are themselves the result of global warming, but it is scientifically clear that the warming of the world's oceans provides a great energy base for hurricanes and makes it more likely that higher intensity storms will occur. Hence, the case for reduction of use of coal and petroleum products includes concern not only for the pocket book and the atmosphere, but effects on the oceans.
Sincerely,
Jim Leach Member of Congress
Please do not reply to this e-mail. The mailbox is unattended. If you wish to send me another letter, please visit my website at http://www.house.gov/leach
This guy is a typical RINO, and it is time he get off the public dole. Maybe his district will see him for what he is and tell him to "take a hike".
Leach has been a globalist fanatic for a long time. Global warming has become nothing more than a code word for global government enslavement.
The most devastating hurricane ever to hit the U.S. was in September of 1900 at Galveston, TX. That was 105 years ago. Global warming? Maybe, but it wasn't caused by anything humans were doing then.
I can't quite put my finger on the reference. I'm sure the theme song's an obvious dig at something ( CRABPEOPLE.wav).
The dust bowl in the 1930s sent thousands of starving farmers to California.
The coldest temps ever recorded in the east were in the winter of 1934.
The earth is constantly changing.
How arrogant of some humans to believe that their petty existence trumps the sun!
So .....why are the polar caps also receding on Mars?
Those Mars rovers?
Leach is a good name for all politicians. But he spelled it wrong they are Leeches.
Well I know for a fact that it is the hurricanes that cause global warming - just think of it - all that moving of air, bound to cause lots of friction, clouds bumping up against each other and all, rain moving through the air, etc., and we all know what friction can do! This idiot is mixing up cause and effect.
". . .the rest of the world watched CNN and only saw cracks in our civilization."
Well, of course; CNN thinks the United States is the worst and most evil place in the world, of course they only showed bad things.
There you go again. Causing me to LOL!
With Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, those of us in Iowa's 2nd District could easily find ourselves represented by a Democrat in the U.S. House.
Leach is arguably a fiscal conservative. We could do worse, and likely will when Leach finally retires (IF the Dems run someone to the right of Fidel Castro).
It's clear that Leach is as nutty as my congresscritter.
Does he carry a plastic bag filled with chicken entrails and rune stones in his pocket like mine?
Hey, I just found a new tagline. :-)
"Hey, I just found a new tagline. :-)"
Use it in good health and wise posts.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
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