I know its fashionable for those on the right to point the finger at the left, but this was a massive failure of government on all levels. And the feds share much of the blame for ignoring repeated requests to shore up the levee system and cutting the budget to do so. I've attached a story below from the Associated Press (hopefully, that's not considered liberal media).
Bush, Congress to Investigate Response
Sep 06 1:11 PM US/Eastern
By WILL LESTER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
President Bush and Congress pledged separate investigations into the widely panned federal response to Hurricane Katrina on Tuesday as Senate Democrats said the government's share of relief and recovery may top $150 billion.
"Bureaucracy is not going to stand in the way of getting the job done for the people," Bush said after meeting at the White House with his Cabinet on storm recovery efforts.
"Governments at all levels failed," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said at the Capitol. She announced that the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee would hold hearings, adding, "It is difficult to understand the lack of preparedness and the ineffective initial response to a disaster that had been predicted for years, and for which specific, dire warnings had been given for days."
Stung by criticism, Bush called congressional leaders to the White House for a meeting, their first since the hurricane spread death and destruction on a fearsome scope along the Gulf Coast and left much of New Orleans under several feet of floodwaters.
Congress formally returned from a five-week summer break during the day, signaling that the hurricane would take top billing on the agenda in the coming weeks.
The response "needs to be first and foremost," said Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., although he, like Bush, also stressed the GOP goal of confirming John Roberts as the next chief justice by the time the Supreme Court convenes on Oct. 3.
Congress approved $10.5 billion as an initial downpayment for hurricane relief last week, and Senate Democrats were consulting among themselves in advance of the White House meeting.
One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was possible Democrats would request as much as $50 billion as a next installment.
"I believe that the recovery and relief operations will cost up to and could exceed $150 billion. FEMA alone will likely require $100 billion in additional funding," Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in a statement issued after he talked with relief officials and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. An aide to Reid, Rebecca Kirszner, added, "Our priorities right now are targeted assistance for health care, housing and education."
Apart from the investigation announced by Collins and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., the Senate Energy Committee arranged hearings on gasoline prices. The hurricane disrupted oil production and distribution in the Gulf of Mexico,
I've said before that FEMA needs to be looked into.
It's also very painfully clear that there were criminal levels of failure at the state and local leve in Louisiana.
The New Orleans emergency plan seems to have consisted of having the Mayor panic.
why Mark, are you playing the Blame Game here. PLease include the Feds in the mix of the blame. Massive failure of government on all levels and that includes the Feds.
Anonymous, work on your reading skills. I have said multiple times that FEMA needs investigating.
It is also very clear that was deadly mistakes made at the local levels as well.
I've not seen much from the Bush-Haters about the failures of state and city government in New Orleans.
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