[StBernard] Excerpts from Governor's testimony before Congress-CORRECTED

[Westley Annis]

Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
December 14, 2005
Excerpts from the Governor's testimony before the U.S. House Select
Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane
Katrina


We are thankful for our fellow Americans. The states responded when we
needed help.

"People from across America and the world extended a warm embrace to
Louisiana in response to Katrina and Rita, and I thank you. You opened your
homes, wallets and classrooms, and uplifted us with your prayers. The Red
Cross and faith-based organizations went the extra mile. 

"I want to offer a special thanks to the governors and officials from all 50
states, four territories, and the District of Columbia who sent National
Guard troops and other first responders in response to my plea for
assistance." 

"You also welcomed our people in states all over this country, and many of
you are still helping three months later. Thank you for your generosity.
Know that we are doing everything we can to bring our people home." 

If we can rebuild Baghdad, we can rebuild New Orleans. 

"If I achieve nothing else today, it would be to urge you to reconsider the
gravity of our situation. I would like to leave Washington, DC with a
message of hope coming from Congress. After World War II our decision to
rebuild Europe was far-sighted and courageous. History will treat us well if
we exhibit the same kind of political courage now." 

Katrina was a natural disaster. The levees failing was a man-made disaster.
People would have walked home from the Superdome had the levees not failed.
Congress would not be having these hearings had the levees not failed.

"Hurricanes are a way of life for all of us in the Gulf South. We have
rebounded from these storms for generations. What happened to us this year,
however, can only be described as a catastrophe of Biblical proportions. We
in Louisiana know hurricanes and hurricanes know us. We would not be here
today if the levees had not failed." 

Families won't come home if they don't feel safe. Congress needs to set five
specific priorities in this recovery. 

"There are important steps Congress must take in support of our recovery,
and that is why I am here today. There are endless needs that must be
addressed. Today I ask you to focus on five specific priorities:

Strengthen our levee system and rebuilding our coastal wetlands;
Restore housing;
Direct special tax incentives to affected businesses and families; 
Address health care needs; 
Provide support for our displaced students and schools."

Louisiana has learned many valuable lessons. The nation and the states can
learn from our experience.

"We are writing the book on lessons learned in a catastrophe of this
magnitude, and I recommend five hard-core musts for Congress and the private
sector to consider. They are:

Achieving Interoperability;
Reforming the Stafford Act to address Mega-disasters;
Focusing on the Elderly in Disasters; 
Adopting First Responder emergency agreements; and 
Negotiating Agreements with the Private Sector. 

"You can't coordinate if you can't communicate. What we experienced in
Katrina was not a failure to communicate, but an inability to communicate.
Four years after 9-11, our nation should have learned this lesson. Prior to
Katrina, I instructed the Louisiana State Police to make interoperability
our top homeland security priority. We were making the investments to move
our first responders to the new emergency 700-megahertz frequency and will
continue to do so. This is an expensive process, but we have to continue
this investment." 

"We learned from Katrina the vulnerability of the elderly in the event of a
catastrophe. It breaks my heart that the elderly were disproportionately the
victims of this storm. We are looking into this tragedy at a state level,
and we will share our recommendations so we can all do more to protect the
elderly in the event of a natural disaster or a terrorist attack." 

"Normal procedures for large hospitals in the event of hurricanes are to
shelter in place. In a hurricane prone region such as the Gulf Coast, it
would be impractical to fly patients in frail health all over the country
every time serious storms threaten. With the movement and threat posed only
by Hurricane Katrina, all coastal hospitals and nursing homes from Florida,
Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana would have evacuated. 

"Large hospitals during a storm seek to remain open so they will have the
capacity to treat hurricane-related injuries. We must do a better job at
ensuring that hospitals that do remain open are able to retain power in the
event of a flood. Federal funding should be made available to protect
generators from floodwaters." 

"The private sector needs to step up to the plate too on lessons learned
from Katrina. For example, some major airlines ceased flying into the New
Orleans area on Saturday before the storm hit on Monday, in spite of the
fact that they could have flown safely through noon on Sunday. This decision
left thousands of tourists stranded. I encourage the airline industry to
adopt voluntary agreements to at least fly tourists out of threatened areas
as part of a larger emergency network." 

We need Congress to extend the hand of the American people as offered by our
President.

"Down in Louisiana, our people watch the national news and they hear about
something called Katrina fatigue....they hear that Congress are tired of
talking about the storm and the problems of the Louisiana people. Well,
we're tired of it too. We're tired of the tears. We're tired of the
suffering. We're tired of being out of our homes and turned out of our
businesses. We're tired of the separation of our families. Our people are
anxious to renew, rebuild and restore. We don't want your pity, we just need
a little help."


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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), Louisiana's fund for
Louisiana's people, has been established by Governor Kathleen Babineaux
Blanco in order to support long-term family restoration and recovery and
help provide assistance to our citizens in need through a network of
Louisiana charities and non-profit agencies.

1-877-HELPLA1 (877-435-7521) www.louisianahelp.org