Landrieu rips FEMA’s blank report
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu lit into top administrators of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday, criticizing the agency for submitting a new disaster housing strategy with blank pages in it.
The Louisiana Democrat, who chairs the Senate disaster recovery subcommittee, held up the 81-page report, showing the missing seven pages on critical issues ranging from low-income housing to establishing temporary housing sites. Landrieu also noted the report is a year late.
“We get blank pages late,” Landrieu said. “I can’t tell you how upsetting this is to me. This is unacceptable.”
The administrators for the beleaguered agency said the pages were left blank because they are conducting a two-month comment period that will be used to fill in the recommendations. The pages are marked “under development.”
Adm. Harvey Johnson Jr. told Landrieu the report is not the final word on the matter. The strategy will lead to a formal plan in the fall, he said.
“We’re working on the answers concurrently,” Johnson said. “You’ll find we will address each of these issues in the final version of the strategy.”
Landrieu also has expressed concern the strategy recommends that FEMA use traditional forms of temporary housing, including travel trailers.
FEMA used 140,000 trailers to house victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Federal tests of FEMA-issued travel trailers have shown high levels of formaldehyde, which can cause respiratory problems.
Landrieu said she is frustrated that trailers remain an option for disaster victims.
“I fear we are no better today than when Hurricane Katrina struck three years ago,” Landrieu said.
One change in the strategy is that trailers would be used only at the request of those states where disasters occur. Trailers also would be properly tested for formaldehyde, the report says.
Trailers remain a necessary option, Johnson said. “We did not want to take that off the table.”
Landrieu also complained that, under the plan, much of the new strategy will be implemented by a proposed national task force. The task force would have to be established by the next administration, which Landrieu said means the Bush administration is pushing off its responsibilities on the matter.
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These are not the only things your Honorable Senator was complaining of. She also commented on Senate Republicans blocking consideration of a law to protect journalists from imprisonment for keeping confidential sources’ identities. The procedural vote of 51 to 43 fell nine votes shy of the 60 required to move forward the Free Flow of Information Act, S. 2035. “I am very disappointed that 43 of my colleagues chose to put partisan games ahead of protecting our free press’ ability to serve its important watchdog role in our society,” said Senator Landrieu, a cosponsor of the legislation. “The decision to employ un-attributed sources is not one that journalists should take lightly, but it is often the only path to exposing important information to the cleansing light of public scrutiny. This has certainly been the case in reporting the federal bureaucracy’s failed response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the flooding that followed, as well as the flawed decisions behind wholly inadequate federal levee construction. As such, the right to draw upon such sources, free of judicial intimidation, is essential to providing proper checks on our government,” Landrieu said in a press release. She is one of the few in Washington not asleep at the wheel. America needs more brave and wise hearts, such as hers, leading this country.
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First off, journalists keeping their sources private is protected higher than state laws, tehya re also protected under federal laws. Amendment 1? Why wasn't anyone asking her why SHE didn't take the intiative during Katrina and just put all the blame on FEMA? When SHE only helped faciliate the lack of services after Katrina hit. A week it took anyone to get in there, and that was even after several political people came in (or flew over in Bush's case) before that week was up. Mayor Nagin even failed his own people. He should have said to heck with the federal government and did something for HIS city. But then again, it's the people in that city, that re-elected him once again. Guess we still live in a lazy world of "let's have a hurricane party" then complain when the government isn't helping you after YOU CHOSE to stay behind.
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Senator Landrieu was in the middle of the Katrina business from the start, so much so that some of the radio talk show hosts were referring to her as Katrina Mary. Of course they didn’t mean it in a complimentary sense and they soon stopped that reference when Bobby Jindal jumped in as well. You can find things to complain about with each person and level of government in the aftermath of the twin disasters of 2005 and people will be doing so for years. You cannot rightfully accuse Senator Landrieu of failing to take the initiative during the Katrina recovery process. Our government is becoming more secretive as time passes and finds more ways to monitor what its citizens are doing. I see nothing at all wrong in assuring that reporters can protect their sources because sometimes those sources are people who are on the “inside” and we would not otherwise know what our government is doing. The 1st amendment to the Constitution does not directly protect sources of information, although perhaps it has been used to do with limited success. Among other things, it protects the right of free speech and the press and even those rights are not absolute. Personally, I do not want to live under a system where the only information that we receive about the operations of our government is what it reports from official sources and that is basically what we would be left with without “insider” sources.
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The blank pages were likely necessary to help Sen. Landrieu understand them better. Fear not however, she will surely propose some kind of legislation to use tax payers money to fund all those who had to see the blank pages.
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Lou" Did you read the article? Do you understand that Senator is at the federal level - not state a senator? That she is trying to keep the right for the press keep their sources private and from prosecution. Keep the FIRST amendment intact. -The press and freedom of speech is a coner stone to our freedoms. As citizens we have a responsibility to read the news. Check this out “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_the_press” Its a real eye-opener. "
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Lou, "Guess we still live in a lazy world of "let's have a hurricane party" then complain when the government isn't helping you after YOU CHOSE to stay behind." What does this have to do with holding people responsible for the breakdown at the national level in disasters? "Staying around for a hurricane party" does not describe the residents of the our state. Many had nowhere to go and no way to get there. Look at the beaches where people hold hurricane parties. Were you here with savings and an income to move and then come back and rebuild completely? Senator Landrieu has fought to hold the national agency for disaster relief responsible, as they should be.
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Sure FEMA is a ripoff--it's a government agency, isn't it?? That's all our government is these days.Where is FEMA in Iowa and Missouri??? How much help did the Mississippi Gulf coast residents get from FEMA?? Why is only New Orleans in the news about all this?? Why should our government pay those idiots that chose to stay there?? Responsibility--Where is "Chocolate Ray" when responsibility is handed out?? Why were all those busses flooded when they could have hauled folks out?? Why did those people stay put--one word answer here--LOOT!!!!!!! And they are STILL looting the government(taxpayers) today, 3 years later--and probably always will. It's in their genes to do so. Always will be--they have been "groomed" from birth for that way of life. Get mad if you like, but it is still there--that's the way it is!!!
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Go Senator Landrieu!! FEMA is a joke and should be held responsible - that this whole fiasco has taken so long, and has been such an incredibly ridiculous process is unforgivable - if you ask me, Landrieu went rather easy on these fools!
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Another opportune time to call for the dissolution of the unconstitutional agency known as FEMA. Funny though, you don't hear Landrieu leading the call, do you? People of Landrieu's mindset will never loosen their grip on your lives and your money. Never.
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Anyone here remeber the response to Hurricane Andrew (1992)? FEMA works when it is a separate entity with a mission to provide help for disaster relief. It has been made useless by subverting its mission in this administration. FEMA is not functional has an entity of Homeland Security. That farce of a group has taken afluid efficient group and made it cumbersome.
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Does anyone know how FEMA was originated. It sure looks to me like this agency is a scapegoat for the blame game. It used to be a country where the citizens controlled their own destiny, now if things don't go the way they think it should,they just look for someone to blame. I would like to see the federal tab for this agency for the work done in N.O. compared to expenditures per capita in other disaster stricken areas of the country.
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NEW HEADLINE- Cajun Jedi Rips Senator's Blank Brain.
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