February 15, 2008

Senators Grill Chertoff On Grants & FEMA Trailers

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff received brief expressions of praise from the members of the Senate oversight committee for his department's achievements yesterday, and then had to endure prolonged bipartisan grilling and protests over his proposed FY09 budget and a wide array of other issues.

Nearly every member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee protested the budget's proposed "cuts" in state and local homeland security grants.

Chertoff repeatedly noted that the grant levels requested were the same as in the FY08 budget but that Congress had increased them. He said the latest request for $50.5 billion represented "very difficult tradeoffs" among many high-priority needs, but the grants were funded at an appropriate level.

Continue reading "Senators Grill Chertoff On Grants & FEMA Trailers"

Posted at 9:10 AM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Congress, Katrina, Senate
Share via

February 06, 2008

White House Keeping Eye On Storm Aftermath

The White House sought to convey a message to the thousands of victims of deadly storms that hit the South last night: We're on top of it.

Following the fumbled response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Bush administration has been closely watched during subsequent natural disasters. Yesterday, President Bush authorized emergency federal disaster assistance to Missouri, and this morning, he offered thoughts and prayers to the victims.

"I do want the people in these states to know the American people are standing with them," he said, adding that he pledged federal disaster assistance to the affected states.

More than 50 people have died in the violent storms and tornadoes that hit Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to CNN. States of emergency have been declared throughout those states, and teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are on the ground.

Continue reading "White House Keeping Eye On Storm Aftermath"

Posted at 1:15 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Homeland Security, Katrina, President Bush
Share via

August 29, 2007

Hurricane Katrina, Two Years Later

UPDATED.

Commemorating the moment Hurricane Katrina smashed the levees protecting New Orleans on this day in 2005, a huge crowd of people rang individual bells for two minutes at an event this morning. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (D) addressed the assembly, saying, "We ring the bells for a city that is in recovery. It is struggling and performing miracles on a daily basis."

"We ring the bells for hope that the promise that was made at Jackson Square will become a reality and will restore a confidence in government at all levels," Nagin said, referring to President Bush's assurances of federal assistance during a September 2005 speech at the French Quarter landmark.

Those bells rang out as Bush himself touched on a similar topic before a different crowd in New Orleans. Speaking at a charter school, Bush also took up bureaucracy and the divide between the levels of government, saying that after the storm, people in New Orleans "probably wondered whether those in the federal government... would pay attention to whether or not progress is begin made. And I hope people understand we're still paying attention. We understand."

Continue reading "Hurricane Katrina, Two Years Later"

Posted at 11:55 AM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Katrina, President Bush
Share via

June 12, 2007

100 Katrina Victims Still Await Burial

Nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of New Orleans, 100 bodies of victims remain housed in a warehouse near the Superdome.

CNN reports that 70 of those bodies have been identified, but relatives are simply "too poor" or otherwise unable to claim them. The names of the other 30 victims are still unknown.

Dr. Frank Minyard, New Orleans' coroner, has so far raised $250,000 of the $400,000 he says is needed to break ground on a mausoleum for the unclaimed bodies. For now, those 100 people rest in numbered plastic-wrapped coffins inside the unmarked warehouse.

CNN.com has video of the on-air segment.

Posted at 10:55 AM
Posted to: Katrina
Share via