Nbadan
09-15-2005, 02:36 PM
La. Governor Takes Responsibility For Hurricane Response
Blanco: 'The Buck Stops Here'
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana's governor said she is taking "full responsibility" for the failures and missteps in the immediate response to Hurricane Katrina.
And, Kathleen Blanco said, as governor, "the buck stops here."
She told lawmakers in a special meeting of the state Legislature that there were failures at every level of government: state, federal and local. And she said leaders must take a careful look at what went wrong and "make sure it never happens again."
...
Blanco called Bush "a friend and partner" in the recovery effort. And she described plans for a rebuilding effort that would span all levels of government but would be funded with federal money.
Carolina Channel (http://www.thecarolinachannel.com/news/4975718/detail.html)
There have been rumors circulating that the reason Governor Blanco seems to be kissing up to Bush now is because the FEDS have threatened to hold back FED rebuilding money for Louisiana if she didnt. There is one substantiated report that a Louisiana Republican Congressman proposed holding back FED rebuilding money as punishment to the State Government.
Either way, it seems curious why Governor Blanco would accept any responsibility given that it has already been established that she took all the necessary steps as Governor by a Nonpartisan Congressional report...
Nonpartisan congressional research report finds Louisiana governor took necessary steps
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report Tuesday afternoon asserting that Louisiana governor Katherine Blanco took the necessary and timely steps needed to secure disaster relief from the federal government, RAW STORY has learned.
The report, which comes after a request by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) to review the law and legal accountability relating to Federal action in response to Hurricane Katrina, unequivocally concludes that she did.
"This report closes the book on the Bush Administration's attempts to evade accountability," Conyers said in a statement. "The Bush Administration was caught napping at a critical time."
The report found that:
...
The Governor did indeed make such a request, which was both timely and in compliance with federal law. The report finds that "Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco requested by letter dated August 27, 2005...that the President declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period from August 26, 2005 and continuing pursuant to " and "Governor Blanco's August 27,2005 request for an emergency declaration also included her determination...that 'the incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of disaster."
The full report will be available soon on the House Democrats' Judiciary website.
Blanco: 'The Buck Stops Here'
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana's governor said she is taking "full responsibility" for the failures and missteps in the immediate response to Hurricane Katrina.
And, Kathleen Blanco said, as governor, "the buck stops here."
She told lawmakers in a special meeting of the state Legislature that there were failures at every level of government: state, federal and local. And she said leaders must take a careful look at what went wrong and "make sure it never happens again."
...
Blanco called Bush "a friend and partner" in the recovery effort. And she described plans for a rebuilding effort that would span all levels of government but would be funded with federal money.
Carolina Channel (http://www.thecarolinachannel.com/news/4975718/detail.html)
There have been rumors circulating that the reason Governor Blanco seems to be kissing up to Bush now is because the FEDS have threatened to hold back FED rebuilding money for Louisiana if she didnt. There is one substantiated report that a Louisiana Republican Congressman proposed holding back FED rebuilding money as punishment to the State Government.
Either way, it seems curious why Governor Blanco would accept any responsibility given that it has already been established that she took all the necessary steps as Governor by a Nonpartisan Congressional report...
Nonpartisan congressional research report finds Louisiana governor took necessary steps
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report Tuesday afternoon asserting that Louisiana governor Katherine Blanco took the necessary and timely steps needed to secure disaster relief from the federal government, RAW STORY has learned.
The report, which comes after a request by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) to review the law and legal accountability relating to Federal action in response to Hurricane Katrina, unequivocally concludes that she did.
"This report closes the book on the Bush Administration's attempts to evade accountability," Conyers said in a statement. "The Bush Administration was caught napping at a critical time."
The report found that:
...
The Governor did indeed make such a request, which was both timely and in compliance with federal law. The report finds that "Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco requested by letter dated August 27, 2005...that the President declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period from August 26, 2005 and continuing pursuant to " and "Governor Blanco's August 27,2005 request for an emergency declaration also included her determination...that 'the incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of disaster."
The full report will be available soon on the House Democrats' Judiciary website.