Blanco: 'I take full responsibility'
Blanco: 'I take full responsibility'
Sept 15, 2005, 8:20 AM
(AP) -- Echoing the words of President Bush a day earlier, Gov. Kathleen Blanco took responsibility Wednesday for failures and missteps in the immediate response to Hurricane Katrina and pledged a united effort to rebuild New Orleans and the surrounding parishes ravaged by the storm.
"We all know that there were failures at every level of government: state, federal and local. At the state level, we must take a careful look at what went wrong and make sure it never happens again. The buck stops here, and as your governor, I take full responsibility," Blanco told lawmakers in a special meeting of the Louisiana Legislature.
Criticism for the sluggish evacuation and search and recovery efforts has been directed to all levels of government. The director of FEMA resigned in the aftermath of Katrina, replaced with a more experienced disaster manager, and President Bush said Tuesday that he accepted responsibility for any instances that the federal government "didn't fully do its job right."
Blanco spoke of learning lessons from the disaster and moving forward with a rebuilding effort that spanned all levels of government, although funded with 100 percent federal money. The Democratic governor called President Bush "a friend and partner" in the recovery effort, despite complaints in recent days that the federal government was slow and disrespectful in the collection of the dead.
Rep. Arthur Morrell, D-New Orleans, said Blanco should have criticized FEMA and complained about the diversion of National Guard members overseas, guardsmen he said could have prevented looting and violence in New Orleans in the days following the storm.
"If we had the National Guard here instead of in Iraq, we wouldn't have had riots," Morrell said.
However, many lawmakers praised Blanco's bipartisan tone, saying there would be time later -- after people had homes, jobs and restored communities -- to debate who was to blame for the slow response and the stranding of thousands of people in a city under mandatory evacuation order.
"What I heard was encouraging to me. It seems like everybody's laid their swords down, and now we're focusing on the people," said Sen. Walter Boasso, R-Chalmette, whose home of St. Bernard Parish was almost entirely demolished by Katrina, no structure undamaged.
The head of the House's Republican caucus, Rep. Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown, said the governor hit the appropriate pitch of nonpartisanship for a storm that crossed political, racial and geographic lines.
Bush's new FEMA director, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen, who took charge of the hurricane rescue efforts last week, sat in the House chamber for the governor's nearly 20 minute speech next to James Lee Witt, the former FEMA director Blanco hired to advise her.
Responding to calls for accountability and oversight in the spending of billions of dollars in federal cash on its way to Louisiana, Blanco said she would appoint an outside financial adviser to oversee the cash flow and was directing state agencies to limit their spending.
Thirty U.S. Homeland Security Department investigators and auditors already are being sent to the Gulf Coast to ensure federal funds are properly distributed in the rescue, relief and rebuilding process. Three of Blanco's predecessors also asked federal officials to appoint a task force of independent business leaders to make sure the cash is well spent.
"I assure the Congress and every American taxpayer that every nickel will be properly spent," Blanco said.
The governor's talk of rebuilding comes as thousands of displaced evacuees remain in shelters around the state and country, environmental officials test air and water to determine which storm-ravaged areas are safe for residents to return and emergency workers continue to collect bodies.
Blanco said the relief effort should include financial help to rebuild homes, tax relief and loans for businesses to stay afloat and an extension of unemployment benefits. She said she asked FEMA to give priority to Louisiana businesses and employees in the rebuilding.
And she directed words to the more than one million Louisiana residents she said evacuated to other parts of the state and across the country. "I am telling each and every one of you: we want you back home," she said.
The governor said she saw hopeful signs that southeast Louisiana was starting to recover, including lights on in New Orleans' Central Business District, the reopening of the city's airport, banks and hospitals open in Jefferson Parish and the first ship docking at the Port of Orleans.
"New Orleans and the surrounding parishes may be ravaged, but our spirit remains intact. To anyone who even suggests that this great city should not be rebuilt, hear this and hear it well: We will rebuild," Blanco said.
The governor said the reconstruction effort won't just recreate the same infrastructure, failed schools in New Orleans and troubled health care system, but will improve the communities that were damaged by Katrina.
She offered praise -- and lawmakers gave a standing ovation -- to a group of police officers, doctors, national guardsmen, members of the Coast Guard, helicopter pilots and wildlife agents who worked in the rescue effort, in some instances plucking people from rooftops and floodwaters.
The Legislature didn't conduct any business or take any votes while meeting Wednesday. But legislative leaders have said they expect to call a special session in the upcoming months to address rebuilding and recovery needs for parishes harmed by the storm. They also will have to grapple with crippling budget problems caused by Katrina, the movement of thousands of taxpayers outside of the state and the shutdown of businesses, schools and local government agencies.
Sen Francis Heitmeier, D-New Orleans, said Katrina is projected to cost the state more than $1 billion in lost revenue.
http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3853259&nav=EyAzeYIW
Sept 15, 2005, 8:20 AM
(AP) -- Echoing the words of President Bush a day earlier, Gov. Kathleen Blanco took responsibility Wednesday for failures and missteps in the immediate response to Hurricane Katrina and pledged a united effort to rebuild New Orleans and the surrounding parishes ravaged by the storm.
"We all know that there were failures at every level of government: state, federal and local. At the state level, we must take a careful look at what went wrong and make sure it never happens again. The buck stops here, and as your governor, I take full responsibility," Blanco told lawmakers in a special meeting of the Louisiana Legislature.
Criticism for the sluggish evacuation and search and recovery efforts has been directed to all levels of government. The director of FEMA resigned in the aftermath of Katrina, replaced with a more experienced disaster manager, and President Bush said Tuesday that he accepted responsibility for any instances that the federal government "didn't fully do its job right."
Blanco spoke of learning lessons from the disaster and moving forward with a rebuilding effort that spanned all levels of government, although funded with 100 percent federal money. The Democratic governor called President Bush "a friend and partner" in the recovery effort, despite complaints in recent days that the federal government was slow and disrespectful in the collection of the dead.
Rep. Arthur Morrell, D-New Orleans, said Blanco should have criticized FEMA and complained about the diversion of National Guard members overseas, guardsmen he said could have prevented looting and violence in New Orleans in the days following the storm.
"If we had the National Guard here instead of in Iraq, we wouldn't have had riots," Morrell said.
However, many lawmakers praised Blanco's bipartisan tone, saying there would be time later -- after people had homes, jobs and restored communities -- to debate who was to blame for the slow response and the stranding of thousands of people in a city under mandatory evacuation order.
"What I heard was encouraging to me. It seems like everybody's laid their swords down, and now we're focusing on the people," said Sen. Walter Boasso, R-Chalmette, whose home of St. Bernard Parish was almost entirely demolished by Katrina, no structure undamaged.
The head of the House's Republican caucus, Rep. Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown, said the governor hit the appropriate pitch of nonpartisanship for a storm that crossed political, racial and geographic lines.
Bush's new FEMA director, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen, who took charge of the hurricane rescue efforts last week, sat in the House chamber for the governor's nearly 20 minute speech next to James Lee Witt, the former FEMA director Blanco hired to advise her.
Responding to calls for accountability and oversight in the spending of billions of dollars in federal cash on its way to Louisiana, Blanco said she would appoint an outside financial adviser to oversee the cash flow and was directing state agencies to limit their spending.
Thirty U.S. Homeland Security Department investigators and auditors already are being sent to the Gulf Coast to ensure federal funds are properly distributed in the rescue, relief and rebuilding process. Three of Blanco's predecessors also asked federal officials to appoint a task force of independent business leaders to make sure the cash is well spent.
"I assure the Congress and every American taxpayer that every nickel will be properly spent," Blanco said.
The governor's talk of rebuilding comes as thousands of displaced evacuees remain in shelters around the state and country, environmental officials test air and water to determine which storm-ravaged areas are safe for residents to return and emergency workers continue to collect bodies.
Blanco said the relief effort should include financial help to rebuild homes, tax relief and loans for businesses to stay afloat and an extension of unemployment benefits. She said she asked FEMA to give priority to Louisiana businesses and employees in the rebuilding.
And she directed words to the more than one million Louisiana residents she said evacuated to other parts of the state and across the country. "I am telling each and every one of you: we want you back home," she said.
The governor said she saw hopeful signs that southeast Louisiana was starting to recover, including lights on in New Orleans' Central Business District, the reopening of the city's airport, banks and hospitals open in Jefferson Parish and the first ship docking at the Port of Orleans.
"New Orleans and the surrounding parishes may be ravaged, but our spirit remains intact. To anyone who even suggests that this great city should not be rebuilt, hear this and hear it well: We will rebuild," Blanco said.
The governor said the reconstruction effort won't just recreate the same infrastructure, failed schools in New Orleans and troubled health care system, but will improve the communities that were damaged by Katrina.
She offered praise -- and lawmakers gave a standing ovation -- to a group of police officers, doctors, national guardsmen, members of the Coast Guard, helicopter pilots and wildlife agents who worked in the rescue effort, in some instances plucking people from rooftops and floodwaters.
The Legislature didn't conduct any business or take any votes while meeting Wednesday. But legislative leaders have said they expect to call a special session in the upcoming months to address rebuilding and recovery needs for parishes harmed by the storm. They also will have to grapple with crippling budget problems caused by Katrina, the movement of thousands of taxpayers outside of the state and the shutdown of businesses, schools and local government agencies.
Sen Francis Heitmeier, D-New Orleans, said Katrina is projected to cost the state more than $1 billion in lost revenue.
http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3853259&nav=EyAzeYIW
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