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The Emerging Democratic Majority WebLog - DonkeyRising: "Dems Must Lead Katrina Relief"

One of the more painful lessons in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is the terrible price of political neglect of America’s deteriorating infrastructure. Sidney Blumenthal’s article “No One Can Say They Didn’t See It Coming” in Salon puts it this way:

In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war…In 2004, the Bush administration cut funding requested by the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by more than 80 percent. Additional cuts at the beginning of this year (for a total reduction in funding of 44.2 percent since 2001) forced the New Orleans district of the Corps to impose a hiring freeze.

Republicans have rarely provided adequate support for needed public works projects in the U.S., such as strengthening the levees in New Orleans, preferring, for example, to squander taxpayer dollars on dubious Halliburton projects in Iraq. As long-time advocates of public works projects, Democrats have an edge in providing the leadership needed to get New Orleans and other Gulf communities up and running, and we need to amplify the call for critical infrastructure repair as a national priority.

In a related piece, TPM Caf�quotes a June 8, 2004 article in the New Orleans Times-Picayune by Sheila Grissett:

The challenge now, said emergency management chiefs Walter Maestri in Jefferson Parish and Terry Tullier in New Orleans, is for southeast Louisiana somehow to persuade those who control federal spending that protection from major storms and flooding are matters of homeland security.

"It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay," Maestri said. "Nobody locally is happy that the levees can't be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."

Yes we know. Now is not the time for political bickering, and Americans need to pull together to support the relief effort in New Orleans and the Gulf communities. But now is the time to recalibrate federal spending priorities, and Dems must lead the way.
Posted by Pete Ross at 07:19 AM | link

CHRONOLOGY....Here's a timeline that outlines the fate of both FEMA and flood control projects in New Orleans under the Bush administration. Read it and weep:

• January 2001: Bush appoints Joe Allbaugh, a crony from Texas, as head of FEMA. Allbaugh has no previous experience in disaster management.

• April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the Bush administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work. In May, Allbaugh confirms that FEMA will be downsized: "Many are concerned that federal disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement program...." he said. "Expectations of when the federal government should be involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is an appropriate level."

• 2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the three "likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country."

• December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh announces he is leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management.

• March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded into the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is refocused on fighting acts of terrorism.

• 2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and Response. FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery.

• Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: "You would think we would get maximum consideration....This is what the grant program called for. We were more than qualified for it."

• June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish emergency management chiefs Walter Maestri comments: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay."

• June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million. One of the hardest-hit areas is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes.

• August 2005: While New Orleans is undergoing a slow motion catastrophe, Bush mugs for the cameras, cuts a cake for John McCain, plays the guitar for Mark Wills, delivers an address about V-J day, and continues with his vacation. When he finally gets around to acknowledging the scope of the unfolding disaster, he delivers only a photo op on Air Force One and a flat, defensive, laundry list speech in the Rose Garden.
  

A crony with no relevant experience was installed as head of FEMA. Mitigation budgets for New Orleans were slashed even though it was known to be one of the top three risks in the country. FEMA was deliberately downsized as part of the Bush administration's conservative agenda to reduce the role of government. After DHS was created, FEMA's preparation and planning functions were taken away.

Actions have consequences. No one could predict that a hurricane the size of Katrina would hit this year, but the slow federal response when it did happen was no accident. It was the result of four years of deliberate Republican policy and budget choices that favor ideology and partisan loyalty at the expense of operational competence. It's the Bush administration in a nutshell.

—Kevin Drum 1:19 PM Permalink

The Democratic Party: "Bush Claims the Disaster Wasn't Predictable

Bush today:

I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.

New Orleans Times Picayune story from June 8, 2004:

'When levees are below grade, as ours are in many spots right now, they're more vulnerable to waves pouring over them and degrading them,' Naomi said. 'We're not below storm-surge elevation yet, but we will be if we stop raising our levees as they subside.'

Bush budget falls short

The Bush administration's proposed fiscal 2005 budget includes only $3.9 million for the east bank hurricane project. Congress likely will increase that amount, although last year it bumped up the administration's $3 million proposal only to $5.5 million.

'I needed $11 million this year, and I got $5.5 million,' Naomi said. 'I need $22.5 million next year to do everything that needs doing, and the first $4.5 million of that will go to pay four contractors who couldn't get paid this year.'

Bush is already focusing on avoiding any kind of accountability for this tragedy. But his budget cuts are responsible for for what we're seeing.

UPDATE: FEMA identified this scenario as one of the three most likely disasters that could hit the country back in 2001.

The full Times-Picayune story from June 2004 is after the jump.

Keep reading 'Bush Claims the Disaster Wasn't Predictable'"