Issue Position: Katrina Recovery

Issue Position

Issue Position: Katrina Recovery

On August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, severely damaging parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana and creating a storm surge that breached the New Orleans levee system. The storm resulted in over 1,300 deaths and damages are estimated at well over $100 billion, making it the costliest storm in U.S. history.It has become clear that FEMA, the government organization tasked to manage the disaster response and recovery in the Gulf Coast, the Department of Homeland Security that houses it and the White House, had no idea how many people were displaced by the storms and had the audacity to reject temporary housing offered by Fannie Mae and others to help shelter families displaced by the storm.When it comes to protecting our communities and our families, I feel that mediocrity is just not good enough. It's an insult to the communities of Gulf Coast who endured Hurricane Katrina, both as victims and caring neighbors.I believe that the American people need to be able to trust in the government to look after their interests, instead of special interests. I have heard from too many small businesses that they were being cut out of recovery and rebuilding efforts by big out-of-state government contractors with connections. I responded by introducing bi-partisan legislation to ensure that small, local, and minority businesses are given an opportunity to compete for the very recovery contracts that impact their towns and communities as part of his work to bring transparency to questionable contracting practices that have hampered recovery efforts on the ground. I also introduced legislation requiring federal homeland security officials responsible for emergency preparedness and recovery to have the credentials to do the job - we don't need a FEMA director who is emailing about what tie to wear on TV when people are dying and living in tents.Recovery and rebuilding from the damage of Hurricane Katrina requires continued investment, research, and involvement from within our communities as much as from outside of them. Recognizing the need for a long-term partner, I also helped found a Gulf States Policy Institute with the RAND Corporation that will partner with local universities and colleges to conduct impartial, scientific research on response and recovery efforts and give independent, evidence-based policy recommendations to community leaders making daily rebuilding decisions.

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