In the wake of President Bush’s veto of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, federal action on stem cell research will be delayed at least a year, leaving the states to continue to take the lead on supporting this life-saving research. But how will the research proceed in the current political climate both nationally and locally?

In their book Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security, Christopher Cooper and Robert Block provide a perspective that challenges conventional wisdom regarding Hurricane Katrina. The federal homeland security architecture put in place after 9/11 failed; however, this failure was not inevitable. The disaster unfolded as experts had predicted, many of whom were within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) itself. A hurricane much like Katrina was among 15 catastrophe planning scenarios that DHS knew it must be prepared for, but, when the test came, DHS was not ready.
The largely ineffective federal response was in large part due to poor communication both at the federal level and between federal, state, and local organizations. DHS lacked situational awareness at critical times, even though there was plenty of information flowing up the chain of command that accurately described the unfolding disaster. This resulting loss of 24-36 hours in response time turned Katrina into a national tragedy.
Please join us for a panel discussion using the benefits of hindsight to address what went wrong one year ago and how this disaster reflects on the current state of homeland security.  The authors of Disaster will be joined by PJ Crowley and Oliver Thomas in evaluating the current state of recovery along the Gulf Coast and the extent of the challenges that lay ahead.