Are We Prepared for Another Katrina?
CAP report offers emergency preparedness guidance as House and Senate committees consider the path forward in the Gulf Coast.
Congress will continue hearings tomorrow to discuss these issues; the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery will meet in D.C., and the House Small Business Committee will take advantage of the recess to hold a field hearing in
- Implement an effective emergency public health response system
- Invest more in disaster and climate change preparedness and planning
- Streamline federal and state relief benefits and break the logjam on federal funds
- Redouble our commitment to building and protecting critical infrastructure
- Create a rapid response housing voucher program to better shelter people during and after emergencies
- Ensure federal assistance in returning displaced children to school and finding teachers for devastated school districts
- Finance preparedness efforts through offsets in other areas, particularly from counterproductive spending and unfair tax policies
- Create an independent Federal Disaster Graft Protection Commission to ensure that taxpayer funds are not abused in any major disaster.
It’s time now for us to begin rectifying the massive failures of vision and competency that continue to adversely affect hundreds of thousands of residents in the Gulf region. These recommendations are a good place to start.
Read the full report:
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