Congressman Harold Ford today co-sponsored legislation establishing an independent commission to investigate the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina and to assess our ability to respond to future catastrophic emergencies.In a statement, Congressman Ford said:
"We need to determine what went wrong with our response to Hurricane Katrina, not to assign blame, but to ensure that the mistakes that were made do not happen again. An independent commission, similar to the one that investigated the 9/11 attacks, is necessary because government cannot effectively investigate itself.
"We need to act promptly. The commission should thoroughly investigate our disaster response capability over the next 45 days and then report back to Congress and the President with specific recommendations for improvement. Congress should then develop legislation to put those proposals into action.
"This is not a time for politics. We need to ensure that the next time disaster strikes - whether by natural or man-made causes - the American people will no longer be left to wonder who is in charge."
