Pelosi: Independent Commission, Not Partisan Committee,

[Kevin Spidel]

News From House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
H-204, The Capitol, Washington D.C. 20515
http://democraticleader.house.gov
Thursday, September 8, 2005
Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616


Pelosi: Independent Commission, Not Partisan Committee, Is Necessary to Investigate Response to Hurricane Katrina


Washington, D.C. - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced today that she supports forming an independent commission to investigate the federal government's failed initial response to Hurricane Katrina, and that she would not appoint Democratic Members to Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist's bicameral committee:

"The American people want Democrats and Republicans to put their differences aside and work together to address the emergency assistance and recovery needs of the victims of Hurricane Katrina and to investigate why the initial federal response compounded the disaster. Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist had an opportunity to join Democrats in this effort and have chosen not to.

"For nearly a week, I have urged the Speaker to establish a bipartisan task force that is truly bipartisan, made up of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, has real authority to cut congressional red tape, and would have bipartisan subpoena power.

"The partisan proposal that Republican leaders outlined yesterday is completely unacceptable. House Democrats will not participate in a sham that is just the latest example of congressional Republicans being the foxes guarding the President's hen house.

"Americans want an objective assessment of what went wrong during the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Now that Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist have decided to form a partisan committee, the only way to get Americans the truth about what went wrong and correct how we respond to future disasters is by creating an independent commission. It could be modeled after the independent, bipartisan 9/11 Commission, which did a huge service to our country with its excellent report detailing the urgent task before us to make our nation safer."

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[bemildred]

1. Nancy, Nancy, it's "Independent Prosecutor", not "Independent Comission".

Where, Oh where, is Ken Starr when you need someone tenacious and
inclined to prosecute?

[sandnsea]

2. Harry Reid's Statement

So people have them both.

For Immediate Release
Thursday, September 08, 2005

Reid Floor Statement on Katrina Commission

Remarks as prepared:

Mr. President, there are many things we don’t yet know about the government’s response to Katrina, but two things are clear to us all: the federal government’s response was unacceptable and the victims and all Americans deserve to know why.

Following 9/11, preparedness for national emergencies was supposed to be a priority for this government. Americans were made to believe the government was doing everything it could to prepare for terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and other national crises.

Katrina makes it clear this government has failed.

We must find out why immediately to make sure the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina never happens again. When we faced a similar situation after September 11, Democrats and Republicans came together and established an independent, blue-ribbon Commission.

Republicans now apparently want a different approach. Yesterday, the Republicans unveiled their proposal to investigate the events of last week. They called it a "bipartisan commission."

Although I have no details on this proposal, what little I do know raises serious concerns about whether their proposal will provide Americans the answers they deserve.

One, it’s not bi-partisan. An investigation of the Republican Administration by a Republican-controlled Congress is like having a pitcher call his own balls and strikes.

Second, it does not provide a role for committees. We have a committee structure in place to investigate matters like this. After 9/11, these committees played a key role in investigating events. We have excellent chairmen and ranking members in the Senate, and they should be permitted to exercise their responsibilities.

Finally, we have seen what happens when this administration – or any administration - investigates itself. The American people will not get the real answers they deserve.

These are serious concerns about the Republican approach. Americans deserve answers independent of politics. That’s why Democrats and Republicans preferred an independent commission for investigating 9/11, and we should be following that model now.

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/?view=plink&id=1355

[Roy]

3. Dems won't participate...

Just as I was posting that the Dems shouldn't participate in the sham proposed by the repubs.

MSRNC reports that Reid and Pelosi has stated that they will appoint no Dems to the sham.

And yes, that is what they called it, a sham to coverup for the Admin.

[halobeam]

4. perfect. That's just what they should do.

Let it "look" exactly like it is. Investigating their own. If one Dem joins this, then it's over. They'd better not.