This will be published in the upcoming issue of PWW:
Communist Party, USA Demands Full Federal Support For
Katrina Victims
Hurricane Katrina has inflicted an immense and
unspeakable tragedy on the people of the Gulf Coast.
The situation grows worse by the hour. The Mayor of
New Orleans estimates that thousands have died and as
many as 100,000 may still be trapped in the flooded
city. Without food or drinkable water, time is running
out for these men, women and children.
The Communist Party, USA expresses its fullest
sympathy and solidarity with all the people who are
suffering from the effects of the hurricane,
especially the infants, children and seniors, who are
the most vulnerable.
Five days into the crisis and the Bush Administration
is going in slow motion. We, along with national
organizations and local government, demand that the
Bush Administration throw the full weight of the
Federal Government behind rescue and recovery efforts.
The television images beamed to the world make it
clear that it is the African Americans of New Orleans
who are bearing the brunt of this catastrophe. It will
be a racist, anti-working class crime if Bush fails to
deploy enough federal resources to save them and their
homes. It will take months before the levees are
repaired, New Orleans is pumped out and 500,000
residents can return to their city.
Millions more across the Gulf region ”many working
class, from every race and walk of life”are
homeless, unemployed, in need of medical attention,
running out of money, food, water and time due to the
disaster.
What did President George W. Bush do? He was slow to
return from his month-long vacation, making an aerial
tour of the devastation on Wednesday. Then he convened
a Rose Garden news conference and offered up a laundry
list of the bags of ice, blankets, and cots he has
ordered sent to the victims. He pleaded for cash
donations from individuals. The White House later
announced that former Presidents George Bush, Sr. and
Bill Clinton would spearhead a drive for private
donations.
Putting the responsibility of solving this crisis
situation onto individuals is a cop-out. Bush wants to
dodge demands for federal aid to rebuild the shattered
lives, homes, and jobs of the victims.
Bush has made only vague allusions to federal funds.
What a contrast to his ruthless arm-twisting to ram
through Congress $200 billion for the continued
occupation of Iraq. Much of that money flowed into the
coffers of Halliburton and other military corporations
with crony ties to Bush and Dick Cheney.
We demand a massive infusion of no-strings-attached
federal aid to rebuild the homes and lives of all the
hurricane victims.
National Guard units now needed in the Gulf Coast
states are badly depleted because so many soldiers are
and so much equipment is deployed in Iraq. We demand
that these soldiers be brought home. Now! Assign them
to assist the people in rebuilding the Gulf Coast.
This calamity has brought home an inescapable truth:
We cannot afford George W. Bush's atrocious war in
Iraq.
Could this tragedy have been avoided? The U.S.
Congress, at Bush's request slashed $70 million from
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers budget for
strengthening the levees that protect New Orleans. For
years, engineers have warned that a breach in the
levees is a "disaster waiting to happen." Bush and
Congress turned a deaf ear. They needed that money to
pay for the occupation of Iraq. They needed that money
to pay for Bush's tax cuts for the rich.
Environmental degradation along the coast and malign
neglect of rural and urban communities of color turned
a natural disaster into a man-made catastrophe.
We demand that Congress reverse Bush's tax cuts and
slash the insane $500 billion Pentagon weapons budget.
Use those revenues to rebuild New Orleans and other
impoverished cities and towns across our nation.
We condemn corporate price gouging at the gas pump and
in all sales and services in the region. Gas prices
should be rolled-back at once. Corporations have done
very well in recent years due to the policies of the
Bush Administration. It is time for them to pay for
the cleanup and reconstruction of the region. No
sweetheart deals for rebuilding from Katrina!
Emphasis should be put on rescuing the victims and
immediately providing food and shelter. We call for
the repeal of the shoot-to-kill order on looters, many
who are looking for food, water, medicine and diapers
in a city with no available stores or aid.
There could be more devastating storms in the six
weeks remaining in the hurricane season. Global
warming is heating up the south Atlantic and the
Caribbean making for ever more ferocious hurricanes.
Yet our know-nothing President vetoed the Kyoto
Agreement aimed at curbing global warming, calling it
"unproven science." Bush is bought and paid for by
the energy conglomerates that reap enormous profits
from the burning of fossil fuels. His recently
approved Energy Act guarantees that millions more tons
of greenhouse gases will be pumped into the biosphere.
Its time to say enough! We demand that the U.S.
immediately ratify the Kyoto Agreement and implement
an energy program that reduces greenhouse gases.
We applaud the efforts of the NAACP and the AFL-CIO
and other organizations that have mobilized to send
material aid to the region. The efforts of hundreds of
individual volunteers, aid and rescue workers, and
courageous neighbors saved countless lives.
We stand with the suffering people of the Gulf Coast
and join with the people of the world in offering
assistance. Yet personal generosity is not enough.
Only the federal government has the resources to end
and reverse this tragedy. The best way to help is to
force George W. Bush to provide the federal assistance
owed to the victims.
Contact your Senators and Congressional
Representatives. Demand that they speak out. Call the
White House. Demand full federal funding to
reconstruct the Gulf Coast states and to rebuild New
Orleans! And let’s turnout everyone we can to join
the Sept. 24 anti-war march on Washington. Bring the
National Guard home!
Senate Switchboard, 202-224-3121
Congressional Switchboard, 202-225-3121
White House Switchboard, 202-456-1414,
comments@whitehouse.gov
AFL-CIO Union Community Fund Donations
https://secure.ga3.org/08/UCF_Katrina_ReliefNAACP Relief Donations
https://www.naacp.org/disaster/contribute.phpSouthern Empowerment Project/Community Organization
Relief Donations
http://southernempowerment.org/empower/Katrina.html
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