But here are my notes from the month after Katrina hit.
Sen Kerry Katrina Response
8/30/2005 Our thoughts and prayers go out to the thousands of families affected by Hurricane Katrina. Katrina's unprecedented devastation has cost those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi their homes, their loved ones, even their lives. Our great nation must come together to comfort and bring relief to those in the Gulf Coast suffering from this blow. Local leaders and National Guard forces have bravely started the effort, but they need all of our help. Please visit the link below to learn how you can help our fellow Americans affected by Hurricane Katrina.
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/home.cfm 8/31/2005 Dear XXXXXXXXX, This is a time for all Americans to pull together and do everything we can to assist people whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. If you haven't acted already, I urge you to join in delivering immediate help to the people who need it most. One way to do that is to support the relief and recovery efforts of the Red Cross with a personal donation.
8/31/2005 "Hurricane Katrina devastated significant portions of the Gulf Coast and disrupted millions of lives but she didn’t and couldn’t destroy the spirit of endurance, bravery, generosity and compassion we have been witnessing during the relief and rescue operations. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama as they struggle with the aftermath of this devastating storm, and to their loved ones and families viewing the disturbing photos coming out of the region. Now is the time for all of us to come together to help the evacuees, refugees and survivors and rebuild the communities that have lost so much.
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2005_08_... 9/2/2005“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama as they struggle with the aftermath of this devastating storm, and to their loved ones and families viewing the disturbing photos coming out of the region. I also would like to commend the brave men and women who are leading the rescue operations; from emergency service officers to health care professionals to the power and water crews working around the clock to save lives. “Hurricane Katrina devastated significant portions of the Gulf Coast and disrupted millions of lives. The situation in New Orleans is heartbreaking. www.johnkerry.com
9/2/2005 JK has been in Iraq - He is on his way home "Senator Kerry was in Iraq in January and wanted to go again to thank our troops for their service, talk with military commanders about the situation on the ground and meet with Iraqi government officials as they work to establish a democracy in Iraq."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph... 9/6/2005 LOTT : John Kerry called my wife Tricia and me at our home -- I don't remember -- two or three days ago and said he and Teresa wanted to help. And I identified what we needed and he said, "Where can we land the plane?" And I told him. And I assigned a staff member to coordinate with him.
http://lott.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleas... 9/7/2005 Dear XXXXXXXXX, "More tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans are off the table." Those are the words that America is waiting to hear from President Bush. At a time of crisis and enormous need, it should be an easy decision for him to make. He could make the announcement tomorrow.
There is hurt and suffering all around us. Estimates are that it will cost as much as $150 billion to help the hard-hit people and communities of the Gulf Coast get back on their feet following Katrina's devastation. And the Bush administration's failed policies in Iraq are draining billions of dollars from our treasury every month.
But still, Republican leaders refuse to abandon their obsession with granting still more tax cuts to the wealthy and well-connected. Don't let them get away with it.
Sign our "Don't You Dare" petition right now.
http://www.johnkerry.com/petition/taxcuts.php 9/8/2005 Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., center, speaks as Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., left, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., second right, and Sen. Harry Reid,D-Nev., look on at a news conference at the Capitol, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2005, in Washington. Congress hurried toward approval Thursday of an emergency aid package that would spend well over $1 billion a day for recovery needs of victims of Hurricane Katrina. Democrats and Republicans agreed that much had gone wrong
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/pl/021103kerry&c... 9/8/2005 And Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, said in an interview: "It's a summary of all that this administration is not in touch with and has faked and ducked and bobbed over the past four years. What you see here is a harvest of four years of complete avoidance of real problem solving and real governance in favor of spin and ideology."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/national/nationalspec... 9/9/2005 John Kerry Offers Major Package of Legislation to Help Small Businesses, Others Devastated by Hurricane Katrina WASHINGTON - With estimates that more than 400,000 jobs will be lost as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) today unveiled a package of emergency economic aid and federal assistance for small businesses and others reeling from the destruction in the Gulf Coast. “It is clear that our government failed the people of the Gulf Coast. In time, those responsible will be held accountable for what has gone right and what has gone wrong. Right now, we need to make up for lost time and help any way we can, and that means targeting the fastest relief possible,” said Senator Kerry. “Every small business we can help will help a hard-working family start to put the pieces of their lives back together. We should help small businesses rebuild themselves and these communities.”
9/9/2005 Senator Kerry's office just called me! Someone is listening!!!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph... 9/9/2005 John Kerry Offers Major Package of Legislation to Help Small Businesses, Others Devastated by Hurricane Katrina WASHINGTON - With estimates that more than 400,000 jobs will be lost as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) today unveiled a package of emergency economic aid and federal assistance for small businesses and others reeling from the destruction in the Gulf Coast.
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=245483 9/10/2005 Kerry set to deliver supplies By Rick Klein, Globe Staff | September 10, 2005
WASHINGTON — Senator John F. Kerry has chartered a plane to deliver supplies to the New Orleans area tomorrow and is accepting donations in Boston to make deliveries in the coming weeks.
Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, has coordinated local and national corporate donations that will be part of tomorrow’s delivery to a supply distribution center in Baton Rouge, La.
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=493 Not Dated "Yesterday, I traveled to Louisiana to deliver emergency supplies to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Thanks to generous contributions from many Massachusetts-based and national corporations, a 757-jet was sent full of food, water, children's shoes, toiletries and other emergency items for the people of the Gulf Coast. The jet -- donated by the UPS for the relief flight -- took off from Logan airport and arrived in Lafayette, Louisiana, where the goods were loaded up and distributed to centers in New Iberia (near Lafayette) and Baker (near Baton Rouge). The UPS said the payload of the plane was 48,000 pounds.
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/home.cfm 9/12/2005 Senator John Kerry on Resignation of FEMA Director BATON ROUGE - Below is a statement from Senator John Kerry on the resignation of FEMA Director Michael Brown. “Long overdue. Too little, too late.”
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=245622 9/12/2005 Hurricane Katrina raises concerns over transition to digital By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/12/2005
A massive breakdown in communications after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast—nearly four years after the devastating mishaps following 9/11—has brought the issue of emergency communications into the spotlight on Capitol Hill. “I am closely following the communications failures in Katrina-hit areas,” says Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). “As Congress soon tackles the DTV transition, we must be mindful of these challenges and ensure public safety, emergency response and interoperability remain our paramount focus.”
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6255754.html... Adding: Communications in a Disaster Full Committee Hearing Thursday, September 22 2005 - 10:00 AM - Dirksen 562
9/13/2005“This Administration still hasn’t figured out the difference between spin and leadership. The President has done the obvious, only after it was clear he couldn’t get away with the inexcusable. President Bush has accepted Michael Brown’s resignation and admitted the buck stops in the Oval Office. But there are a lot of survivors who want to know whether this will change anything. Does the White House even understand the problem? The Administration had four years after September 11th to get this right, and they were caught unforgivably unprepared to deal with a major emergency here at home. Do they now understand that our government’s efforts and resources have been going to the wrong priorities? What are they doing to make sure this never happens again other than talking tough talk?”
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=245659 9/15/2005 WASHINGTON - Today the Senate passed legislation proposed by Senator John Kerry (D - Mass.) that will provide financial support to National Guard and Reservists through immediate tax relief to their employers affected by Hurricane Katrina.
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=245857 9/15/2005 "Leadership isn't a speech or a toll-free number. Leadership is getting the job done. No American doubts that New Orleans will rise again, they doubt the competence and commitment of this Administration. Weeks after Katrina, Americans want an end to politics-as-usual that leaves them dangerously and unforgivably unprepared. Americans want to know that their government will be there when it counts with leadership that keeps them safe, not speeches in the aftermath to explain away the inexcusable."
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=245870 9/19/2005 Senator John Kerry's Speech at Brown University The administration is recycling all their failed policies and shipping them to Louisiana. After four years of ideological excess, these Washington Republicans have a bad hangover - and they can't think of anything to offer the Gulf Coast but the hair of the dog that bit them. And amazingly - or perhaps not given who we're dealing with - this massive reconstruction project will be overseen not by a team of experienced city planners or developers, but according to the New York Times, by the Chief of Politics in the White House and Republican Party, none other than Karl Rove - barring of course that he is indicted for "outing" an undercover CIA intelligence officer. Katrina is a symbol of all this administration does and doesn't do. Michael Brown - or Brownie as the President so famously thanked him for doing a heck of a job - Brownie is to Katrina what Paul Bremer is to peace in Iraq; what George Tenet is to slam dunk intelligence; what Paul Wolfowitz is to parades paved with flowers in Baghdad; what Dick Cheney is to visionary energy policy; what Donald Rumsfeld is to basic war planning; what Tom Delay is to ethics; and what George Bush is to "Mission Accomplished" and "Wanted Dead or Alive." The bottom line is simple: The "we'll do whatever it takes" administration doesn't have what it takes to get the job done. This is the Katrina administration.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091905E.shtml 9/29/2005 S.RES.261 : A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the crisis of Hurricane Katrina should not be used to weaken, waive, or roll back Federal public health, environmental, and environmental justice laws and regulations, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Kerry, John F.
(introduced 9/29/2005) Cosponsors (7) Committees: Senate Environment and Public Works Latest Major Action: 9/29/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
9/30/2005 DEMOCRATS EYE RESOLUTION OPPOSING EPA ROLLBACKS IN KATRINA CLEANUP Inside EPA, Sec. 39 09-30-2005
Several leading Democrats are drafting a broad resolution for a congressional vote that would oppose allowing EPA to waive any environmental rules during the ongoing cleanup efforts following Hurricane Katrina, congressional and other sources say.
The resolution is part of an emerging Democratic strategy to counter a new Republican push aimed at granting EPA unprecedented authority to waive any environmental regulations that might impede reconstruction in the areas devastated by Katrina along the Gulf Coast. The effort also comes amid new revelations that EPA is developing its own legislative proposal that critics say would give it unchecked authority to suspend key rules under the Clean Air Act.
The resolution is being drafted by Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (IL), Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and will likely be unveiled at a news conference next week. The issues also were scheduled to be raised Sept. 29 at a hearing by the House Energy & Commerce Committee's environment & hazardous materials subcommittee -- of which Solis is the ranking member -- on the environmental impacts of the hurricane.
While the scope of the resolution and the list of co-sponsors have not been finalized, sources say that the non-binding "Sense of the Senate" and "Sense of the House" measures will oppose the waiver push and urge federal agencies to follow a Clinton-era executive order on environmental justice in the reconstruction efforts. The four Democrats have blasted EPA for dropping race and income status as factors in its environmental justice policies.
http://www.insideepa.com /
9/30/2005 John Kerry’s Floor Statement on the Introduction of the Small Business Hurricane Relief and Reconstruction Act September 30th, 2005
The following is the text of John Kerry’s Floor Statement on the Introduction of the Small Business Hurricane Relief and Reconstruction Act from today, Friday, September 30, 2005.
Mr. KERRY: Mr. President, today I join with Senator Snowe, the chair of our Committee, and our colleagues, Senators Landrieu and Vitter, to introduce a bill to help small businesses that have been damaged, physically and economically, by one or both of the Hurricanes that have destroyed the Gulf region over the past four or five weeks.
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=732 
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