| 08 September 2005 Newsletter Washington- September normally brings the cool air back to Foggy Bottom, and the traffic snarls, and so do some of the people. It is a very different world than when the Members of Congress and the Concerned Citizens in the Expensive suits began their summer vacation. There are not one but two vacancies on the Supreme Court; Iraq is painfully closing on a new Constitution, and Saddam Hussein stands trial for some of his crimes. Support for the War seems to be softening, but all there is to talk about now is the aftermath of Katrina, the Force Four storm that boiled up in the Gulf of Mexico and may have killed 10,000 Americans, the worst disaster since at least that number perished in the storm surge that washed over at Galveston Texas in 1900. Oil prices may have stabilized or begun a decline, but there was the verge of panic as gas lines began to form and regular grade was available for $3.29 a gallon in Washington , briefly the most expensive in the nation. A feeling not experiences since the Iranian Hostage Crisis seems to tinge the political debate, and the lackluster performance of FEMA to the disaster has sparked a cry for investigation and blame to be assigned. In the context of a repair cost that could approach $100 billion to fully restore New Orleans , negotiations are beginning on the Hill about the nation's priorities, and how the bill will be paid . Popular wisdom around town is that someone is going to have to pay for the slow start to Hurricane Katrina. President Bush pledged to "lead an investigation" into the response, but he said the Administration wants to focus first on addressing the catastrophe itself. The funeral of Chief Justice Rehnquist at Arlington Cemetery was a solemn and moving affair for those who were invited to attend, and friend and foe alike praised his service to the High Court. The President also suggested that the nomination of a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is not imminent, saying he wants the Senate to focus on confirming John Roberts as Chief Justice. The President's promise to investigate the sluggish response to Katrina comes as an attempt to deflect vocal criticism from the Hill . . The president doesn't want to play the “blame game” but that is the primary sport in town and Congress is ready to get on with it . . . Mr Bush dispatched Vice President Dick Cheney to the Gulf Coast after Labor Day to to assess recovery efforts . . .but that will not be enough . . . the top two senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said they plan to hold public hearings in the middle of September . . . Chair Susan Collins, R-ME, and ranking member Joe Lieberman, D-CT, are saying government officials at all levels share the blame . . . They have directed committee staff to begin investigating the response efforts by FEMA and some lawmakers have called for it to be removed from the Homeland Security Department, since the decade-long overhaul by the Clinton Administration seems to have been reversed . . . Collins and Lieberman say they do not want FEMA ripped out of DHS, and that the agency should stay put for now . . . FEMA and Homeland Security officials are began trooping up to the Hill to answer pointed questions in as soon as the Senate was open for business after recess . . . In order to stifle Democratic criticism, Republicans announced a joint House-Senate inquiry into failures surrounding the response . . . No democrats were present at the announcement and the Majority Leader and Speaker left quickly after the press conference . . . Minority Leader Harry Reid said the Republicans want to change the nature of the ball game, not only playing the game, but calling the balls and strikes, too . . . a report from the “blue ribbon panel” of senior lawmakers will be due by Feb. 15 . . . the bi-cameral investigation is a rare event and shows how worried the majority Republicans are that their party is suffering in the polls over the storm . . . whispers in the cloakroom say that FEMA Chief Mike Brown's head is likely on the chopping block . . . Democrats have had a field day with Brown's stewardship of the agency . . . his credentials, or lack of them, are a real liability . . Brown is an attorney and former Oklahoma Republican operative whose most notable accomplishments include a failed run for Congress and the troubled leadership of the International Arabian Horse Federation . . . Dems are still in full cry, claiming to be outraged over the fact that DHS Secretary Mike Chertoff is still refusing to acknowledge any shortcomings in the relief effort . . . Show me the Money Senate Maximum Leader Bill Frist said is looking to push at least three bills addressing immediate relief and cleanup issues as well as mid- and long-range economic and health challenges posed by the disaster . . .Frist cleared the floor calendar to deal with the situation, which is bad news for those hoping for a vote on the estate tax repeal . . . the “death tax” is a big issue to the Administration, but the loss in revenues is not playing well against the requirement to find as much as a hundred billion dollars for disaster relief . . . aside from Katrina-related bills and the nomination of John Roberts to become the next chief justice of the Supreme Court, nothing on the Senate's agenda before the hurricane is assured of seeing action . . . Dr. Frist also decided to bring the Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill to the floor, saying it will fund a number of key Katrina-related activities . . . The initial embarrassment is being papered over with currency . . . the White House sent up a $51.8 billion supplemental aid request in addition to the $ 10 billion passed before labor Day . . . House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., joined the Good Doctor in saying the relief bills will be passed by the House this week . . . that should tide FEMA over for the rest of the month . . . Gulf Coast operations are burning cash at a rate of almost $2 billion a day . . . the supplemental is expected to get FEMA to October . . . there is $1.4 billion for the Pentagon and $400 million for the Army Corps of Engineers also tucked in the legislation . . . Office of Management and Budget Director Josh Bolten said he expects about half of FEMA's allocation to be used for direct payments to Hurricane Katrina victims for housing and immediate personal needs . . the other $25 billion will go to operations and removal of debris . . . this is not the end of the money trail by any means . . . the $100 billion tab is not expected to include direct payments, so with what has already been appropriated, the till is still at least $65 billion short . . . and wait to see the innovative programs that will be invented to provide additional services to the Gulf Coast . . . Gas Pains
Parkway Patriots
|