Daniel Akaka: “my thoughts are with all of those from the Gulf Coast States affected by Hurricane Katrina as they mourn the loss of…”

“my thoughts are with all of those from the Gulf Coast States affected by Hurricane Katrina as they mourn the loss of family and friends and neighbors. We wish them well. I know there are no words that can provide the needed comfort. I believe there must be an extensive examination of what went wrong with the Government's response to this natural disaster. As hundreds of thousands of Americans look toward rebuilding their lives, our first priority must be to ensure that all possible Federal resources are at their disposal. However, it is Congress's job to get to the bottom of what went wrong and to do whatever is necessary to ensure that it never happens again. I join those who say we must not engage in a blame game but, rather, we must come together to undertake responsible oversight. I say this from an interesting vantage point because throughout the debate over the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, I repeatedly expressed my strong concern that nonhomeland security functions of the Federal Government would be diminished if included in the new Department. I said that eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency's status as an independent agency to join this proposed Department could seriously affect FEMA's traditional role of responding to natural disasters.…”