Danny Davis: “hurricanes may be natural disasters, but Hurricane Katrina has made it clear to anyone in the world with a television…”

“hurricanes may be natural disasters, but Hurricane Katrina has made it clear to anyone in the world with a television that who lives and who dies, who is left to suffer, who is left without the most basic necessities of life, who is left without medical care as a result of that disaster is very much related to who you are. We have watched with horror and rapidly growing anger as Katrina came and went and left behind many, overwhelmingly poor, black, old, sick, to drown, to be stranded, to be herded into shelters under filthy, inhuman conditions, to be left in sweltering heat without water and food and to be cut off from health care. Why did it take aid and security so long to arrive? {time} 1930 We have received no answer. Why were we so unprepared? We have received no answer. What kind of shelters are planned without stockpiles of water and food as well as basic sanitation, medical personnel, and emergency power? We have received no answer. Why did we not immediately press into service every able-bodied National Guard member? Why did we not immediately bring into service emergency teams from cities across the country? We have received no answer. Why have we not moved to use unoccupied military barracks to house families left homeless by the storm? We have received no answer. Where are the plans and the resources to stabilize the lives of hundreds of thousands with no homes, no jobs, no schools? We have received no answers.…”