Nita Lowey: “our first concern over the coming weeks must be assisting those who need to be rescued, who need essential supplies and…”

“our first concern over the coming weeks must be assisting those who need to be rescued, who need essential supplies and medical attention, and who need temporary shelter to survive these difficult days. I am committed to helping provide that assistance and Congress was correct to pass this aid package today to ensure that immediate resources are available for those efforts. However, as the recovery continues and we begin the rebuilding process, we cannot forget about the problems that have plagued our response to the hurricane. It is not too soon to ask what went wrong so that we can avoid those missteps in the coming weeks and in future disasters. Early indications point to the fact that once again, our response teams have been hampered with the inability to effectively communicate with one another. In Oklahoma City in 1995, at Columbine in 1999, and then again in New York in 2001, our first responders were unable to communicate. The administration has done little to address this problem despite my efforts over the last four years. We must find out exactly how communications deteriorated as quickly as they did and put in place a real interoperability plan. In addition, there appears to be a massive disconnect between the information the government has issued on the aid effort and what individuals on the ground have experienced.…”