Earl Blumenauer: “for several years I have come to the floor of the House using the perilous situation that faced New Orleans as a…”

“for several years I have come to the floor of the House using the perilous situation that faced New Orleans as a rallying cry for us to get our policies right dealing with water resources, floods, and disaster mitigation. We now have a wide variety of plans and proposals that are flying about, which is encouraging. But it is important that we do it right, that any plan that we undertake is comprehensive and harnesses the forces of nature to solve problems rather than create them. It is important that we start now with the vast sums of Federal money that is flowing into the gulf region, and it is critical that we involve the local people in shaping their own destiny. Last but not least, we must implement long overdue reform to the way the Corps of Engineers operates, and even more important, how Congress treats the Corps of Engineers. This will go a long way towards not just helping New Orleans and the Katrina damaged area; but it will make all our families safer, healthier, and more economically secure. ____________________”