Orrin Hatch: “I was also at that meeting last night in the secure room in S. 407. I have to say, I was absolutely blown away by how…”

“I was also at that meeting last night in the secure room in S. 407. I have to say, I was absolutely blown away by how much the Federal Government has mobilized to try and help in the Gulf region. There is no question that we knew this city was 10 to 12 feet under sea level and that there was bound to be some sort of a problem happen. I think there is plenty of blame to be cast around to everybody. The important thing that we ought to be considering is solving the problem and getting that city back on its feet. From what I heard last night, the Federal Government is doing everything it possibly can. Frankly, I believe every agency, including FEMA, has done a good job under the circumstances. This has been a catastrophe of great proportions. There is no question about it. All of the criticism in the world is not going to change that. The fact is, we had a number of Cabinet-level officials there, from the Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of Labor, and I thought they made a pretty good case. I think we ought to get the job done and quit worrying so much about criticizing.”