| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 15, 2006 |
Contact: Joy Fox (401) 732-9400 |
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Announces Support for PREPARE Act | |
| (Warwick, R.I.) Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, today released the following statement on “A Failure of Initiative: Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina”:
"While I commend the work of the Select Committee and their staff in compiling this information, we are still no better prepared to prevent and respond to a disaster of this magnitude. It is important to hold those closest to the preparedness and relief efforts accountable, but my primary concern is making sure such a poor response never happens again. "To help move our country toward real emergency preparedness, I am cosponsoring the "Plan to Restore Efficiency and Professional Accountability in Responding to Emergencies" Act. PREPARE will address the operational problems at FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security that led to the problems associated with Hurricane Katrina. "Rhode Islanders were absolutely right to be angry and frustrated about the government's failure to act before, during and after Katrina. I shared their frustration, and I was embarrassed by our response. The government's reaction was ill coordinated and too slow. "There is no question that we should have been better prepared as a nation. Now we have an opportunity to step up our efforts and reorganize to make sure such tragedy and loss is never repeated." The PREPARE Act will make three fundamental recommendations: | |
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