Could the Republican Congress have stepped in to get Katrina victims the help they needed?

Question

And I mean COULD they have, not should they have. What would the human thing to do be?

Answer 1

You are very right! They were caught doing what they have done often. They point fingers and blame others, particularly minorities and woman for the problems that they suffer. The Republicans were caught straight up and guilty during the Katrina Storm not doing their job and not caring enough about the people in the storm areas to demand help be sent to New Orleans and many other places at that time.
It does not take a genius, or a saint to see when people are in big trouble. But, with Bush at the helm of our Country, the first response was to laugh at the people in trouble. Bush sat their in his Texas command chair and drank whiskey and laughed at the people dying in New Orleans.
He has no judgement to work with in his head. He has never done anything to deserve being a President, and his track record confirms it.
My God, what is next?

Answer 2

No, the Congress could only have helped by drawing attention to the problem just like the Media was already doing.
Managing the aftermath of natural or National disasters like Katrina is strictly an Executive function.

The first disconnect was between the Mayor and the Governor.
To be perfectly frank, they dropped the ball. When I was growing up in Myrtle Beach S.C., we had the National Guard called out to assist the local police EVERY year just for the annual Harley Davidson Rally. Why not mobilize for a hurricane?

The second disconnect was between the Governor and the Federal Government. The Governor of Louisiana was dragging her feet over the decision to involve the Feds. The President was too busy giving a speech about Iraq while in California. Condi Rice was too busy shopping for shoes, and GOD only knows
where Brownie's head was at the time.

In the end Congress did pretty much the only thing they could, appropriate money for the relief efforts and investigate F.E.M.A.

Answer 3

No. emergencey relief is part of the Executive Branch of Government while Congress is part of the Legislative Branch. It's not their Job.

The immediate relief of any disaster is done at the state level. In the case of Katrina, the 2 major players responsible for immediate relief were the govenors of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Many people do not realize that Katrina actually landed in and did more damage in Mississippi. This is because the Mississippi governor and it's disaster relief agencies had their acts together.

On the other hand, Loiusiana's state government panicked, then choked; hence, the initial mess in Louisiana that forced the federal government to step in.

Mississippi had a Republican Governor: Louisiana a Democrat.


The problem was a Democratic Governor, not a Republican Congress.

Answer 4

I was in the Louisiana during the Katrina storms and 8 months later. I saw these people get more help than I have ever seen people get helped before. I saw the Mayor do outstanding things to even get more help. They were sent tons of money to rebuild. There were people sent from all over the USA to help rebuild. Lots of people had taken advantage of the situation and rebuilt their homes, lives and continued to help others. The hospital systems, educational institutions, levies and homes were addressed in Congress. I do believe there were a bunch of crooks there that tried to steal from the government. They were given Fema trailers and trashed them. Some were Crooks that moved to Houston and contributed to their crime rate. Some Katrina residents took advantage of the insurance they had and claimed more than they had. If you don't think that the Congress did enough to help Katrina Victims you must be a blinded Katrina victim that didn't get any help. Most victims were over helped. I am not sure what you are accusing the republicans for, but it shouldn't be accusing them for not helping Katrina victims. Pretend you don't need the government to help and get it together or you will never will recover.

Answer 5

Depends on what you mean by help? Katrina victims had opportunities to get out of the path of the hurricane...but many didn't by choice. So then the question becomes what help should the Congress have given those that CHOSE to stay behind? People were given debit cards for their immediate needs and many wasted it on drugs, prostitutes, gambling, porn, etc.

It boils down to just what is the responsibility of government. Basically, it is to do what the private sector can't, won't, or shouldn't do. Beyond that, the government should just get out of our way.

A big problem also was that INDIVIDUALS have now become so reliant on someone else taking care of them, that they have lost all ability to take the initiative, personal responsibility...and to just get it done.

That's not to say there weren't any mistakes made. There were many at every level of government...local, state, and national.

Answer 6

Katrina was a tragedy but their local government was ill prepared and because the people had depended on the government and they had no one else to blame for this. It would have made difference if it was a Democratic Congress.

Answer 7

hell yes they could have.if the news crew got there they could have.they all knew Tom Brown the head of F.E.M.A. had no disaster experience.he was a Arabian horse show organizer .their first mistake was supporting the President in this appointment.if they would have cared about those people they would of stepped up.this was a crime against humanity if you ask me.people died needlessly.watching it on television for a week made me sick.the government did nothing until their hand was forced.all those responsible should have to answer to the crimes against the people affected and still being affected.the whole thing is inexcusable.

Answer 8

Depending on the government for disaster for all your needs is asking for trouble. The taxpayer got ripped off Katrina funds being used by government official to grease their own pawns. It was local governments fault for not funding improvements to their levy. Also, Washington is to blame to set up redtape over the years to make it cost too much for state of Louisiana to fix the Levy's before Katrina happened. The lesson learned here is don't depend on the government all the time.

Answer 9

The Republicans did not prioritize the Katrina victims and it was the reason why they lost in the recent election.

Answer 10

The people of New Orleans did not evacuate that is not The Presidents fault or Congress or the Senates fault. I lived in SC for many years and our Governor told us when to evacuate. If you didn't leave when you were told you were taking your own life in your hands. We went weeks without fresh water after Hugo and to protect what was left in your home you slept in mud. We took care of each other and didn't blame the Government for any of it. No one gave me a trailer to live in we just rebuilt, and it took a long time in the heat without air conditioning.