IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 356 
Calling upon the President to meet with a joint session of Congress to 
discuss the Government’s plan for post-Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 13, 2006 
Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. 
CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RUSH, Mr. LEWIS of 
Georgia, Ms. LEE, Mr. OWENS, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. JEFFERSON, 
Mr. PAYNE, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. WATSON, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. 
MEEK of Florida, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, 
Mr. MELANCON, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. HONDA, and Mr. WATT) sub-
mitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Calling upon the President to meet with a joint session 
of Congress to discuss the Government’s plan for post- 
Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. 
Whereas on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, a category 
5 hurricane, hit an area spanning 90,000 miles in the 
States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; 
Whereas Hurricane Katrina has caused the deaths of more 
than 1,325 individuals, and caused more than 1,000,000 
individuals to be displaced from their primary residences; 
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•HCON 356 IH 
Whereas Hurricane Katrina has resulted in one of the largest 
natural disaster relief and recovery operations in United 
States history; 
Whereas millions of dollars appropriated for Hurricane 
Katrina relief activities have been wasted due to poor 
Federal financial controls; 
Whereas the Government Accountability Office and both 
chambers of Congress have independently investigated 
and determined that there were major flaws in the Fed-
eral response to Hurricane Katrina; 
Whereas the Government Accountability Office has found 
that there was a lack of clear and decisive leadership and 
an absence of detailed plans following Hurricane Katrina; 
Whereas the Government Accountability Office has identified 
a host of needed improvements in a variety of Govern-
ment programs related to Hurricane Katrina and other 
natural disasters; 
Whereas the House of Representative’s Select Bipartisan 
Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Re-
sponse to Hurricane Katrina found more than 90 flaws 
in the post-Katrina response; 
Whereas the Secretary of Homeland Security has been the 
subject of severe criticism; 
Whereas more than 5 months after Hurricane Katrina, there 
continues to be massive residential, commercial, and emo-
tional destruction, with thousands of evacuees living in 
tents, cars, and shelters; sewage seeping from the 
ground; inoperable telecommunications; lack of electricity; 
and water and sediment contamination from toxic mate-
rials released in the floodwaters; 
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•HCON 356 IH 
Whereas there continues to exist a lack of coordination at the 
Federal level, as well as a clear plan for rebuilding the 
levee system in a manner that will effectively protect 
Louisiana residents in future hurricane seasons; 
Whereas the President has made broad promises regarding 
recovery efforts without specifically detailing the plan 
that is in place and the dates by which steps must be 
taken; 
Whereas requests for information from Members of Congress 
to administration officials have received little or no re-
sponse; 
Whereas to prevent future vulnerability in the event of an-
other natural or manmade disaster, the United States is 
in need of a specific agenda for the Nation’s emergency 
preparedness, response, and recovery activities that take 
into consideration the lessons learned from Hurricane 
Katrina; and 
Whereas substantial involvement by the President will be nec-
essary to formulate this agenda and to produce speedier, 
more effective results in the Gulf Coast region: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That— 
(1) it is the sense of Congress that there is a 
need for a swift, effective, and well-coordinated re-
sponse to carry out recovery efforts for individuals 
and areas affected by Hurricane Katrina; and 
(2) Congress calls upon the President to meet 
with a joint session of Congress to discuss the Gov-
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•HCON 356 IH 
ernment’s plan for post-Hurricane Katrina recovery 
efforts. 
Æ 
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