Date: 2005-11-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I just keep asking myself where is their outrage. where is their shame? Why are we the only ones that appear upset about this? Why by their deafening silence does it seem as though they are sanctioning the activity that is going on in the White House? Sanctioning the corruption. sanctioning the cronyism and the culture that has been established here? And it would be one thing. you could say. all right. we are going to compartmentalize. many people compartmentalize things. There are many Americans that may say. you know. foreign policy is not my concern. Of course. everybody in America cares about the loss of life. and I am sure that there is not one American that does not feelsadness over how many troops we have lost. but let us say you have Americans that can compartmentalize the foreign policy and comfort themselves by saying. I know. I think what has gone on is awful. but they are making up for it. The administration makes up for it with their fabulous domestic policy with the way they are taking care of things at home. Are we satisfied with the direction we are going? Tonight in south Florida.. today all day and tomorrow it is expected again to be pouring down rain. I have 90yearolds. the gentleman from Florida and I have 90yearolds and older sitting in squalid apartments tonight with molding wet carpeting. with holes in their roofs who are not getting the assistance they need because FEMA is a disaster of an organization. It is supposed .to be a disaster relief organization. They are a disaster all by themselves. I want to tell you what my 6yearold daughter said this morning. We were watching TV. I was getting ready and I was watching the news and she was in there with me. And she said. Mom. is Hurricane Rita coming? Because 6yearsold do not know the difference. Rita. Wilma. They just hear the names on TV. and there is not a lot of clear understanding. I said. No. Hurricane Rita is long gone. You can imagine a 6yearold living in Florida. There is a lot of fear of the concepts of- hurricanes and one after the other after the other keeps coming down the pike. So my telling her that Rita was long gone and there was no need to worry anymore. that satisfied her. The report on the news about hurricanes in general went on for a few minutes. and I was not near the TV so I could not hear exactly what they were saying. but all pf a sudden she said. Mom. I know what it is. hurricane FEMA is coming. I laughed. and I explained to her what FEMA was and tried to help her understand. that FEMA is supposed to be an agency that gets us ready when a hurricane is coming and takes care of us after a hurricane passes and makes sure that people are okay again. I Mr. DELAHUNT. A point that you made earlier and you referenced the natural disaster. and I am thinking of Katrina. Weare talking about whether America is safer today than we were prior to 9/11. and we all know and I am sure the American people that are listening to our conversation here tonight appreciate this. that those levees in New Orleans. they could have been sabotaged. They could have been victimized by a terrorist cell. It did not necessarily require a natural disaster. But here we are. We have spent billions and billions and billions of dollars on homeland security. and where are we? We are nowhere. But the American taxpayers are picking the bill up. As we discussed last week. not only are the American taxpayers spending money here and not effectively. not effectively. this has been an administration that spends the American taxpayers dollars. But. by the way. we are also spending money to rebuild Iraq. But rather than. like every other major donor country in Iraq that loaned the money to the Iraqi government and said we will give you good terms but pay us back. this White House. in an act of unparalleled excess. in my judgment. made it a giveaway program: Welfare for Iraqis. but nothing for Americans. I mean. up is down and down is up. This is the Alice in Wonderland administration.