Hurricane Evacuation Money Redirected

[carpro]

Why does this not surprise me?


http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/17/D8CM64J80.html

Money Earmarked for Evacuation Redirected
Sep 17 2:36 PM US/Eastern


By RITA BEAMISH


As far back as eight years ago, Congress ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan for evacuating New Orleans during a massive hurricane, but the money instead went to studying the causeway bridge that spans the city's Lake Pontchartrain, officials say.

The outcome provides one more example of the government's failure to prepare for a massive but foreseeable catastrophe, said the lawmaker who helped secure the money for FEMA to develop the evacuation plan.

"They never used it for the intended purpose," said former Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La. "The whole intent was to give them resources so they could plan an evacuation of New Orleans that anticipated that a very large number of people would never leave."

In Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, attention has focused on the inability of local and federal officials to evacuate or prepare for the large number of poor people, many of them minorities, who had no access to transportation and remained behind.

 

[poncho]

At the time eight years ago, the Louisiana delegation had plenty of political muscle to get the money. Then-Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which controls the government's purse strings.

Livingston, now a lobbyist, said he could not explain what happened either, although he knew of other predictive hurricane studies over the years.

"Do I wish the study had been made? Sure, but now that's by the boards. We're doing the best we can right now to repair and rebuild," he said

Typical. Uh, I dunno what happened to the money. Anyway that's all in the past we can't dwell on woulda coulda shoulda. We need to remember the important thing here is to take care of the mess we got now the best way we can. I can ya tell this though from the looks of things we're going to be needing greater control of the citizens and alot of money to rebuild and alot of money to study ways to be more prepared next time.

Seems like I heard this same speech just the other day. Hey, at least they all stick to the story that works. Oookay, we goofed.

Now give us more money and control so we can protect ya.