Would
You Turn Down Millions of Dollars?
We
continue to see major failings of our system of government as presently
structured. We lost a large sum
of money at a time when we needed it, as reported below.
What would you do to ensure, to
ensure, that such a failing not recur?
Most
Katrina Aid from Overseas Went Unclaimed
By
John Solomon and Spencer S. Hsu
Washington
Post
staff writers, April 29, 2007
As
the winds and water of Hurricane Katrina were receding, presidential
confidante Karen Hughes sent a cable from her State Department office to
U.S.
ambassadors worldwide.
Titled
"Echo-Chamber Message" -- a public relations term for talking
points designed to be repeated again and again -- the Sept. 7, 2005,
directive was
unmistakable: Assure the scores of
countries that had pledged or donated aid at the height of the disaster that
their largesse had provided Americans "practical
help and moral support" and
"highlight the concrete benefits hurricane victims are receiving."
Many
of the U.S.
diplomats who received the message, however, were beginning to witness a
more embarrassing reality. They knew the U.S.
government was turning
down many allies' offers of
manpower, supplies and expertise worth untold millions of dollars.
Eventually the United States
also would fail to collect most of
the unprecedented outpouring of
international cash assistance for Katrina's victims.
Allies
offered $854 million in cash and in oil that was to be sold for cash. But
only $40 million has been used so far for disaster victims or
reconstruction,
according to U.S.
officials and contractors. Most of the aid went uncollected, including $400
million worth of oil. Some offers were withdrawn or redirected to
private groups such as the Red
Cross.
The rest has been delayed by red tape and bureaucratic limits on how
it can be spent.
In
addition, valuable supplies and services -- such as cellphone systems,
medicine and cruise ships – were delayed or declined because the
government could not
handle them. In some cases,
supplies were wasted. ...
In one exchange, State
Department officials anguished over whether to tell Italy
that its shipments of medicine, gauze and other medical supplies spoiled in
the elements for weeks after Katrina's landfall on August 29, 2005, and were
destroyed. "Tell them we blew it," one disgusted official wrote.
But she hedged: "The flip
side is just to dispose of it and not come clean. I could be
persuaded."
If you answer the
multiple-choice questions below and e-mail to lessonanswers@mymontebello.com
with “Lesson answers” in the subject field, you will be credited toward
a “certificate of recognition in community affairs” to be awarded in
2007 by a local nonprofit organization.
1. What are the problems reported here?
(a) The United States
did not have enough resources to make use of all the aid offered in the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
(b) Our country did not appreciate the help which was
offered.
(c) America
was lying to countries who were trying to help the victims of Hurricane
Katrina.
2. What would you do to ensure that this not happen
again?
(a) Repeat what the Bush Administration did, namely,
accept the resignation of the FEMA director and appoint a new director.
(b) Restructure disaster response so that more people
at the disaster site be able to make key decisions.
(c) Authorize nonprofit organizations to step in
immediately and exercise authority on the same level as government agencies.
February 28, 2008