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This is copied directly from the transcript the ">>" indicates a change from one speaker to the other.
...going and whether anymore bodies have been found, kyra kyra. >>
All right, karl penhaul. Thank you so much. Please keep us updated. Just another reality check. Congresswoman Pelosi, as we continue to follow, of course this developing information coming in. The hardest part. And i think it's far from over. We are going to continue to hear about people that have been trapped. I mean, you are talking about such a swath of a region here. It's just hard to listen to that. And to have to talk about that. And no doubt, it will be never ending. But i want to ask you, as you stand here and continue to criticize the administration, and criticize the director of fema, i do want to tell you the white house coming forward today. Scott mcclellan coming forward today. And basically disputing your account of your meeting with the president. And i'm looking at it here saying that, you said you urged the president to replace the embattled fema director because of the poor emergency response to hurricane katrina. Um, however, mcclellan saying that this is, that that's not what you discussed with the president. That you were discussing other things with the president, and that things are being twisted here. >>
That's absolutely not true. Mr. Mcclellan wasn't there. So he couldn't possibly know. What happened was, i said to the president, mr. President, we can begin to help these victims of katrina become whole again. First thing you can do is to replace michael brown as the head of fema. To which the president said, why would i do that? And i said, because of what happened last week. And the failure of fema to be the real link between the federal government and the people in need in our country. The social compact to which the president said, what didn't go right last week? That's what happened in the meeting. I stand by that. If the president thinks everything went right last week, and he wants to keep michael brown there, then i think that's going to be a cost to the american people and livelihood. But if he wants to then say that it didn't go right last week, then he should replace michael brown. >>
But if we go back. I mean, we can go back year after year after year and we can talk about fema. And what went wrong within fema. And should fema be under the department of homeland security. But if we want to be historical here, and we want to go back in time, i mean, we can go back to the "times picayune" and the investigation that when reporters revealed that time after time, moneys were asked for from all types of various politicians. And politicians you worked side by side with. And laws that you yourself vote on, and moneys that should have gone to louisiana to take care of the problems with regard to the flood control systems. And i think it's unfair that fema is just singled out. There are so many people responsibler the what has happened in the state of louisiana. >>
That is true. And i'm sorry that you think it's unfair. But i don't. I think it's unfair to the people who lost their family members, their live, their livelihoods, their homes, their opportunity. And fema, has done a poor job. It had no chance. >>
What about all the warnings from the army corps of engineers? Years ago. Saying there's a problem with these levees and with this city. >>
Kyra -- >>
it's kyra. >>
If you want to make a case for the white house, go on their payroll. >>
I'm not making a case for the white house, believe me. By all means. >>
The white house this year has cut 72% of the request of louisiana for flooding money. The white house has cut the army corps of engineers by a large percentage. In this last fiscal year. But the point is not to argue about that. The point is where do we go from here to help these people? The last thing the american people need is bickering right now over this. Except to make their rescue safer. To return to normalcy for them. >>
So you think taking mike brown out of fema right now and replacing mike brown with somebody else will change this entire dynamic and solve the problem. >>
I do, indeed. I think it's a question of the judgment of president bush that he would have somebody in this crucial position who has no qualifications for the job. And if you need any further evidence of that, you need only look to the performance of fema. >>
Who would you recommend? Take the place? >>
Well i think it should be someone like james lee witt who was there in the clinton administration who was a professional. Who was trained to do this kind of job. >>
But james lee witt came forward too, and said, hey, we've got a problem here. New orleans is a disaster waiting to happen. >>
You ask me what i would do, sxai say a person like that. Almost anyone who has trained. Maybe served in the military who has training and knows leadership and can organize to do that. This isn't a discussion of michael brown. This is a discussion of the judgment of the president. People are depending on our federal role. That's what we are responsible for. And we should be working together. It's, i think, a sign of weakness on the part of the white house's argument that they are so much wanting to cover up what happened. And to say, what went wrong last week as the president said to me. I said, he's either in denial or oblivious to what has happened. Now, i appreciate that the president read a list of the initiatives that will be taken to help these people. We had hoped today on the floor of congress to make some of these the law of the land. To cut the red tape. To stop the price gouging. Especially at the pump. To help create jobs to people can get back to work. And to put competent people in
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