EPIC Fail: As Jindal Criticized The Federal Bureaucracy, Louisiana Guard Troops Sat Idle

[Amerigo Vespucci]

'As Gov. Jindal Criticized The Federal Bureaucracy, Louisiana Guard Troops Sat Idle'



by Sasha Chavkin, ProPublica - June 25, 2010 12:27 pm EDT

http://www.propublica.org/ion/blog/item/as-jindal-criticized-federal-bureaucracy-louisiana-guard-troops-sat-idle

While Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has been criticizing the administration for allowing red tape to delay spill cleanup efforts, CBS News points out that the governor has not deployed thousands of the National Guard troops available to help. Here’s CBS News:

Nearly two months after the governor requested—and the Department of Defense approved the use of 6,000 Louisiana National Guard troops—only a fraction—1,053—have actually been deployed by Jindal to fight the spill.

Jindal told CBS that while the administration did approve the troop request, the White House told him that individual tasks had to be authorized by the Coast Guard and BP. The Coast Guard responded that every request to use National Guard troops has been approved.

“There is nothing standing in the governor’s way from utilizing more National Guard troops,” Adm. Thad Allen, the commander of the federal response, told CBS.