House Panel Subpoenas Rumsfeld on Katrina

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A House committee investigating the government's response to Hurricane Katrina issued a subpoena Wednesday to force Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to turn over documents but stopped short of sending a similar legal demand to the White House. The subpoena commands Rumsfeld to produce internal records and communications about the Pentagon's response to the Aug. 29 storm, including efforts to send supplies to victims, stabilize public safety and mobilize active duty forces in the Gulf Coast. It requires the Pentagon to deliver the documents, spanning from Aug. 23 to Sept. 15, from Rumsfeld and eight other top military officials by Dec. 30.

Separately, the Federal Emergency Management Agencysaid it would comply with a judge's ruling that FEMA keep paying for hotel rooms for hurricane evacuees until Feb. 7. The agency also agreed to extend the program for eligible storm victims who have not been helped by that deadline.

The subpoenas were one focus of a House hearing that was marked by angry barbs between Gov. Kathleen Blanco, D-La., and Republicans who challenged her about why a mandatory evacuation for New Orleans was not ordered until the morning before Katrina hit. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for coastal parishes south and east of New Orleans before then. "We had mandatory evacuations," Blanco said. "We got 1.2 million people out. We ended up saving another 100,000 people and we lost 1,100. That's the whole story. We got people out."

Rep. Jeff Miller (news, bio, voting record), R-Fla., said Blanco's explanation was "a story that's not acceptable because 1,100 people is one half of the men and women we have lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom." "You lost that many on one day," Miller said. Shot back Blanco: "Then it's not acceptable for us to lose ... soldiers, either." Rep. Harold Rogers (news, bio, voting record), R-Ky., asked Blanco why New Orleans' emergency management and evacuation plans were not followed. "It's detailed," Rogers said of the plan. "All it needed was for the mayor and/or the governor to say 'Let's go.'" "We did that, sir. Don't pretend that we didn't do that," Blanco responded tersely. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers said they were frustrated by the administration's failures to provide the House investigation with internal memos, e-mails and other documents before and after the storm hit.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051215/ap_on_go_co/katrina_congress

[Tiggeroshii]

1. shouldn't this be on LBN? n/t

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2. I wasn't sure if it was the same story from earlier

sometimes they just change the title and I didn't want to give the mods more work
I put it in LBN after I noticed your post and checked the earlier post.
thanks