Sen. Obama Follows Hillary's Lead On Gulf Coast Recovery Plan

[rodeodance]

Once more, Obama is the follower:

http://facts.hillaryhub.com/

Fact Check: Sen. Obama Follows Hillary's Lead On Gulf Coast Recovery Plan

In May, Hillary introduced a comprehensive Gulf Coast Recovery Agenda.

Three months later, in August, Sen. Obama released a very similar proposal. Today, Sen. Obama "introduced" the same plan he released in August.

A comparison of the core elements of Hillary's plan and Sen. Obama's plan is below.

[berni_mccoy]

1. fact.hillaryhub.com?!?! WTF. And you attack others for quoting MSM... sheesh.

[alteredstate]

11. When The Cameras Are Off: Barack Obama’s Hurricane Katrina Record

When The Cameras Are Off: Barack Obama’s Hurricane Katrina Record

It is nice that everyone is giving speeches and putting out ten-point plans to commemorate Hurricane Katrina. However, I’m more interested in knowing what people have been doing when the cameras were off. What is your record on this issue?

Here is Barack Obama’s record on rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

* Sept. 2, 2005: Obama holds press conference urging Illinoisans to contribute to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
* Sept. 5, 2005: Obama goes to Houston to visit evacuees with Presidents Clinton and Bush.
* Sept. 7, 2005: Obama introduces bill to create a national emergency family locator system
* Sept. 8, 2005: Obama introduces bill to create a National Emergency Volunteers Corps.
* Sept. 8, 2005: Obama co-sponsors the Katrina Emergency Relief Act of 2005 introduced by Senator Harry Reid
* Sept. 8, 2005: Obama co-sponsors the Hurricane Katrina Bankruptcy Relief and Community Protection Act of 2005 introduced by Senator Russ Feingold
* Sept. 12, 2005: Obama introduces legislation requiring states to create an emergency evacuation plan for society’s most vulnerable
* Sept. 15, 2005: Obama issues public response to President Bush’s speech about Gulf Coast rebuilding.
* Sept. 21, 2005: Obama co-sponsors bill to establish a Katrina commission to investigate response to the disaster introduced by Hillary Clinton
* Sept. 21, 2005: Obama appears on NPR to discuss the role of poverty in Hurricane Katrina.
* Sept. 22, 2005: Obama and Coburn’s Hurricane Katrina financial oversight bill unanimously passes Senate committee.
* Sept. 22, 2005: Obama’s amendment requiring evacuation plans unanimously passes Senate committee.
* Sept. 28, 2005: Obama and Coburn issue statement about the need for a Chief Financial Officer to oversee the financial mismanagement and suspicious contracts occurring in the reconstruction process
* Sept. 29, 2005: Obama and Coburn investigate possible FEMA refusal of free cruise ship offer
* Oct. 6, 2005: Obama and Coburn issue statement on FEMA Decision to re-bid Katrina contracts
* Oct. 6, 2005: Obama co-sponsors Gulf Coast Infrastructure Redevelopment and Recovery Act of 2005.
* Oct. 21, 2005: Obama releases statement decrying the extension of FEMA director, Michael “Brownie” Brown’s contract. Obama calls Brown’s contract extension, “unconscionable.”
* Nov. 17, 2005: Obama and Coburn introduce legislation asking FEMA to immediately re-bid all Katrina reconstruction contracts.
* Feb. 1, 2006: Obama gives Senate floor speech on his legislation to help children affected by Hurricane Katrina
* Feb. 2, 2006: Obama introduces legislation to help low-income children affected by Hurricane Katrina
* Feb. 23, 2006: Obama issues statement responding to a White House report on Hurricane Katrina. Obama noted that the top two recommendations that the report had for the federal government were initiatives he had been working on since immediately after the storm hit. Obama called the administration’s response “delinquent.”
* May 2, 2006: Obama gives speech about no-bid contracts in Hurricane Katrina reconstruction
* May 4, 2006: Obama’s legislation to end no-bid contracts for Hurricane Katrina reconstruction passed the Senate.
* June 15, 2006: Obama and Coburn announce legislation to require amendment to create competitive bidding for Hurricane Katrina reconstruction for federal contracts over $500,000. Although it passed previously, the language was stripped in conference.
* June 15, 2006: Obama releases podcast about his pending Katrina reconstruction legislation in the Senate.
* June 16, 2006: Obama and Coburn get no-bid Hurricane Katrina reconstruction amendment into Department of Defense authorization bill.
* July 14, 2006: Obama and Coburn’s legislation to end abuse of no-bid contracts passes senate as amendment to Department of Defense authorization bill.
* August 11, 2006: Obama visits Xavier University in New Orleans to give Commencement address
* August 14, 2006: Obama and Coburn ask FEMA to address ballooning no-bid contracts for Gulf Coast reconstruction
* Sept. 29, 2006: Obama and Coburn legislation to prevent abuse of no-bid contracts in the wake of disaster passes Senate to be sent to President’s desk to become law.
* Feb. 2007-Present: As Obama begins his Presidential campaign he references Katrina as a part of his stump speech as he travels around the country in his familiar line, “That we are not a country which preaches compassion and justice to others while we allow bodies to float down the streets of a major American city. That is not who we are.”
* June 20, 2007: Obama co-sponsors Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 introduced by Senator Chris Dodd.
* July 27, 2007: Obama and colleagues get a measure in the Homeland Security bill that will investigate FEMA trailers that may contain the toxic chemical, formaldehyde.
* Aug. 26, 2007: Obama outlines a detailed Hurricane Katrina recovery plan.
* December 18, 2007: Obama calls on President Bush to protect affordable housing in New Orleans

http://thinkonthesethings.wordpress.com/2007/08/29/when-the-cameras-are-off-barack-obamas-hurricane-katrina-record/

[rinsd]

2. No copywright issue so here's the comparison

A comparison of the core elements of Hillary's plan and Sen. Obama's plan is below.

Cutting red tape

May 2007: Senator Clinton will cut red tape by streamlining the FEMA “project worksheet” project, by amending the Stafford Act, and by giving FEMA maximum flexibility in implementation. She will also elevate the federal rebuilding coordinator so that he or she reports directly to the President.

August 2007: Senator Obama will cut red tape by streamlining the FEMA application process and by altering/eliminating unnecessary regulations to give FEMA more flexibility. He will also elevate the federal rebuilding coordinator so that he or she reports directly to the President.

Health care

May 2007: Senator Clinton would provide financial incentives to skilled medical professionals to return to New Orleans and serve high need areas. She would deploy the Gulf Coast Corps to rebuild hospitals and clinics, especially those that serve the under- and uninsured.

August 2007: Senator Obama would provide incentives to lure medical professionals back to the region. He would fight to establish a major medical complex in downtown New Orleans that would serve the entire community.

K-12 Education

May 2007: Senator Clinton would fill the large teacher shortage by recruiting skilled teachers though her Gulf Coast Corps. Senator Clinton would renovate and modernize school facilities so that they are modern, energy efficient, and free of lead, mold, and other pollutants.

August 2007: Senator Obama would work to recruit and retain top teaching talent for New Orleans schools and would help communities make necessary school infrastructure investments so all kids would have safe and supportive learning environments.

Public safety

May 2007: Senator Clinton would provide sufficient COPS and Byrne Grant funding to put 200 new police officers back on the beat and would work in partnership with local community leaders to deploy new crime-fighting technologies and methods. She would provide funding and technical assistance to help federal, state, and local leaders confront the challenge of interoperability across police departments and other law enforcement agencies.

August 2007: Senator Obama will establish a “COPS for Katrina” program to put new police officers on the street and to develop community-based crime fighting strategies. He would help federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies establish an integrated regional crime control partnership.

Housing

May 2007: Senator Clinton would convene a state-local-federal summit to resolve challenges confronting the Road Home program. She would work to expand the stock of affordable rental housing through a number of specific initiatives.

August 2007: Senator Obama would work with the state to approve all Road Home applications within two months and would work to increase the supply of rental property.

Jobs and economy

May 2007: Senator Clinton would create a Gulf Coast Corps that would directly hire thousands of workers and apprentices – especially locals and those who left but want to return – to complete priority public works projects.

August 2007: Senator Obama will fight to ensure more Katrina-related recovery or reconstruction activities can be done by local residents. These measures would ensure that Gulf Coast residents, and not big corporations, will rebuild their communities.

May 2007: Senator Clinton would support and extend federal incentives to stimulate a thriving Gulf Opportunity Zone and to support small businesses.

August 2007: Senator Obama would target tax incentives to lure businesses to the hardest hit areas of the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane protection

May 2007: Senator Clinton would order a stem-to-stern review of the Army Corps plans and progress and expedite construction of the levees and pumps. She would order the Corps to move to Category 5 protection over time. She would require the Corps and other agencies to integrate a wetlands restoration plan as a vital component of hurricane protection efforts.

August 2007: Senator Obama will have the levees and pumps to 100-year storm protection by 2011 and would ultimately move to Category 5 protection. He would help the Gulf Coast restore wetlands, marshes and barrier islands that are critical to tamping down the force of hurricanes.

FEMA

May 2007: Senator Clinton would elevate FEMA to cabinet-level status (with the director reporting directly to her). She also proposed in late 2005 that Congress pass a law requiring the director to have professional emergency management experience. That proposal became law in 2006.

August 2007: Senator Obama would have the FEMA director report directly to President Obama, serve a six-year term, and have professional emergency management experience.

May 2007: Senator Clinton would add a Catastrophic Annex to the Stafford Act and direct FEMA to work with folks on the ground to develop preparedness and response plans and lines of authority.

August 2007: Senator Obama would work with emergency management officials, emergency responders and other experts to create a real National Response Plan. Transportation

May 2007: Senator Clinton would promote smart development by helping communities build environmentally friendly public transit systems.

August 2007: Senator Obama would help the New Orleans area develop regional transit partnerships.

National Insurance Reserve

May 2007: Senator Clinton announced at a campaign stop in Florida that she would work on legislation to create a national catastrophe fund. She introduced that legislation in the fall.

August 2007: Senator Obama would work with the insurance industry to set up an efficient catastrophe insurance “backstop.”

[JackORoses]

3. guess what? hillary never did anything. It's been almost a year since she announced her 'plan'

[Sapphocrat]

4. Impossible!

I read on the interwebs that Hillary was copying Obama's votes!

[NMMNG]

8. It's a conspiracy orchestrated from the top by Mark Penn

She's got a time machine and she goes forward so she can see what he's going to do. Then she goes back and does it before he can do it and take all the credit. It's perfectly evil! :evilgrin:

[madrchsod]

5. the folks down there have another few years to wait

i guess hope is better than nothing because they ain`t got nothing now. the folks down there would be better off asking for foreign aid instead of waiting for our government to do anything...

[Proud2BAmurkin]

6. Happens all the time. She leads Obama follows

[jasmine621]

7. Obama gets credit for initiative. nt

[robbedvoter]

9. It's how W was running against Gore in 2000 - having a rally with a similar

theme - albeit washed down: "Social security - yeah, we're for it" Medical insurance - sure- why not". And of course MSM was only covered his versions, never Gore's.

[alteredstate]

10. Floor Statement of Senator Barack Obama Senate Floor 2/1/2006

Floor Statement of Senator Barack Obama
Hurricane Katrina Child Assistance Amendment
Senate Floor
February 1, 2006

Mr. President, I rise to speak about an amendment to the Tax Reconciliation bill that I intend to offer at the appropriate time.

The Amendment achieves two goals. First, it helps keep a promise the President made to rebuild the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Second, in a $70 billion bill laden with tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected, it sets aside less than 1 percent for the neediest in our society.

Two weeks after Katrina made landfall, President Bush stood in the ruins of New Orleans and vowed to "do what it takes" to help the region recover. He also acknowledged the terrifying images of abject poverty that struck Americans on their TV screens and said, "We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action." Five months later, the President's timid actions have not matched his bold rhetoric. He has not lived up to his promises.

My amendment uses a cost-effective and proven tool in our tax code--the Child Tax Credit--to extend aid to low-income working families affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Enacted in 1997, the Child Credit allows families with qualifying children to receive a credit of $1,000 per child against their federal income tax. Unfortunately, the credit is skewed so that many families who need it the most can't get it.

Under current law, families that earn less than $11,000 get no benefit from the refundable child credit. That means that a child is left out of the credit even if her parent works full time at minimum wage, which has not increased since 1997. And the child doesn't get the full benefit of the $1000 credit until her parent earns close to $18,000, or even more if the child has siblings.

What's worse: if her parents' incomes stagnate, are disrupted for any reason, or the economy stalls and work hours or wages are reduced, the value of the credit drops or even disappears. Under current law, almost 17 million children get less than the full credit.

We all know what happened to the families on the Gulf Coast due to Hurricane Katrina, and it will be a long time before these families can rebuild their lives. Many of the families in the affected states were evacuated to other areas, and many of them cannot even afford to go back. And the federal response so far has been inadequate to get these families effectively back on their feet.

We need to do better. At a time when we are debating $70 billion of tax breaks, many of which will benefit those who need the least help, it is critical that we remember the worst off and the most vulnerable members of our society.

When I went to Houston after the Hurricane, I met an evacuee from New Orleans who said to me: "we had nothing before the hurricane, and now we've got less than nothing." Life was hard for many families even before Katrina hit. In Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, for example, more than 900,000 children under 17 years old were so poor that they got no child tax credit or only a partial credit. These states had among the highest rates of children too poor to get the full credit. In fact, more than 1/3 of the children in Mississippi and Louisiana didn't get the full benefit of the child tax credit.

This amendment, at a cost of less than 1 percent of the overall Tax Reconciliation bill, will provide necessary assistance to many of these families. The amendment eliminates the income threshold that excluded all children in families with less than $11,000 of income.

My amendment sends a simple message: if you work, your kids get a benefit. It provides a partial credit starting with the first dollar of a parent's income for families who lived in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The amendment is simple: it says that the children of low-income working parents affected by Hurricane Katrina will no longer be denied the child credit. You work, your kids get a benefit. If you don't work, no benefit. And if you want the full benefit, you have to earn at least $10,000, which is just about the income of a full time job at minimum wage.

That's a common sense way to support families with children, especially families that have experienced the huge cost - psychological and financial - of a natural disaster.

My amendment is also narrowly tailored and fiscally responsible. It is aimed at families affected by the Hurricanes, and it provides short-term support, expiring in 2008.

With this amendment, hundreds of thousands of this country's most disadvantaged children will see an increase in their credit. Katrina offered us a window into America's poverty. Let's not let that window close without doing something to provide a chance for America's children to rebuild their lives with dignity, hope, and opportunity.

I yield the floor.

http://obama.senate.gov/press/060202-obama_to_propos/