An email from Senator Harry Reid...
Dangerous IncompetenceThis past weekend I continued my "Give 'Em Hell Harry Red State Tour" heading to Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.
The Americans I met repeatedly expressed to me their frustration with the Bush Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress for their dangerous incompetence that has made all Americans less secure and less safe. Like American across the country, Gulf Coast residents are frustrated with a President who has repeatedly pursued flawed policies that fail to protect America and a rubber stamp Republican Congress that refuses to do its job and hold the President accountable.
Today I want to tell you what I saw in Arkansas.
At the Hope Airport there is a sea of 11,000 mobile homes set up for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. These dwellings are costing FEMA hundreds of millions of dollars; yet they remain empty even as thousands remain homeless. FEMA has been unable to use the trailers because regulations prohibit placing them in flood plains. Seeing those trailers I was mystified, disappointed and appalled. And this is just one example of dangerous mismanagement and costly incompetence.
Last week, I wrote to President Bush urging him to sign an executive order for a temporary exemption from the flood-plain regulations. With the stroke of his pen, he could give flood victims homes, yet he chooses to do nothing. In fact right now in Pass Christian, Mississippi, more than 100 hurricane victims are living in tents. Are they better off?
For the past two weeks I have written you about the lack of oversight that Republicans in Congress conduct on this administration. The shocking situation in Arkansas is yet another example of this unmet need. Last week you wrote more than 13,000 letters to the editor. Lets bring that number up to 20,000.
Write a letter to the editor demanding that the Republican Congress conduct more oversight of the administration by visiting:
http://giveemhellharry.com/page/speakout/NSAGood Congressional oversight protects America and it is long past time that the Republican Congress, in particular the House and Senate Intelligence Committee stop protecting the Administration at the expense of the security of the American people. On matters of national security, Americans expect their government to have a record of accomplishment, but today, sadly, our government is known more for its consistent misleading dangerous incompetence and leaders who have fallen asleep at the switch.
We saw it with Katrina, where warnings about the storm's potential devastation were ignored at the highest levels. We saw it in the Dubai ports deal, where such an important national security decision was left to underlings and bureaucrats. And we see it in the decisions made in Washington about Iraq, where our troops are bravely fulfilling their mission but their civilian leaders are letting them down.
These mistakes have had severe consequences for our nation. Incompetence has made our country less safe and less secure. It has stretched our military too thin and taken a great toll on our troops, active as well as guard and reserve, and their families. It has weakened our homeland defense, and along the Gulf Coast, uprooted millions of lives and devastated the economy.
Thank you,
Harry Reid
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