Don't Forget Katrina Survivors

Dear Friends,

George Bush's too-brief reference to Hurricane Katrina in his State of the Union speech gave hard-hit families another demonstration of what they can expect from this White House: Little help. No hope.

Now we have learned that the White House was told that a levee in New Orleans had broken on the night of the storm, even though administration officials claim to have been caught by surprise!

Knowing that his administration's stunning incompetence deepened their pain and suffering, you might think President Bush would feel a special obligation to take action. Far from it.

The Bush White House has moved on. Their new budget, flush with more tax cuts for the well-to-do, offers no new aid and no additional reconstruction funds.

We cannot let that stunning display of indifference stand as America's response.

Yesterday, Senator Clinton heard first-hand from members of the Katrina Survivors Association. These are hard-working people asking only for help rebuilding their lives, their neighborhoods, their schools and their communities.

Hillary has made clear her commitment to do right by these survivors. Simple human decency demands no less.

As Hillary said, "If America doesn't take care of its own, how can we go around and tell the rest of the world that we're going to help take care of them?"

"We owe these fellow Americans every possible effort to ensure the problem is not exacerbated by sending those who lost everything into communities without continued care and a plan for the future," she told Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, whose department oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

It has been five months since Hurricane Katrina and the inept response of the Bush Administration devastated an entire region of our country. That's far too long for people to go without answers to fundamental questions: When can I go back home? How can I get my family's life back to normal? When will my children's schools be rebuilt?

As you know, Senator Clinton has led the drive to create an independent Katrina Commission to get to the bottom of the failed governmental response to this crisis. She believes we have an obligation to ensure that no American ever goes through a natural disaster of this magnitude again with so little help from our government. And just as important, we have to be there for those who have gone through it until they get back on their feet.

Thank you for your friendship and for standing with Hillary as she speaks up for our values and speaks out for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

Ann F. Lewis

P.S. A number of you have written in cheering Hillary’s speech to the United Autoworkers, where she took on the administration for trying to use fear as a political strategy. You can see the speech for yourself here.

Tags: Hillary, Hillary Clinton, Hurricane Katrina