Letter to The Honorable Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State

Letter

June 14, 2007

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Madam Secretary:

When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita rolled ashore nearly two years ago, they left behind a devastated region larger than Great Britain. A quarter of a million homes were destroyed, nearly 20,000 businesses were forced to close their doors in Louisiana alone and an area seven times that of Manhattan lay under the floodwaters from the failed federal levees. The magnitude of the catastrophe is unparalleled in our history.

Beginning mere hours after the disasters, more than three-fourths of the nations of the world came forward to offer assistance. Some extended offers of money or in-kind contributions, while others put forth medical supplies, communications equipment or the expertise of rescue personnel and engineers.

In all, more than 150 nations offered helping hands in a gesture of humanity that knows no geographic boundaries or political barriers. As you know, reports have come to light that many offers were not accepted, not followed through on or not properly managed by the Departments of State and Homeland Security. Of nearly $1 billion in tangible assistance offered, only about $126 million was accepted and applied to the disaster relief effort. As a result, hurricane victims and first responders were deprived of resources which could have had tremendous impact on the region's recovery.

We are two weeks into the 2007 hurricane season, yet it is decidedly unclear whether the federal government is today any better equipped to wisely and effectively manage offers of international assistance. The one certainly is that our nation will eventually confront another disaster, be it natural or manmade. The Administration's own review, "The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned," identified several specific recommendations for action by the State Department (alone or in coordination with other agencies), with a deadline of June 1, 2006, for five of them and a call for immediate action on others.

To date, little progress has been reported in addressing these recommendations.

You were specifically asked for an update on this matter in your May 10, 2007, appearance before the Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs. You said: "I will get back to you with an update on where we are, by letter, in response to your question." Later in your testimony, you added: "I will get back to you with... an answer to your question about the various recommendations."

We believe a month is more than adequate time to provide the Senate with a response to this essential question. In fact, follow up e-mails to your staff indicated that a response was desired by Friday, June 8, 2007. We are disappointed that no response has yet been provided.

As such, we respectfully request that you provide a status report addressing the following questions no later than Thursday, June 28, 2007:

1. To the extent that the Department of State is designated as the agency responsible, what is the status of implementation of recommendations 89 through 97 of the White House report, "The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned?"
2. If any recommendations were not implemented by the deadlines identified in the report, why were they not?
3. What additional resources are needed to complete implementation of any as-of-yet unaddressed recommendations?
4. Specifically, when do you expect an amendment to the International Coordination Support Annex to the National Response Plan be complete and amended? What else must be addressed to satisfy this goal?
5. Of foreign assistance accepted following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, how much has actually been distributed and used to date?
6. As we understand the Department's Katrina task force has been disbanded, what process exists today to accommodate offers from foreign governments seeking to assist the ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts along the Gulf Coast?
7. What additional steps is the Department of State pursuing to better manage foreign assistance following a domestic disaster, what is the status of implementing these actions and what additional resources are needed to complete this effort?
8. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has effectively managed the direction of billions of dollars in U.S. assistance to victims of and responders to international disasters such as the South Asia Tsunami and Central Asia Earthquakes. How is USAID's experience being applied to better manage aid following disasters here at home? What barriers exist to better leveraging USAID's knowledge and resources in this way, and what would be needed to more effectively draw on this expertise and infrastructure?
9. What other internal investigations, if any, have been conducted by the Department of State into its handling of foreign assistance following the 2005 hurricanes, and what is the status of those reviews?
10. What was communicated to foreign governments regarding assistance that went unused, or offers of assistance that were not accepted?

Please also provide the Department's full accounting of all offers of assistance received, their current disposition and, in the case of offers not fully accepted, the Department's rationale for rejecting those offers.

As you know, the Department of State's responsibility is not limited solely to advancing our nation's interests abroad. Its duty extends to representing the American people to the international community when the interests in question are right here at home.

The hurricanes of 2005 united the world in a spirit of goodwill for Americans rebuilding their lives along our Gulf Coast. This spirit should not be laid to waste, and should another disaster tragically befall our nation, we must do better to ensure that such helping hands are not unjustifiably turned away again.

We are committed to working with you and taking whatever steps are necessary to ensure that this vital goal is appropriately met.

Sincerely,

Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Chairman
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

Patrick Leahy, Chairman
Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs
Senate Committee on Appropriations

Mary L. Landrieu, Chairman
Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

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