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Candidate Notes on 05-S1685

 


05-S1685 on Sep 12, 2005

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: A bill to ensure the evacuation of individuals with special needs in times of emergency.

SPONSOR'S INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Sen. OBAMA: One of the most striking things about the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina is that the majority of stranded victims were our society's most vulnerable members--low-income families, the elderly, the homeless, the disabled. Many did not own cars. Many believed themselves unable to flee the city, unable to forego the income from missed work, unable to incur the expenses of travel, food and lodging. Some may have misunderstood the severity of the warnings, if they heard the warnings at all. Some may have needed help that was unavailable. Whatever the reason, they were not evacuated and we have seen the horrific results.

This failure to evacuate so many of the most desperate citizens of the

Gulf Coast leads me to introduce today a bill to require states and the nation to consider the needs of our neediest citizens in times of emergency. It appears that certain assumptions were made in planning and preparing for the worst case scenario in the Gulf Coast. After all, most of those who could afford to evacuate managed to do so. They drove out of town and checked into hotels or stayed with friends and family. But what about the thousands of people left behind because they had special needs?

Communities with special needs may be more challenging to accommodate, but they are every bit as important to protect and serve in the event of an emergency. What we saw in the Gulf Coast cannot be repeated. We may not be able to control the wrath of Mother Nature, but we can control how we prepare for natural disasters.

LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; never came to a vote.



Democrats participating in 05-S1685

Evan Bayh s2iIN Democratic Jr Senator
Jeff Bingaman s2iNM Democrat Jr Senator
Jon Corzine s2iNJ Democrat
Mark Dayton s1oMN Democrat Jr Senator
Richard Durbin s1oIL Democrat Sr Senator
Russell Feingold s2iPOTUS Democrat
Tom Harkin s2iIA Democrat Jr Senator
Ted Kennedy s2iMA Democrat Sr Senator
Carl Levin s2iMI Democrat Sr Senator
Patty Murray s2iWA Democratic incumbent
Barack Obama s2pIL Democratic Jr Senator
Ken Salazar s1oCO Democratic Jr Senator



Republicans participating in 05-S1685



Independents participating in 05-S1685



Total recorded by OnTheIssues:

Democrats: 12
Republicans: 0
Independents: 0