mr. speaker , i thank the ranking member , the gentlewoman from new york ( ms. slaughter ) xz4003780 , for yielding me this time and commend the members of the committee on rules for their important work on this subject , particularly the gentleman from florida ( mr. hastings ) xz4001701 who is the author of the legislation , along with the gentleman from new jersey ( mr. menendez ) xz4002720 , the chairman of our caucus , on legislation which will bring truth to this situation , an independent commission , modeled after 9/11 , respected by the american people . 
following the tragedy of 9/11 , the american people expected and deserved the truth . 
people of new york and new jersey were strong advocates for such a commission . 
the people in louisiana and mississippi and the gulf region are displaced . 
they are trying to put their lives back together . 
they have lost their homes , their jobs , their livelihoods , their communities . 
they really do not have time to lobby congress for an independent commission . 
but our country is grateful to the 9/11 families because they not only gave us that commission to review that terrible tragedy that befell our country , they gave us a tradition of transparency and finding the truth and holding people accountable and hoping to do so in a way that prevents future loss of life . 
we endanger the american people when we ignore the truth . 
so on behalf of the people in the region , i plead with my colleagues in this body to reject any sham committee . 
supposedly bipartisan ; not so . 
supposedly bicameral ; not so . 
one thing we know , it is a vehicle to whitewash , to whitewash , and not have a true look into what went wrong . 
there was a natural disaster , a terrible natural disaster in the gulf coast states . 
it was compounded by a manmade disaster because the federal response of fema fell so very , very short . 
and fema , now its director has resigned , but fema is fraught with problems systemically throughout it . 
that does not mean that many , many people who work for fema and many people , our first responders , police and fire , health care providers in the area and volunteers from every walk of life did not rise to the occasion . 
they certainly did , and we commend them for the sacrifice they were willing to make to rescue others in the time of the immediate recovery . 
but there are so many unanswered questions ; and instead of having a sham , why can we not have a real commission to look into this ? 
so the choice on the floor today , we have heard all of this discussion over and over . 
the fact is that we should be spending our time figuring out how we are going to help the people of the region rebuild their communities , to create jobs , to educate their children , to rid themselves of the toxic , literally toxic , environment , and that is the situation that they are in there . 
instead , we are wasting the public 's time on a subject that is unworthy of this tragedy , and it did not have to be . 
i certainly respect the congressional role of oversight . 
we have called for it over and over again , whether it was the war in iraq or the price gouging at the pump of gasoline for america 's consumers , whether it is abu ghraib or guantanamo . 
name it . 
there are so many subjects that this congress has been delinquent in its duty in doing oversight . 
so i fully support congressional oversight by the committees of jurisdiction . 
in order to expedite help to the region , i suggested to the speaker that we have a truly bipartisan committee that could streamline how we would go forward . 
at the time , i intended it just to be on the positive side , and that was early , when katrina was just hitting , and then when we saw things go wrong , we added the charge that we would see what went wrong . 
so the idea of this congress having a role in terms of oversight in a bipartisan special committee is one that i supported . 
i suggested it . 
but what the republicans came back with was really a slap in the face to the people who were affected in the region . 
we owe them the truth . 
why is this congress afraid of the truth ? 
over and over again , iraq , name it , price at the pump , why is this congress afraid of the truth ? 
sometimes it is really important , as we try to find our common ground , we stand our ground where we can not find that common ground , but we always have to come down in favor of the people , to yield on points . 
because we are here to get a job done . 
maybe not exactly the way we would want to get it done , but get a job done . 
so now , today , the republicans are putting up an obstacle to doing just that . 
so i urge my colleagues to honor the sacrifice , the situation , that has affected the people in the region by at least telling them the truth and vote against this committee today , to vote against this committee , to say come back to the drawing board when they want to have honesty in what we are doing . 
but , first and foremost , we must have a truly independent commission , again , in the manner of the 9/11 commission that took testimony , that issued a report , that gave transparency and openness to the process and gave some level of truth to the american people . 
because the people in the gulf states , many of them affected are poor and economically disadvantaged and not as sophisticated , perhaps , as some of the people stricken with grief in the new york/new jersey area at the time of 9/11 , and in pennsylvania and in the pentagon . 
because these people are of a different economic status and because they are living in shelters and the rest and not really able to speak for themselves to the congress of the united states , we , the house democrats , will speak for them in asking for the truth and appealing to our republican colleagues for us to work together in a completely nonpartisan way to help meet their needs . 
i know that some members have visited the region , certainly those affected . 
the gentleman from mississippi ( mr. taylor ) xz4003992 spoke with such eloquence on the floor yesterday . 
senator landrieu , in the senate last week , brought the nation to tears with her presentation on what she saw in her beloved state of louisiana . 
and the gentleman from louisiana ( mr. jefferson ) xz4002010 has told us firsthand of what he has seen there . 
the gentleman from mississippi ( mr. thompson ) xz4004021 , our ranking member on the committee on homeland security , spoke from authority in standing on the committee but experience as a mississippian . 
they know because they see firsthand . 
i could only see secondhand , joining the gentlewoman from texas ( ms. jackson-lee ) xz4001990 , the gentleman from texas ( mr. al green ) xz4006530 , the gentleman from texas ( mr. gene green ) , going to houston to meet with the victims of katrina in the astrodome and also in the george r. brown convention center . 
we saw children , little children , adorable little babies that we could hold in our arms , and 90-year-old great grannies , all of them , not the little babies , they did not speak for themselves , but their older siblings said , `` we want to go home. '' they praised the hospitality , the warmth , the generosity of the people of houston . 
and they are to be commended . 
as i said when i was in houston , i do not know of any city in america that could have risen to the occasion so quickly and so compassionately as houston . 
mayor white , judge eckels , the commissioner of harris county ; representative noriega , so many people in the community came together to help the victims of katrina . 
but still , with all of the respect that they extended to their guests , with all the health care , with all the care and feeding , still , of course , there is no place like home . 
so let us find out how we can bring these people home . 
and a good way to have them come home and have confidence in the future that , should another hurricane strike , and we know that it will , that the precautions will have been taken , the accountability will be assigned , and that the people will be protected . 
we can do that by finding the truth . 
we can find the truth with the gentleman from florida ( mr. hastings ) xz4001701 , the gentleman from new jersey 's ( mr. menendez ) xz4002720 commission , senator i stand open and welcome to any cooperation with the republicans when the speaker is ready to cooperate on true bipartisanship , true openness , and true accountability to the american people . 
with that , i just close again to say that our hopes and prayers are always with the people of the region . 
it is our resolve that they will be made whole as soon as possible , and that has to be a bipartisan commitment . 
