mr. speaker , i rise today in opposition to house resolution 437 . 
this resolution puts a partisan congressional committee in charge of the investigation . 
the rule that has been offered does not allow for meaningful debate . 
it also does not allow for an amendment offered by the gentleman from florida ( mr. hastings ) xz4001701 that would create an independent commission to investigate this catastrophe . 
i am also an original cosponsor of that amendment . 
letting congress investigate the government failures of hurricane katrina is like letting the fox guard the hen house . 
we are not protecting what we need to protect , and there will be a lot more questions than answers in the end . 
more than ever , the last 2 weeks have shown that we need an independent assessment of what happened . 
where did the federal government go wrong ? 
what could the state and locals have done better ? 
what happened to citizens ' preparedness ? 
in my role as ranking member of the committee on homeland security , i have looked for answers and have tried to put together a timeline of events . 
i am submitting with my statement today for the record a timeline that the staff of the committee has put together for me showing what happened compiled from public sources . 
this document shows the complexity of the issues and the need for an independent assessment of what happened . 
i do not understand the opposition from the other side of the aisle against creating an independent commission that the american people have asked for . 
it was done , with opposition from republicans , after 9/11 ; it was done after pearl harbor ; and after the khobar towers terrorist attacks . 
we have always had it . 
indeed , the type of commission proposed by the gentleman from florida ( mr. hastings ) xz4001701 and others has historically been used after large events that affect the country . 
why not here ? 
what does congress want to protect ? 
what is congress trying to hide ? 
after 9/11 , congress did the right thing . 
on september 20 , they sent the largest contingent ever to travel to new york city to view the devastation of the world trade center and console the families of the victims . 
it has been nearly 3 weeks since hurricane katrina hit the gulf coast , and there have been no official congressional delegations to the region . 
mr. speaker , what do we have to hide ? 
indeed , i have twice requested the committee on homeland security to travel to the area and was refused . 
i was told that it did not make good sense for congress to go down and conduct oversight and fact-finding missions at the time . 
yet we went to new york , but now we can not go to my area of the country . 
now we want congress to take charge of this investigation . 
for the good of the nation , let us put aside partisan politics and not create a strawman committee . 
i encourage a vote against the rule so we can consider the independent commission option , give it a vote and let the american people know we are listening to their requests . 
