mr. speaker , i rise in strong opposition to house resolution 437 , legislation that proposes to establish a partisan committee to investigate the bush administration 's clumsy response to hurricane katrina . 
this congress has a proven history of lax oversight of the administration , and i do not believe it can be trusted in this case to undertake a truly independent and probing inquiry . 
like most americans , i welcomed the resignation of fema director michael brown . 
he proved himself grossly under-qualified for the important job of fema chief , the key position for coordinating governmental response to domestic catastrophes . 
his previous professional experience with the arabian horse association proved inadequate training for the awesome challenges any fema chief can expect to face . 
mr. brown 's appointment to this critical position , when compared to his woeful qualifications , reveals a disturbing willingness to place cronyism over competence . 
mr. brown 's unjustifiable appointment to fema is not the only outrage in the katrina tragedy . 
president bush himself has acknowledged his own failure and that of the entire bush administration . 
as the floodwaters rose and the cries went out from stranded victims , george bush seemed not to notice . 
only when his handlers realized the gravity of the situation -- days after federal action could have pre-empted untold numbers of deaths -- did the president rouse himself from the vigors of ranch life and deign to respond . 
this he did by cutting his five-week vacation short by two days , and dipping the wing of air force one as he jetted by . 
the american people witnessed the bush administration negligent response to hurricane katrina , and they want a full account of the political and systemic shortfalls that contributed to the inept and late federal response . 
that is why so many americans oppose a partisan committee like the one proposed in this legislation . 
in fact , 71 percent of the public said that the proposed congressional investigation would `` get bogged down in politics '' rather than `` focusing on the facts. '' such skepticism is well-founded . 
the republican majority of this congress consistently refuses to ask tough questions of the administration or hold it responsible for its misguided policies and outright dishonesty . 
the congress , for example , did not probe the administration 's faulty rationale for war with iraq , unlawful disclosure of a cia agent 's identity , deceptive cost estimates for its prescription drug proposal , and unethical dealings with energy lobbyists . 
having turned a collective blind eye to these wrongdoings , there is no reason to believe that congress will suddenly reverse course and put national interests above their political loyalty to president bush . 
a recent poll revealed that 76 percent of americans support the creation of an independent commission akin to the one formed by congress after the september 11 terrorist attacks . 
my democratic colleagues and i have proposed just such a commission to examine the conduct of the federal government , including the congress , before , during , and immediately after hurricane katrina swept through the gulf coast region . 
many in washington , dc prefer a partisan inquiry into the federal government 's response to the worst disaster in a nation 's history , but my constituents have been clear : the government 's response was appalling and they want a full and independent investigation . 
they want to know the truth , so that in the future , such tragedies are minimized and responded to with speed , skill , and experience . 
