mr. speaker , i thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time . 
my heart and the hearts of those i represent are with all who have been devastated by hurricane katrina . 
we know a bit about what it is like to have devastating loss in a flood . 
the city of grand forks flooded in 1997 . 
fifty-seven thousand people were evacuated , but the federal response was immediate and lives were saved . 
here , the federal response failed and lives were lost . 
we need to know why . 
this is about learning what happened so it never happens again ; and no republican controlled , no congressional , partisan hearing process could ever get to the bottom of it . 
we need an independent commission . 
it literally is a matter of life and death , no partisan whitewash . 
we need an independent commission so we learn what happened so it never happens again . 
lives are at stake . 
