mr. speaker , i thank the ranking member , the gentlewoman from new york ( ms. slaughter )  , 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 )  who is the author of the legislation , along with the gentleman from new jersey ( mr. menendez )  , 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 )  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 )  has told us firsthand of what he has seen there .  the gentleman from mississippi ( mr. thompson )  , 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 )  , the gentleman from texas ( mr. al green )  , 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 )  , the gentleman from new jersey 's ( mr. menendez )  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 .  