madam speaker , i have listened to these terms : `` sticking our head in the sand '' ; `` ignoring the problem. '' i have no idea what anyone is talking about when they say things like that .  it is absolutely absurd to believe that any member of this institution does not want to do everything possible to ensure that we find out what happened leading up to hurricane katrina and what has happened since hurricane katrina has hit .  because we , at this moment , live with the threat of hurricane ophelia off the carolinas , so we are moving as expeditiously as possible to get this bipartisan committee put together , where the committee itself will determine how someone is subpoenaed , just as is the case with every committee .  i hope very much that the gentleman from mississippi is appointed to serve as a member of this select committee .  he obviously has strong feelings .  he has made it very clear that , as someone who was victimized by hurricane katrina , he should in fact be able to subpoena ; and i can assure him , under the standing rules of the house , as a member of the committee , if the minority leader chooses to appoint him to that committee , he will be able to participate in determining who testifies before that committee .  so we are in this together , madam speaker , whether members like it or not .  again , i do not believe that washington post poll that the democrats want to use this for political gain .  i believe the democrats , along with republicans , want to find out exactly what has created this challenge at all levels of government and even in the private sector , with which we are contending at this point .  