"Brownback said Tuesday that local officials and the Kansas National Guard commander all told him they have the resources needed to respond.
'That’s what really got me, is [KS Governor Sebelius] saying that,' Brownback said in an interview.
'So I asked, privately and publicly, the adjutant general, do you have the equipment you need?' he said. 'Because if you don’t, we’re going to hit Fort Riley and McConnell (Air Force Base) and other places to make sure we have all the equipment we need to respond to disasters. Everybody there said no, we have the equipment we needed.'
He added: 'I think what we need to do is to focus on what we need here now, and not draw a broader political question in. We’ve got a disaster, and we need to all pull together to get everything we need from the state and the federal for the local need.'
After visiting the town Monday, the Kansas senator said he asked about resources because, 'I think FEMA has a lot of proving to do after Katrina.' "
Hello world!
7 years ago
3 comments:
I heard him on Fox News Radio, I thought he sounded pretty good -- well, for all 4 seconds of the sound bite. (I don't watch TV so radio's my thing)
– Dec. 30, 2005: Sebelius writes to Rumsfeld requesting new equipment. Included with her letter was a list of equipment Kansas had lost to the Iraq war.
– Jan. 23, 2006: Sebelius personally urges Bush to increase National Guard funding.
– June 28, 2006: Sebelius sends Army Secretary list of $140 million in equipment lost in the Iraq war.
– Sept. 2006: Sebelius lobbies for replacement of National Guard equipment sent to Iraq.
– Feb. 27, 2007: Sebelius pushes White House and Congress for more National Guard funding.
But in true White House fashion, Tony Snow blames the victim:
"If you don’t request it, you’re not going to get it. There have been no requests to the National Guard for heavy equipment."
I missed the Snow quote (and I'm curious to know the context), but as Brownback asserted, was there an issue of mat'ls depletion in responding to the tornado?
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