Jefferson and Melancon Release Views on GOP Katrina Report

Today, as the Republican House Select Committee on Katrina releases its final report, “A Failure of Initiative,” Representatives Charlie Melancon and William Jefferson, who participated in the panel’s investigation but were not appointed to the committee, released a supplemental report expressing their additional views. Melancon and Jefferson reinforced the need for further investigation into the aftermath of Katrina and called for a bipartisan, independent commission investigation. They also stressed the need to focus on present needs and priorities for recovery and rebuilding efforts.

“Overall, the majority report is a comprehensive, detailed recitation of the problems that occurred in responding to Hurricane Katrina,” Melancon and Jefferson wrote. “The majority report rarely assesses how these problems occurred, why they were not corrected sooner and who in particular was responsible.”