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Come on Down
Editorial, Times-Picayune
Sept. 9, 2006
Direct Article Link
Everyone in greater New Orleans who has given the disaster tour to
out-of-area friends and relatives can pretty much predict their
reaction:
"Oh, my God. It's nothing like watching it on TV. You have to see it."
That's why Women of the Storm has for months lobbied members of
Congress to come to the city. For people who control the funding needed
to fix damage done by Katrina and the failure of the federal levee
system, getting first-hand knowledge of the tragedy and the challenges
we face can be a mind-changing experience.
Thanks in great part to the women's efforts, the 161st member of
Congress to visit our area, California Republican Ken Kalvert, is
scheduled to arrive Sunday. Mr. Kalvert chairs the House's Space and
Aeronautics subcommittee, which oversees NASA programs, including those
involving Lockheed Martin's Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New
Orleans.
Getting that many members to visit is remarkable, and Louisianians
appreciate the effort. Only one state, New Hampshire, has failed to
send a delegate. But that still leaves 45 U.S. senators and 329
representatives who have yet to visit more than a year after the storm.
That list includes some members who, considering their leadership
positions or their states' exposure to hurricanes, could gain a new
level of understanding by seeing the devastation. Among them are
California Republican Jerry Lewis and Wisconsin Democrat David Obey,
respectively the chairman and ranking member of the powerful House
Appropriations Committee.
Three senators from Gulf Coast states also have not seen South
Louisiana's destruction: Alabama's Jeff Sessions and Florida's Mel
Martinez, both Republicans, as well as Florida Democrat Bill Nelson.
Women of the Storm plans to travel to Washington later this month and will issue an invitation to members who have not visited.
They should come on down. It's worth it.
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