WASHINGTON — Frustrated lawmakers criticized the federal response to Hurricane Katrina on Friday, demanding that the Bush administration step up its efforts to relieve the suffering and promising to investigate what went wrong with emergency preparedness efforts.
Some of the harshest criticism came from members of the Congressional Black Caucus. At a news conference with the Urban League, the NAACP and the Black Leadership Forum -- and later in speeches on the House floor -- caucus members assailed the administration.
The federal response to the destruction and havoc caused by the hurricane "looks dysfunctional to me right now," said Rep. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles).
Watson and the other black leaders did not allege racism in the handling of a crisis that has fallen disproportionately on the poor and on minorities in the Gulf Coast.
Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) said the issue was "not about race right now. There will be another time to have issues about color."
Some Republicans joined Democrats in singling out the Federal Emergency Management Agency for criticism.
Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said he had asked the committee with oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes FEMA, to hold hearings on the agency's handling of the hurricane's aftermath after Congress resumes work Tuesday.
One Republican lawmaker, Rep. Mark Foley of Florida, called for FEMA to be separated from the Department of Homeland Security.
"This is not solely a response to the tragedy in the Gulf, but rather it is the result of the increasing evidence that FEMA should not be hindered by a top-heavy bureaucracy when they are needed to act swiftly to save lives," Foley said in a statement.
Republican leaders said they were considering an economic stimulus package that probably would include tax relief for hurricane victims.
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said he agreed with President Bush's remark Friday that the response had been "unacceptable."
"Hard lessons have been learned, tragic lessons have been learned," Blunt said. "We have to respond more quickly; we have to respond in the right ways and be sure our priorities are right."
Blunt and other Republicans urged national unity, saying the focus should be on fixing the problems and ensuring aid for victims and not on laying blame. But Democrats did not hesitate to sound off.
