WASHINGTON – The Bush administration moved toward releasing nearly a
million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to
deal with scattered fuel shortages in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as
Congress worked Friday to provide $10.5 billion for relief and rescue
efforts.
President Bush, before departing for a flight to the Gulf Coast region
hit by Katrina four days ago, expressed sympathy with the victims and
impatience with the government's relief operations. "The results are not
acceptable," he said. "We'll get on top of this situation and we're
going to help people who need help."
The House was to convene at 1 p.m. Friday to send the aid bill to Bush's
desk for his signature. The Senate gave the measure voice-vote approval
late Thursday. The new aid could be flowing as early as Friday night,
officials said.
In a letter to Capitol Hill that accompanied the emergency aid request,
Bush said the situation "requires immediate action by the Congress to
ensure that the federal response to this disaster is uninterrupted." And
he put lawmakers on notice that the $10 billion was only a first
installment, with another request expected after a fuller assessment of
the storm's impact.The Paris-based International Energy Agency was
expected to announce later Friday a coordinated release of crude and
refined products by agency members, including the oil from the U.S.
reserves, a Bush administration official said, speaking on condition of
anonymity because discussions on procedures for the release were still
under way.
The release would total 2 million barrels a day, with the U.S.
contributing 44 percent of that amount from its emergency reserve.
Frustration with the rescue effort – and the continued lack of help for
many of the mostly poor and black victims – reached a boil as the
Congressional Black Caucus blasted Bush's handling of the crisis.
"I'm ashamed of America. I'm ashamed of our government," said
Rep.Carolyn Kilpatrick, D-Mich. "I'm outraged by the lack of response by
our federal government."
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the government's front-line
responder in cases of natural disasters, is spending more than $500
million a day dealing with the unprecedented catastrophe. At that rate,
a $2.5 billion FEMA reserve fund could have been exhausted before
lawmakers returned from their summer recess on Tuesday.
The emergency aid bill combines $10 billion in new FEMA funds – enough
to last just a few weeks – and $500 million for the Pentagon's role in
the relief mission. The FEMA funds, among other uses, will finance food
and emergency shelter, medical care, debris removal, generators and cash
payments to hurricane victims.
FEMA will also funnel money to other federal agencies such as the Army
Corps of Engineers, responsible for repairing levees around New Orleans
and pumping out the flood waters inundating the city.
An increasingly polarized atmosphere has defined Washington this year,
but as in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror assaults, erstwhile
political adversaries teamed up to ensure speedy passage of the
legislation.
A skeleton crew of lawmakers was all that was needed to advance the
bill; to hold recorded votes could have delayed it as lawmakers would
have had to scramble back to Washington from their August vacation.
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