The disaster that is FEMA

Remember the promise by President Bush that we would never forget the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Yeah I thought not neither did he.

This story from the Post about the trailers used to house people. The trailers are unsafe:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fumes from 519 tested trailers and mobile homes in Louisiana and Mississippi were, on average, about five times what people are exposed to in most modern homes. Formaldehyde, a preservative commonly used in construction materials, can lead to breathing problems and is also believed to cause cancer.

FEMA has know about this problem for months. It told its people not to test the trailers. It said for a long time that they were safe. It discounted reports as early as 2006 of : trailer occupants began reporting headaches, nosebleeds and difficulty breathing. The article goes on further to say:

But as recently as last spring, a FEMA spokesman said the agency said no reason to question the safety of its trailers. Just last month, congressional investigators accused FEMA of suppressing and manipulating scientific research to play down the danger _ an accusation the agency denied.

To say this is hard to believe is an understatement The Secretary of Homeland security goes on to blames the people who are in the trailers saying: but it has been difficult to get them to do so because the housing shortage means they might have to move far away, and because they are being allowed to live in the trailers rent-free.

Gee I don't know maybe it is the responsibility of the government to make sure these people are helped out. They were promised by the President that they would not be forgotten and everything possible would be done for them. But then again this promise came from the Bush Administration and we've seen how good their promises are.

As I've said before January 2009 can't come soon enough.