As soon as the storms hit, our immediate mission was to contact our large employers throughout the impacted area to see what their situation was and to find a way to get them back on their feet.

Thank God we got a little break in the storms.

We are poised for a strong economic recovery. New Orleans is one of the oldest cities in America. Federal and state activities are in place to design, develop, construct, and enhance protection from flooding. We have withstood major storms before, and will appropriately address the infrastructure so that this type of devastation never occurs again.

It boils down to this: If you work in an operating room, you are required to make an immediate decision. If you are a National Guardsman in Iraq, you have to make immediate decisions. But in a governmental situation, people have a tendency to seek approval from authority and notify their supervisors. Agencies like FEMA need to come on the ground with people who can make decisions, as opposed to being worried about whether they are violating Rule 6b(c).

It boils down to this: If you work in an operating room, you are required to make an immediate decision. If you are a National Guardsman in Iraq, you have to make immediate decisions, ... But in a governmental situation, people have a tendency to seek approval from authority and notify their supervisors. Agencies like FEMA need to come on the ground with people who can make decisions, as opposed to being worried about whether they are violating Rule 6b(c).

The larger corporations have such significant resources, they take their initiative and move forward without significant needs.