It is difficult to understand the lack of preparedness and the ineffective initial response to a disaster that had been predicted for years and for which specific, dire warning had been given for days.

[With billions of dollars to boost disaster preparedness at all levels of government,] we would have expected a sharp, crisp response to this terrible tragedy, ... Instead, we witnessed what appeared to be a sluggish initial response.

Katrina was a disaster that scientists, emergency management officials and political leaders had anticipated for years, yet the initial response was woefully inadequate,

They don't realize that on a national basis, the Red Cross responds to a disaster every seven minutes. Probably a half a percent of those ever make the news, so you do forget day in and day out what we do.

It's been a standing program since the first Gulf War. They put this program together with the National Disaster Medical System. We're the receiving team down here. We partner with the community, sign up different hospitals that have reserve beds on an ongoing basis.

These are challenging times at home and around the world. We will have to work together in a bipartisan spirit and with our international partners if we are going to achieve progress and peace now and for future generations.