The devastation and tragic loss of life caused by Hurricane Katrina earlier this week reinforce the urgency of our coalition's work,

The American Library Association (ALA) is saddened by the tragic loss of life and widespread damage to homes and communities by Hurricane Katrina, ... Libraries are an indispensable part of their communities, providing support and resources for everyone. Dozens of libraries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama need our assistance so they, in turn, can meet the many needs of their communities.

We face an extraordinary threat to our national security and physical safety of the American people of a character that, at least in my lifetime, we have never faced before,

We have to continue to use both low-tech and high-tech tools to assist our Border Patrol in patrolling this portion of terrain and protecting ourselves against people who want to sneak across.

We've certainly learned a lot of lessons from Katrina, from Rita. Rita was better than Katrina. We're doing a better job planning. We're closer - more closely aligned with the Department of Defense. These things would be positive things if we were to have another attack.

Well, I'm not excusing the fact that planning and preparedness was not where it should be. We've known for 20 years about this hurricane, this possibility of this kind of hurricane.