9/11 Panel Says U.S. Hasn't Enacted Crucial Reforms

Four years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the federal government has failed to enact crucial homeland security reforms that could have saved lives and improved the sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina, according to a report to be issued today by former members of the Sept. 11 commission. Local emergency officials are still unable to reliably communicate with one another during disasters, the federal government has no clear system of command and control for responding to a crisis. Thomas H. Kean (R), the former New Jersey governor who headed the panel that investigated the terrorist attacks, and other commission officials said the most serious oversights are those that might have helped in the response to Hurricane Katrina. The commission's report will note that lawmakers, facing opposition from the broadcast industry, have not established a unified emergency communications system by dedicating a portion of the broadcast spectrum to medical and disaster responders. As on Sept. 11, when malfunctioning radios contributed to deaths in the World Trade Center, public safety officials in New Orleans have reported widespread communications problems. "The fact that Congress has chosen not to do something about this is a national scandal that has cost lives," Kean said.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dan Eggen]