Ex-FEMA director Michael Brown testifies on Katrina response

Former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs today. Brown alleged that he notified top Department of Homeland Security officials about the levee breaches in New Orleans the day that Hurricane Katrina made landfall. Also testifiying before the committee today were Patrick L. Rhode, Former FEMA Acting Deputy Director and Chief of Staff; Robert B. Stephan, Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, Department of Homeland Security and Matthew Broderick, Director for Operations Coordination, Department of Homeland Security. The committee has archived the hearing for viewing. Next Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff will testify before the committee.

"Trial of Saddam Hussein" web site

The Law Library of Congress has released a new web site, the Trial of Saddam Hussein, through which the Library will monitor, analyze and report legal developments related to the relevant trials. Included on the web site is information on the tribunal and the legal process, as well as a bibliography of reference materials.

Rocky Flats

In 2000 the U.S. government formed a compensation program to "provide for timely, uniform, and adequate compensation of covered employees and, where applicable, survivors of such employees, suffering from illnesses incurred by such employees in the performance of duty for the Department of Energy (DOE) and certain of its contractors and subcontractors." The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health is in charge of administering this program. At a recent meeting this board discussed how the matrix determining who is affected by radiation at Rocky Flats might be effected by the S. Cohen & Associates report. This report discusses the site profile and some deficiencies therein, such as a failure to account for higher exposures to parts of body not near dosimeters and incorrect calculations used to determine the amount of plutonium lodged in the lungs.

Gonzales challenged on domestic spying

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was on the hot seat yesterday, when he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on whether President Bush went too far when he authorized the National Security Agency's surveillance operations. Read his testimony on the Committee's web-site. You can also view the webcast of the hearing on the same page.

Budget of the United States '07 revealed

The President's budget plan for next year arrived on Capitol Hill yesterday. The $2.77 trillion budget forecasts a record $423 billion deficit. While defense gets a 6.9% increase, 141 mostly domestic programs will be slashed or killed for savings of almost $15 billion. You can find the Budget of the United States - Fiscal Year '07 on the GPO access website: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy07/index.html