Kerry: Disaster Response Plan Falls Short

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Senator John Kerry
(D-Mass.), Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship,
made the following statement on the Bush Administration's disaster response
framework released by the Department of Homeland Security:
"This disaster response plan falls short by ignoring the key immediate role
that agencies like the Small Business Administration need to play in a time of
emergency. Within days of a disaster, the SBA must be on the ground as part of
the response team so that businesses and homeowners alike have access to
financial assistance without delay. We learned lessons after Hurricane Katrina
about the need for better intergovernmental coordination and the tools
agencies need to improve their disaster response. That's why I've worked in a
bipartisan manner to pass legislation to reform the disaster loan program and
give the SBA the tools they need to provide short-term aid and assist in
long-term economic recovery."

SOURCE U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Kathryn Seck of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship, +1-202-224-9431, kathryn_seck@small-bus.senate.gov