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 Remarks  of  FCC  Commissioner  Deborah  Taylor  Tate  At  the  Federal  Communications  Commission’s 
 Independent  Panel  Reviewing  the  Impact  of  Hurricane  Katrina  January  30,  2006 


 Welcome  to  the  Federal  Communications  Commission.  I  really  wish  that  I  could  be  with  you  today,  but  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  extend  this  personal  greeting  to  you  as  you 
 begin  this  important  job,  not  only  for  the  FCC,  for  our  country. 
 When  the  hurricanes  hit  the  Gulf  Coast,  I  was  back  home  in  Tennessee,  and  like  many  of  you,  it  took  days  to  track  down  close  friends  and  our  state  colleagues.  Through 
 them  I  was  able  to  hear  first  hand  of  the  devastation  –  devastation  many  of  you  faced. 
 I  recall  a  conversation  with  a  former  state  colleague  in  which  he  described  the  devastation  caused  by  the  hurricane,  specifically  that  three  towns  had  been  wiped  off  the 
 face  of  the  earth.  This  emotional  conversation  has  stayed  with  me  and  that  is  why  your  work  is  so  very  crucial.  Because  the  FCC  oversees  major  infrastructures  that  are  critical 
 to  the  nation’s  ability  to  respond  to  natural  disasters  and  other  emergencies,  we  must  continue  to  learn  from  these  events  and  prepare  for  tomorrow. 


 I  would  like  to  share  just  a  note  of  praise  for  the  FCC.  When  contacted  by  a  carrier  to  assist  following  Hurricane  Katrina,  I  gladly  called  the  FCC  offices  on  a  Friday 
 night  thinking  I  would  be  leaving  a  voice  mail  –  only  to  discover  that  the  staff  was  working  around  the  clock  to  take  immediate  action  to  assist  in  any  way  possible  to  restore 
 communications  for  the  public  safety  operations,  for  the  media,  for  businesses,  hospital  and  all  types  of  relief  efforts,  and  for  individuals  to  locate  their  loved  ones. 


 I  send  my  heartfelt  thanks  to  Nancy  Victory  for  her  leadership  –  and  to  each  of  you  –  many  of  whom  I  have  worked  with  in  Tennessee  –  and  look  forward  to  receiving 
 your  recommendations  which,  I  hope,  will  include  recommendations  for  those  with  special  needs. 


 Have  a  good  and  productive  meeting  and,  again,  many  thanks. 
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