Blog
Two weeks ago, President Bush quickly stopped in on Westfield, New Jersey to talk to a bunch of his supporters about his Social Security privatization proposal. The Westfield stop was part of a six-week push to convince Americans that the Social Security program faces an immediate crisis. The traveling salesman didn't do as well as he wanted----and so now the president has hired a couple of public relations experts to run a war room at the Social Security Administration.
NEW DELHI, INDIA
The hardest hit areas of India were the remote Nicobar and Andaman islands and along the southeastern coast of mainland India. Given the time constraints, we were unable to travel to these areas, but I was able to receive a firsthand account of relief efforts directly from Prime Minister Singh.
It is my belief that a critical aspect of my mission here is my responsibility to report back to Congress and to my constituents the situation in these nations. This trip has given me the opportunity to see the damage firsthand and to talk directly with aid workers on the ground so that we can best decide our next course of action.
Sri Lanka is one of the nations hardest hit by the tsunami. Reports indicate approximately 40,000 people were killed and over 70 percent of the island nation's coastline was impacted.
Today we traveled to the Galle Province of Sri Lanka and met with U.S. Marines and aid workers here on the ground. We visited a tsunami refugee camp where thousands of Sri Lankans who had lost their homes are now sleeping on the floor of a temple.
Today was our first opportunity to tour some of the areas hit by the tsunami. Like everyone, I have been watching television coverage of the disaster, but nothing prepared me for what I saw.
KHAO LAK, THAILAND