|
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative William Jefferson (D-LA) introduced the Federal Engineering Accountability Act of 2006 – a bill that will allow citizens to sue the federal government for damages caused by the levees failures along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. Under current federal law, specifically provisions of the Flood Control Act of 1928 and the Federal Tort Claims Act, the Army Corps of Engineers cannot be sued for personal injury or property damage that may result from the failure of one or more of its flood control or other projects. The bill would allow individuals or businesses to sue the federal government if the Corps admits failures or negligence or an independent investigative commission concludes that the Corps failed in its design, construction or maintenance of such projects.
“The Army Corps of Engineers has acknowledged that they failed the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast who trusted that the levees the Corps built would keep us safe,” Jefferson said. “Unfortunately, the designs were flawed, leaving us vulnerable to the high winds and high tides of Hurricane Katrina. The federal government must be held accountable.”
Earlier this year, the Corps admitted that its own failure to adequately construct and maintain the flood protection system in and around New Orleans led to the failures that drowned the city. But for these failures, much of the damage that survivors confront today would not have occurred. However, under current law, the Corps cannot be sued for damage to persons or property despite its own admission of negligence.
Jefferson’s bill waives the Corps’ current immunity in either of two instances. First, if the Corps admits its own failure or negligence, then individuals and businesses adversely affected by such misfeasance would be able to sue for actual damages suffered. Second, the bill establishes a Federal Engineering Accountability Commission that would be required to investigate the failures of any Corps projects that resulted in damage to persons or property during a major disaster; should the Commission find, as the informal civil engineering study group did in the wake of Katrina, that the Corps was negligent in the design, construction or maintenance of projects for which the Corps is legally responsible, then individuals would be able to sue to recover damages for personal injury or property damage. State and local governments, as well as insurance carriers, would not be permitted to sue under the Act.
“Thousands lost their homes and businesses not because of a hurricane but because the federal government failed to keep us safe,” Jefferson said. “We should be able to seek damages from the federal government, just as we would private entities, for the losses we all face as we try to rebuild our lives one year later and continue to face the threat of flood due to the Corps’ negligence. This bill would provide Americans who have been shafted by their insurance companies and their government the ability to seek the justice and compensation that they deserve. I encourage my colleagues to support this important measure.” |
|
