Bob Johannessen
Bob Johannessen
federal law obligated return
We are obligated under federal law to return that money. That is what we did.
law silent
The law is silent on those two issues.
changing date living recovering resources state
The resources of the state to date have been on getting the living out of New Orleans. It is changing to recovering those who perished.
percent provide state
We could provide prescriptions, but at 100 percent state expense.
apparently came city complete issue knew louisiana orleans shock state
Apparently it's an issue between the City of New Orleans and FEMA. The State of Louisiana knew nothing about this, it came as a complete shock to us.
agency caught critical pay question ultimately
Our agency will pay for this if we have to. It's too critical to get caught up in a question of who ultimately is going to pay for it.
body claim conduct family people winds
So many people have been completely displaced. A family that winds up in Buffalo, New York, may not have the wherewithal to claim a body and conduct a burial.
means
We don't know what to expect. It means we're prepared.
death rise toll
The death toll will rise without a doubt.
beginning grief possible process road work
It's a place for the process to start, to work through the grief of beginning the long road of possible identification.
bodies found house locked might nobody
There might still be bodies found -- for instance, if a house was locked and nobody able to go into it.
check
It wasn't us. I'll have to check with headquarters.
count
We're going to count one at a time. It could take days. It could take years. It could take lifetimes.
few hoping knew last past season several worse
We knew that several years ago, we had about 250 cases. In the last few years, there has been a little over 100 cases. We're hoping this season won't be any worse than in the past few years.