What's Important 6

Fifth in a series.

This entry's from the Fact Checker at the Washington Post:

NEW ORLEANS REPORTER: "My understanding is that you voted twice against the creation of a commission to investigate the levee failures around New Orleans. My question is why have you voted against the creation of that commission?"

JOHN MCCAIN: "I have supported every investigation and ways of finding out what caused the tragedy."

The Senate split along party lines back in September 2005 and February 2006 when Hillary Clinton proposed setting up a bipartisan commission to investigate the Hurricane Katrina tragedy. McCain voted with the then Republican majority in the Senate for a congressional investigation rather than a 9/11 style commission.

The Senate committee on Homeland Security chaired by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Me) held extensive hearings into the failure of the levees in New Orleans and ended up issuing a series of reports critical of the Bush administration's response.