New York--Former Republican New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told agents and brokers here last night that he believes the federal government has some role to play insuring catastrophes.
Mr. Giuliani, who did not provide much detail, made his remarks last night during an address at the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's annual conference.
His comment came in response to a question asked after he delivered an address on leadership.
While not outlining the exact role he thought the federal government should play when it comes to insurance questions, he said the government's role is to make sure it provides help where it is needed and to make the resources available to do that.
"We are all in this together," he said. "Yes, I feel the federal government has to play a role in insurance and the training of people."
"Something can't happen in one part of the country without it affecting the rest of the country," he added.
He refused to assign blame for the events in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, where evacuation equipment and basic essentials for those stranded by the flood waters were slow to arrive.
However, he said some of the lessons he learned from 9/11 were that the local, state and federal governments need to come together under one roof and operate as a cohesive unit in deciding what needs to be done, and that egos need to be put aside.
He observed that training and preparation were also essential in dealing with the crisis. While there was no scenario developed for the specific attack on 9/11, the city had practiced and prepared for various emergency situations that allowed it to build a response to that tragedy.
"It is important to train state and local responders because they are the first line of defense," he said. Mr. Giuliani also noted that no matter how good the federal government response is, the local emergency services will be the first on the scene.
"We have to make sure they are trained and we have to use our terrorism dollars wisely because some are more competent than others," he remarked.
Mr. Giuliani said one reason that Florida was able to respond effectively in the wake of four hurricanes last year was because Florida Gov. Jeb Bush took the time to learn and prepare for an eventual disaster. He said the governor and other state officials spent time in New York learning how the city responded and took lessons from what did and did not work. Those lessons were applied to Florida.
Mr. Giuliani also praised Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley for making a similar study.
He remarked that critics are wrong to say the U.S. has spent too much time preparing for terrorism attacks and not enough on natural disasters.
Asked about his political future, Mr. Giuliani said regarding a run for the presidency, he will "take a look at it next year."
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