Embattled House Majority Leader Tom DeLay yesterday blamed local and state officials for the slow response in getting much-needed aid to storm-ravaged New Orleans, saying that the emergency response system was designed to work "from the bottom up."
"It's the local officials trying to handle the problem. When they can't handle the problem, they go to the state, and the state does what they can to, and if they need assistance from FEMA and the federal government they ask for it and it's delivered," DeLay said.
