Hurricane Katrina, coupled with Hurricane Rita, which came promptly on Katrina's heels, claimed more than 1,200 American lives. Together, they caused more than $200 billion in damage.

When we withhold it from one segment of the population we are doing a disservice to the principles of fairness and equality upon which our country was founded. She has received an F rating from the National Rifle Association. Her parents were a secretary and a shop steward for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

Tauscher served as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs until February 2012. She was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing California's 10th congressional district from 1997 until her resignation in 2009 upon joining the State Department. Ellen O'Kane Tauscher (born November 15 1951) is an American politician.