On this week's episode of "Security Mom," Juliette Kayyem sits down with Thad Allen, then the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Coast Guard, to hear about his experience in New Orleans, 10 years after the tragic incidents of Hurricane Katrina. Allen had been sent to New Orleans to try to fix the botched recovery efforts of the national government.

"It is worth noting that the only driving-related fatalities this weekend occurred in other states; massive pileups, with drivers stuck in cars for hours on end, took place in states that failed to institute travel bans. Preventing deaths has rarely been simpler. Meanwhile, the deficiencies in the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, in particular, led to advancements in federal emergency management support, airline cancellation protocols, communications systems, and the speed of coastal evacuations, all of which came into play in this storm."

"...[I]f we want more from government, then government may want more from us. And that includes earlier and smarter preparations, from shoring up creaky infrastructure to securing vulnerable homes and property. That sentiment was behind all the exhortations from politicians over the past week."

"Having a professional military means that the United States can go to war while the vast majority of citizens are not directly affected. Therefore it falls upon the president, more than any other individual, to make sure the nation goes to war only if and when absolutely necessary."

"The president's new half-trillion-dollar proposal for highway, bridge, and mass transit projects should be just the beginning of federal and state efforts to promote resilient designs. As the details of how the money will be spent are devised, traditional means through tax breaks or regulations should be coupled with more creative inducements — such as engineering competitions or research and development grants — to promote projects that not only employ workers, but build for a very long future that will bring new hurricanes, earthquakes, and bedlam."

Nearly five years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, has the government adequately protected its citizens against terrorism and catastrophic disaster?

At the very least, Congress should reconsider its position of "once approved, always approved."