States "rights" battle unfolding.
In an address to the nation on Thursday, President Bush laid out a sweeping set of initiatives to aid the rebuilding effort of the gulf region and called for an investigation into what went wrong in the disaster and how better to respond in the future.
Following a list of economic stimulus programs designed to aid small businesses and individuals, the president called for something sure to draw fierce debate, a broadening of Federal power to declare martial law.
This follows on the heels of the Bush administration's failed effort to have Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco sign documents allowing Bush to invoke the Insurrection Act during the height of the crisis in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Current law prevents regular military troops from law enforcement except in the case of insurrection against the state if that state has lost the ability to maintain order. Loosening of this restriction, and whatever else is contemplated in the president's statement, would mean a fundamental shift in the current  balance of power between the Federal and State governments.
Remarks on the Senate Floor Sept. 13th, 2005 by Senator John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee: (excerpt)
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Bush calls for expanding Federal authority