Hurricane Katrina did more than expose the consequences of natural disasters; it exposed the hidden consequences of public policies that cut disaster prevention and relief agency budgets and allow entrenched poverty to fester.

Who is responsible for these policies? In at least one important case, the shortsighted and punitive fiscal policies plaguing Katrina's victims resulted from votes of their own congressional representatives

The effect of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 ("Bankruptcy Act"), which last month imposed formidable new hurdles on Mississippi's and Louisiana's displaced and now debt-burdened residents, will not be pretty. But here is the ugliest truth: After many unsuccessful attempts, last April the Bankruptcy Act became law with the support of 14 of the 15 senators and representatives from Louisiana and Mississippi.

Those who now find themselves devastated by Katrina and subjected to the Bankruptcy Act's highly punitive conditions should demand an explanation from these legislators.

Most reporting on the Bankruptcy Act's impact on Katrina's victims has been sympathetic, noting that thousands of people have lost homes, family members and jobs. Under Katrina's extraordinary circumstances, commentators suggest, Congress should waive or soften the bill's stringent requirements.

A Sept. 1 Reuters report typified this sentiment, stating "the law wasn't directed at people who file because of catastrophes such as Katrina."

Such arguments miss the point. Before it passed, it was commonly understood that the Bankruptcy Act would harshly penalize victims of circumstances beyond their control be they natural disasters or personal catastrophes.

Bankruptcy experts told Congress that the image of irresponsible debtors heedlessly running up their credit cards and declaring bankruptcy to dodge their obligations was largely inaccurate. Ninety percent of Americans seeking personal bankruptcy protection suddenly lost their jobs, faced massive unexpected medical bills or lacked sufficient resources after the family's breadwinner left the household.

While these crises may not strike thousands of Americans simultaneously, they hit individual families with hurricane-like force.

A study by researchers at Harvard University found that more than half of bankruptcies in 2001 were linked to serious illness and medical debt. Even middle-class persons with health insurance often file for bankruptcy when a catastrophic illness' medical costs exceed their coverage.

The study also found that 30 percent of Americans whose medical debt led to bankruptcy initially endured having a utility shut off before resorting to bankruptcy and 22 percent went without food.

While these personal disasters are less visible than Katrina's devastation, legislators fully understood who the Bankruptcy Act would punish. Nevertheless, each senator from Katrina's hardest hit states voted for the new Bankruptcy Act. And of Mississippi's and Louisiana's 11 congressional representatives, only one, Bennie Thompson from the Mississippi Delta, voted against it.

According to Middle Class 2004, an annual scorecard from the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy's that evaluates members of Congress' voting records on legislation that impacts the middle class and those striving to enter it, these Bankruptcy Act votes were not an aberration. Middle Class 2004 found Mississippi's congressional delegation earned an "F" for supporting the middle class only 24 percent of the time.

Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster, but the full extent of its disastrous consequences was man-made. As voters in the hardest hit states struggle to rebuild their lives, they should make a mental note to hold their legislators accountable for making the process harder next time they go to the polls.

And going forward, all Americans should demand public policies that support their fellow citizens in their darkest days, irrespective of whether they are coping with a hurricane or a heart attack.

Executive Director of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy