Congresswoman corrects House panel on GOP convention city

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Minnesota congresswoman chided her own committee Wednesday for mixing up the names of the cities hosting the Republican National Convention this summer.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee had examined hospital capacity in seven cities in case of a terrorist attack. Two of the cities, Denver and Minneapolis, were identified as sites for this year's nominating conventions.

But St. Paul, Minn. - not neighboring Minneapolis - is the site of the Republican, although the Twin Cities are co-hosts.

"I live in Minnesota and I need to set the record straight," Betty McCollum, a Democrat from St. Paul, said at a committee hearing.

Besides Minneapolis and Denver, site of the Democratic convention, the committee looked at Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.

A committee report found that hospitals surveyed in those cities did not have the necessary capacity to handle victims from a terrorist bombing similar in size to the 2004 bombing in Madrid, Spain, which killed 191 people and injured more than 1,800.

Committee staffers looked at "surge capacity" at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and found, among other things, that its emergency room was operating at 91 percent capacity on the day it was surveyed.

But, said McCollum, "In the event of an emergency at the Republican National Convention, Regions Hospital in St. Paul, an excellent facility, will be the primary responder, with the (Minneapolis) hospital examined in the report providing support."

After McCollum's comments, the committee moved on to the next lawmaker for questions without addressing her complaints.