Congressman Jefferson Response to Katrina Report

The White House report makes some very good points about the federal government’s failures before, during and after Hurricane Katrina made landfall. While you cannot prevent storms of this magnitude, you can predict and plan for them. Our federal government must do a better job planning for natural disasters and it seems the White House has acknowledged that much.

However, the report does not go far enough to recommend what I believe will be the key to successful preparedness and disaster management in the future: FEMA must have cabinet level authority, allowing the director to have the federal resources to adequately respond in times of natural disaster.