Congresswoman Corrine Brown Comments on Senate Report

From what I have seen so far, I favor the proposal to replace FEMA with a new ‘National Preparedness and Response Authority,’ whose top official would report to the Homeland Security Secretary, and in times of emergency, would have direct access to confer with the President.

Just a few months ago, the House of Representatives came out with a report, “A Failure of Initiative,” which was released by the House Select Committee on Katrina, and criticizes the poor preparation and response to the hurricane. I think it is quite clear that the slow response to Hurricane Katrina led to the massive destruction of the Gulf Coast region, particularly New Orleans. The numerous warnings, inadequate planning and apathy, on the part of FEMA and the Bush administration, in preparing the region for the scope of Hurricane Katrina’s massive devastation were just a few, among many, of the points made in the Committee’s report. In fact, since 9/11, the Republican led Congress has given natural disaster preparedness secondary status in the federal budget, undermining agencies like FEMA and the Coast Guard.