Former Bush FEMA director Michael D. Brown (and still FEMA employee) told a Congressional committee yesterday that anyone and everyone whose name isn’t Michael D. Brown was the one at fault for the federal government’s incompetence in responding to Hurricane Katrina. His biggest problem at the helm of FEMA during a national disaster:
"I very strongly personally regret that I was unable to persuade Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin to sit down, get over their differences and work together. I just couldn't pull it off."
The Center for American Progress reports the facts:
In testimony yesterday before a special congressional panel investigating the response to Hurricane Katrina, former FEMA director Michael Brown made a "fiery appearance" that attempted to shift blame away from the federal government. There were few facts to back up Brown's testimony, so consequently, he engaged in revisionist history. Overall, Brown's testimony illustrated he was an incompetent administrator who never should have been hired in the first place.
BROWN REPEATEDLY CONTRADICTS HIMSELF: Brown made a number of statements in his testimony yesterday that conflicted with previous statements he had given. For instance, Brown said that FEMA was stretched beyond its capabilities because, "over the past few years, [the agency] has lost a lot of manpower." But in September 2004, CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Brown whether his agency was prepared to deal with hurricanes hitting Florida. Brown said, "We absolutely are. We have all the manpower and resources we need. President Bush has been a very great supporter of FEMA." Also, Brown defiantly stated, "FEMA doesn't evacuate communities." But in the midst of the hurricane aftermath, Brown said on CNN that FEMA was conducting "rescue missions" and would "continue to evacuate all of the hospitals." Furthermore, Brown said FEMA suffered "emaciation" because anti-terror operations had become a priority for the administration. But on CNN (8/16/04), Brown said, FEMA had "proven [in Florida] that we're up to the task" of responding to both terrorism and natural disasters.
BROWN'S BIG LIE: Under questioning by Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Brown suggested that Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) had failed to issue an emergency assistance declaration for Orleans Parish, which includes New Orleans. Buyer asked, "Since you went through the exercise in Pam, was that not shocking to you that the governor would have excluded New Orleans from the declaration?" Brown said, "Yes," and that FEMA had questioned Blanco's decision. But Blanco's emergency declaration on August 27 was for all "affected areas" in "southeastern parishes including the New Orleans Metropolitan area."
All evidence points to a massive failure on the part of the Bush Administration in dealing with the crisis. The Republican Congress – in turmoil because of criminal indictments against Tom DeLay and investigations against Bill Frist – cannot be trusted to investigate the Bush Administration. America needs an independent 9/11-style commission to determine what went so wrong.
Church leaders, who have been on the front lines in responding to Katrina, are asking the president to support an independent investigation. The National Council of Churches USA reports:
New York, September 27, 2005 -- Keenly aware of the spiraling effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on millions of Americans, the National Council of Churches USA Governing Board formed an NCC commission to work for the "just rebuilding of community" on the Gulf Coast.
The board, meeting in New York September 26-27, also passed unanimously a resolution to call on the U.S. government to create an independent commission similar to the 9/11 Commission to investigate deficiencies in the response of rescue and relief workers following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and in other devastated areas of the Gulf.
NCC President Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., Christian Methodist Episcopal bishop of Louisiana and Mississippi, said he would appoint Church World Service representatives and others with special expertise to the NCC commission on Katrina and he asked NCC member communions represented at the meeting to recommend persons who could serve. Church World Service is the humanitarian and relief agency of the communions that are members of the NCC.
The Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, who proposed the formation of the commission, noted that millions of hurricane victims "were left behind, not by the rapture but by the rupture of the social contract."
Hoyt said he was also mindful of the hidden human tragedy of Katrina, including the alarming number of suicides of rescue workers and "people who lost everything." The board received for a second reading a resolution on "Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Support," which will be passed on to the NCC General Assembly for approval. The General Assembly meets November 8-10, 2005, in Hunt Valley, Md.
The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, released a statement today also calling for an independent commission:
I know the depth and breadth of the devastation Hurricane Katrina brought in her wake. While serving as president of The Interfaith Alliance, I also serve as the pastor of a Baptist congregation in Monroe, LA. Since Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, along with members of my congregation, I have worked on securing housing, medical care, food, and basic necessities for the 5,000 to 7,500 displaced people in our city.
The disparity between the response of the faith community to that of the government was inconceivable. When the government was nowhere to be found, houses of worship were there. We weren't there to pick up the pieces. We were there because the work we do is a part of the fabric of our being, our identity, and our "calling." It's ironic because I thought this was the same type of motivation for government relief efforts.
Because of all that we witnessed, The Interfaith Alliance joins with Representatives Charlie Melancon (D-Louisiana) and Gene Taylor (D-Mississippi) in urging you to create an independent, non-partisan commission to investigate the failures endured during and post-Katrina. Hard questions need to be asked and honest answers need to be given. The countless victims of the hurricane deserve nothing less from the same people who seem to have let them down. I believe it is an act of morality and religion to keep the government honest and responsible. Therefore, I also urge you and those on the commission to heed the lessons learned so that we do not find ourselves in this position again.
I would also be remiss in my responsibilities as president of The Interfaith Alliance, whose membership is comprised of over 150,000 people from 75 different faith traditions and no tradition, to express concern over the potential manipulation of this American tragedy to garner support for and advance your long-proposed Faith-Based Initiative.
Frankly, we do not need a Faith-Based Office in the White House or anywhere else in the United States Government. We have millions of faith-based offices across this nation from which incredibly good work is being done. And we--members of the church that I serve as pastor and people who value the independence of religion in the nation--do not want federal money to do our ministries. If the government will do its part in this relief effort, the religious community will do its part. But the government needs to take care of its business and not attempt to work through the religious community.
Send the president a message and tell him to support an independent commission.
Related Post: America Left The "Least Of These" Behind In The Wake Of Katrina