Brown Shifts Blame for Katrina Response September 28, 2005 5:36 AM EDT WASHINGTON - A combative Michael Brown blamed the Louisiana governor, the New Orleans mayor and even the Bush White House that appointed him for the dismal response to Hurricane Katrina in a fiery appearance Tuesday before Congress. In response, lawmakers alternately lambasted and mocked the former FEMA director. House members' scorching treatment of Brown, in a hearing stretching nearly 6 1/2 hours, underscored how he has become an emblem of the deaths, lingering floods and stranded survivors after the Aug. 29 storm. Brown resigned Sept. 12 after being relieved of his onsite command of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response effort three days earlier. "I'm happy you left," said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn. "Because that kind of, you know, look in the lights like a deer tells me that you weren't capable to do the job." "You get an F-minus in my book," said Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss. At several points, Brown turned red in the face and slapped the table in front of him. "So I guess you want me to be the superhero, to step in there and take everyone out of New Orleans," Brown said. "What I wanted you to do is do your job and coordinate," Shays retorted. Well aware of President Bush's sunken poll ratings, legislators of both parties tried to distance themselves from the federal preparations for Katrina and the storm's aftermath that together claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Read The Rest of the Story
I do not remember his exact comment yesterday but it was something to the effect of saying that his only mistake was not realizing on the Saturday before the storm that Louisiana was disfunctional.
Blanco Goes to D.C. to Answer Brown Charge September 28, 2005 7:05 AM EDT WASHINGTON - Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco will appear before a Senate panel this morning, but she's already come out swinging against former FEMA head Michael Brown. Blanco takes strong exception to a charge by Brown that she waited until the eve of the storm to order an evacuation of New Orleans. She says Brown's comment clearly demonstrates what she says is the "appalling degree" to which he's "out of touch with the truth or reality." During testimony before a special House panel yesterday, Brown defended his handling of Hurricane Katrina. And he laid blame for what went wrong on Blanco, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and even the White House. Blanco vehemently denied that she waited until the eve of the storm to order an evacuation of New Orleans. She said her order came on the morning of Aug. 27 - two days before the storm - resulting in 1.3 million people evacuating the city. "Such falsehoods and misleading statements, made under oath before Congress, are shocking," Blanco said in a statement. In New Orleans, Nagin said that "it's too early to get into name-blame and all that stuff" but that "a FEMA director in Washington trying to deflect attention is unbelievable to me." Read the Rest of the Story
Everyone is running away from this FEMA problem b/c they are all part of the reason FEMA is so screwed up today. While the media loves to spin this FEMA problem as just a Bush problem, those politicians in Congress know better. Both Dems and Reps voted to create the Department of Homeland Security and move FEMA underneath it. Senate dems and reps also confirmed Brown as Deputy Director in 2002. I've not been able to find a confirmation vote on this to see if anyone voted against him. I suspect he breezed through without any opposition from the dems. Brown was highly incompetent for the job ... but he has plenty of company in D.C.
IMO, Brown was exactly right. These political hypocrites got 2 hours to sit and call him veryname in the book. They sat there saying how communications were a joke, riots were breaking out in the streets....blaming that on Brown and Bush. Brown then said, "Everyone here damn well knows that FEMA's job is not to police a city, to setup communications etc etc. None of that is FEMA's job people. It says in the FEMA handbook, that in the event of ANY diaster, not just a hurricane, it may be 72 hours before anyone from the federal government comes to help with aid. It cannot and should NEVER be avoided that the state and localities are the first responders and no federal help may arrive for 72 hours. That's exactly what happened and the state and city did not do their jobs. Edith Bunker Blanco did nothing but walk around and cry and Landreiu blamed everyone but herself and her family.
And the republican Senator Vitter? WTF did he do? Or Bobby Jindal? The blame goes far beyond Blanco. Let these investigations play out. The truth will emerge.
Thats a good point, I totally agree with you on this. I've often wondered what Jindal did in this event, same for Mary Landreau? To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what these senators can do? They aren't the governor. Maybe I'm a little bit ignorant about the Senators and representatives role in government. Its been a long time since I had civics, as far as I know they only represent the people of the state and are responsible for passing legislation? Senators and representatives that is. About learning the truth with investigations? I guess it depends on who is investigating? Call me skeptical on anything coming out of Washington DC ever again by any party. I certainly don't think we got the total truth with the 9-11 commission. About Brown, He is going to throw the blame around whether he is right or wrong so I think its a mute point. He paid the price for his role in the matter I only hope anyone else who didn't respond appropriately also pays that price.
Yes, all of us who live here know that we are suppose to have supplies to sustain us at least 3 days. And yes, it's the responsibility of state and local gov't to handle matters before the storm hit, as well as coordinate with FEMA (search and rescue) immediately after the storm. The state is the lead agency and is suppose to coordinate everything. They failed miserably. But I hope you're not suggesting that FEMA did their job properly. Forget New Orleans for a minute. There were hundreds of small communities in Louisiana and Mississippi that didn't see FEMA for two weeks. It is their job to get supplies to them, and that didn't happen. Hell, small communities in SW La and SE Tx have not yet seen any help from FEMA ... 5 days after Rita. FEMA needs a major overhaul. Elected officials in Louisiana will get their grade at the poll.
Well, he didn't pass the buck off on everyone else. As far as blame, I believe he left out his mother, my mother, and "a friend who knows this guy."
