Chertoff, Not Brown, Was Responsible For Federal Response To Huricane Katrina

The ousted director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Michael Brown, appeared before a special congressional panel set up by House Republican leaders to investigate the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina.
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Brown defended FEMA's actions and proceeded to blame local and state officials for the subsequent catasatrophe in New Orleans which killed at least 1000 people and caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage. Brown blamed Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on what he called a “dysfunctional” local response. Both officials are Democrats. In contrast, Brown praised state officials in Alabama and Mississippi, saying their response to the disaster was effective. Governors of those states are Republican.

Brown also defended himself against what he called “false, defamatory statements” reported by the news media about his qualifications. Apparently, Brown was referring to news reports that came out in the days after Katrina hit, showing that his previous job was as a commissioner for an Arabian horse association and that he had minimal experience in disaster management before he was appointed head of FEMA.

Democrats have protested the GOP congressional leadership's decision to lead House and Senate inquiries into the government's failed Katrina response. They charge that the president's party cannot be impartial in investigating the administration. Democrats initially boycotted the hearing, calling it a whitewash. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi slammed the hearing as a sham "photo opportunity" orchestrated by republican leadership in lieu of stringent congressional oversight of the administration. However, Democratic congressmember William Jefferson from Louisiana and Gene Taylor from Mississippi did participate in the hearings.

LISTEN ONLINE (or read transcript online)
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/28/1454258