Originally published February 26 2006
Department of Homeland Security blamed for FEMA's dysfunction
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Former director of FEMA Michael Brown testified before Congress that policies determined by the Department of Homeland Security led to FEMA's inefficient response to Hurricane Katrina.
Decisions and policies by the parent Department of Homeland Security doomed FEMA to "a path to failure" that led to the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, former disaster chief Michael Brown said Friday.
Brown, who quit under fire as chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency just days after the Aug. 29 storm devastated much of the Gulf Coast area, said that FEMA's mission was marginalized when it was swallowed by the newly created Homeland Security agency.
The department had terrorism prevention, not disaster response, as its top priority, Brown noted.
"There was a cultural clash that didn't recognize the absolute inherent science of preparing for a disaster," he told the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
Susan Collins, said that FEMA missed early warning signs that emergency response teams were unprepared to handle a catastrophic disaster like Hurricane Katrina.
A management audit prepared by Brown months before the Aug. 29 storm showed that the agency had a lack of adequate and consistent situational awareness to size up emergencies, and was unable to properly control inventory and track assets, she told fellow committee members.
"Despite this study, key problems simply were not addressed and, as a result, opportunities to strengthen FEMA prior to Katrina were missed," she said.
Collins said Brown also told Senate investigators that the Bush administration's sluggish response to Katrina was blamed in part on what he called a clash of cultures between preventing terrorism and preparing for other disasters.
Brown's appearance in front of the Senate investigative panel came as new documents reveal that 28 federal, state and local agencies _ including the White House _ reported levee failures on Aug. 29, according to a timeline of e-mails, situation updates and weather reports.
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