Brownie paints a black picture of Homeland Security (go figure!)

[irishgrl]

Ex-FEMA Chief Blames DHS for Katrina By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - 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. "Any time you break that cycle ... you're doomed to failure."

He added: "The policies and decisions implemented by the DHS put FEMA on a path to failure."

Earlier, the chairwoman of the panel, Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), 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. Collins said the audit also showed that FEMA misunderstood standard response procedures.

"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.

That litany was at odds with the administration's contention that it didn't know the extent of the problem until much later. At the time, President Bush said, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

SOMEBODY HAND ME A SPOON, I WANNA STIR THIS POT SOME MORE!