News & Politics - Senate Panel Says FEMA Is Beyond Repair

Lexis · 04-27-2006, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Hurricane Katrina turned FEMA into a "symbol of a bumbling bureaucracy" so far beyond repair that it should be scrapped, senators said Thursday. They called for creation of a new disaster relief agency as the next storm season looms on the horizon.

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The push to replace the beleaguered agency was the top recommendation of a hefty Senate inquiry that concluded that top officials from New Orleans to Washington failed to adequately prepare for and respond to the deadly storm, despite weather forecasts predicting its path through the Gulf Coast.

"The first obligation of government is to protect our people," said Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs investigation. "In Katrina, we failed at all levels of government to meet that fundamental obligation."

She added: "We must learn from the lessons of Katrina so that next time disaster strikes, whether it's a storm that was imminent and predicted for a long time, or a terror attack that takes us by surprise, government responds far more effectively."

The bipartisan report's executive summary gives President Bush a mixed review for his performance. It credits him for declaring an emergency before the hurricane's landfall, but faults him for waiting until two days after it hit to return to Washington and convene top officials to coordinate the federal response.

"The White House shares responsibility for the inadequate pre-landfall preparations," the summary says.

The inquiry's final report, given to lawmakers Thursday, faulted New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco for failing to protect sick and elderly people and others who could not evacuate the city on their own. It also concluded that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Michael Brown, who then headed the Federal Emergency Management Agency, either did not understand federal response plans or refused to follow them.

But the panel's top Democrat, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (news, bio, voting record) of Connecticut, heaped much of the blame on Bush and the White House, which he said "were not sufficiently engaged when they should have been initiating an aggressive response."

Even after the storm's Aug. 29 landfall, the White House "still seemed detached until two days later," said Lieberman, who faces a primary re-election challenge this year.

The bipartisan panel issued 86 recommendations for change that, taken together, indicate the United States is still woefully unprepared for a storm of Katrina's scope with the start of the hurricane season little more than a month away.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060427/...NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Sounds quite fair. I'm a little surprised at Lieberman criticising Bush so much but considering he's facing a primary challenge before the mid-terms, maybe I shouldn't be.

Ms Carolyn · 04-27-2006, 08:38 PM

FEMA worked just fine under every President before Bush. I say we keep FEMA, and get rid of Dubya!

Milo-phile · 04-28-2006, 05:29 PM

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Originally Posted by Ms Carolyn

FEMA worked just fine under every President before Bush. I say we keep FEMA, and get rid of Dubya!

How do you know it worked just fine until Bush? Was their any MAJOR natural disaster like Katrina since FEMA was developed before Bush? No. Nothing comes close. FEMA is a joke and it's not doing what it said it would at its founding. I just got my FEMA trailor a few months back when I should have had it in September or October. FEMA isn't doing anything for us down here and we shouldn't waste money on keeping it alive. It's not doing any good so it should be abolished.

UnsilentMajorty · 04-28-2006, 06:58 PM

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Originally Posted by Milo-phile

How do you know it worked just fine until Bush? Was their any MAJOR natural disaster like Katrina since FEMA was developed before Bush?

Um... With all due respect, how long have you been alive?

There have been countless disasters involving fire, flood, hurricane, explosion, plane crashes, railroad disasters, oil spills and other terrible events and environmental disasters which also fall under FEMA.

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Nothing comes close. FEMA is a joke and it's not doing what it said it would at its founding. I just got my FEMA trailor a few months back when I should have had it in September or October. FEMA isn't doing anything for us down here and we shouldn't waste money on keeping it alive. It's not doing any good so it should be abolished.

I am sorry for your loss, but you are essentially saying since it didn't do what YOU wanted fast enough it should be abolished. That is not a valid argument, I am sorry. In fact, going by your logic, Bush should be impeached because he is not doing what he and his party promised when they were elected which was being fiscally conservative as well as a number of other false promises.

Milo-phile · 04-29-2006, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnsilentMajorty

Um... With all due respect, how long have you been alive?

There have been countless disasters involving fire, flood, hurricane, explosion, plane crashes, railroad disasters, oil spills and other terrible events and environmental disasters which also fall under FEMA.

Question: Did those fires, oil spills, and railroad disasters destroy over 300,000 houses in ONE CITY? And Katrina was not only a hurricane. It also caused an entire district to catch fire and a parish to be flooded with oil. St. Bernard Parish was not only flooded with water, but also had to deal with an oil spill.

So yeah, I know that they have been other "disasters" since FEMA was founded but none of them were on the same scale as Katrina.

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnsilentMajorty

I am sorry for your loss, but you are essentially saying since it didn't do what YOU wanted fast enough it should be abolished. That is not a valid argument, I am sorry.

What I wanted? No. What the city NEEDED. My case is only an example. FEMA isn't soing ANYTHING! Do you hear what I'm saying? NOTHING. It was only three days ago that the stoplights at my street corner were fixed. Dear God, that's 7 months to fix the streetlights, and there are still a lot of them left not working. And FEMA said it would provide emergency housing and help us financially. It hasn't done either. There are people living in tents because FEMA is taking so long to get them a trailor. And there is so much red tape involved in it all. I have a friend that no longer needs their trailor and wants to give it to someone that does but FEMA won't let her. They said they have to come and move it because it takes a special license. That information was processed over 3 months ago and my friend is still trying to get the trailor moved. Also, before FEMA will give you the key to the trailor, an insector must come to your house to check that you are eligible. 300,000 houses need inspections, and only 4 inspectors are in town. Come on, FEMA. That's pathetic. Hurricane season starts in 34 days and we can't get ready without some help and they aren't giving us any. FEMA is doing squat and I'm so tired of dealing with it that it should just be abolished and started over from scratch. That's the only way to help out next time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnsilentMajorty

In fact, going by your logic, Bush should be impeached because he is not doing what he and his party promised when they were elected which was being fiscally conservative as well as a number of other false promises.

If we impeached every politician that lied about a promise we wouldn't have anyone left to run the country. Don't turn this into an anti-Bush thing.

UnsilentMajorty · 04-29-2006, 08:54 AM

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Originally Posted by Milo-phile

FEMA is doing squat and I'm so tired of dealing with it that it should just be abolished and started over from scratch. That's the only way to help out next time.

Again, your stress over the situation is clouding your judgement and logic.

Even if they started over, you'd get the same bureaucratic red tape you'd get with the current system because that is what bureaucracy is like with a large scale body like the Federal Government.

Milo-phile · 04-29-2006, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnsilentMajorty

Again, your stress over the situation is clouding your judgement and logic.

Even if they started over, you'd get the same bureaucratic red tape you'd get with the current system because that is what bureaucracy is like with a large scale body like the Federal Government.

Then what do you suggest we do? FEMA isn't working, and a new program won't help either - what now?

Ms Carolyn · 04-29-2006, 06:06 PM

First of all, I would say get rid of some of the fricking red tape and take FEMA back out of the Dept. of #*^%#( Homeland Security, which is what added a whole additional layer of red tape and rendered FEMA non-functional on a practical level.


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