Robert Wexler (D) Tells Bush To Fire FEMA's Brown

Robert Wexler's Office | 9-06-05 | Robert Wexler

[My Favorite Headache]

September 6, 2005

President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Bush:

I am writing to renew my request that you remove Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response from his current position at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). When I first called for Under Secretary Brown's replacement, in the aftermath of Hurricanes Frances, it was undeniable that Under Secretary Brown had been responsible for a massive misallocation of recovery aid funds. Given the federal government's weak response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and FEMA's failure to adequately address the catastrophe in New Orleans, I am even more convinced that Under Secretary Brown must be removed immediately.

Statements by Under Secretary Brown and FEMA officials that they would have been unable to anticipate or were justifiably ill-prepared to respond to a major hurricane hitting New Orleans are not plausible. As you well know, in 2001 FEMA cited this very disaster in New Orleans as a horrific possibility. It is a stain upon the record of FEMA and the Administration that the groundwork was not laid to prepare for a hurricane of this magnitude -- either as an advance plan from 2001 or in the days leading up to Katrina's landing when experts predicted it would hit the Gulf Coast as a Category 5 storm. As the director of FEMA, Under Secretary Brown should not only be in the business of responding to natural disasters, but should have put in place critical preventative measures and contingency plans that would have better enabled local, state and federal officials to respond to the physical destruction of Katrina as well as the humanitarian needs of millions of citizens in the region.

Last year in Florida, FEMA experienced some difficulties establishing an adequate supply chain to meet the needs of the all areas of Florida given the severity of the damage to such a significant portion of the state. Given the overall damage of the four hurricanes to hit Florida in succession, this failure to bring needed supplies may have been understandable; however, I said at the time that it was remarkable that FEMA is not set up to provide complete wide-spread assistance for a prolonged period of time as was required in the aftermath of Florida's hurricanes. What is more astonishing and totally unacceptable is that in the year since these devastating series of hurricanes barreled through Florida, FEMA did not undertake a comprehensive review of its overall disaster preparedness. The people of the Gulf Coast are suffering greatly for this failure.

I wrote you in January that the fraud permitted in Miami-Dade County, Florida detracted from the invaluable work FEMA has carried out. I continue to believe that FEMA does valuable work; however, under the leadership of Under Secretary Brown, it became embroiled in fraud in Miami-Dade and tarnished by gross incompetence in the immediate aftermath of Katrina. Despite these two major debacles over the past year, Under Secretary Brown has yet to take responsibility for the actions of FEMA. Mr. President, it is time for you to hold Under Secretary Brown to account for the inexcusable failure of his agency in responding to the crippling disaster of Hurricane Katrina.

In addition to removing Under Secretary Brown from his position as FEMA's director, I believe that the enormity of the government's failures in responding to this disaster necessitates a thorough investigation by an independent commission similar to that which took place after 9/11. Katrina's devastation is an unfortunate wakeup call for all Americans who deserve to know that the federal government, in conjunction with state and local authorities, is doing everything it can do to prevent a similar calamity. In this vein, I stand ready to work with your Administration and my colleagues in Congress to make necessary changes to FEMA so that the Agency and the federal government is fully prepared and able to address a disaster of this magnitude in the future.

Thank you for your time and careful consideration of my concerns.

With warm regards,

Robert Wexler,

MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Lale M. Mamaux Communications Director Office of Congressman Robert Wexler 213 Cannon House Office Building (202) 225- 3001 lale.mamaux@mail.house.gov

[BFM]

Clinton defender during impeachment... "F" him.

[DarthVader]

Dear Mr. Wexler,

Why don't you go play a game of switch. Stick one finger in your mouth and another in your a$$ and then Switch.

Signed,

W.

[brytlea]

I know. I didn't realize Wexler (who I have watched with distaste for years) was going to be my very own rep til I looked after we moved! Imagine my horror! Oh well, at least now I can write him emails. And tell my liberal neighbors how awful the rest of the country thinks he is (and how stupid we thought the folks who voted him had to be--probably doesn't make me very popular!) :)
susie

[b4its2late]

That's too bad.