Posted on 09/07/2005 10:43:23 AM PDT by Chicos_Bail_Bonds
Anybody know what the vote was on Mike Brown's confirmation via the Senate? I've been trying to find this out. I think this guy will be the fall guy but that's not really why I'm asking. A lot of my liberal "colleagues" are screaming about cronyism and my guess is that this guy was confirmed by the entire Senate or damn close.
Can't seem to find the information, however.
How is that relavant? He's been FEMA director for years now and has successfully led FEMA through disaster relief in a number of hurricanes.
I would think that running FEMA during all the Hurricanes in Florida last year would make for a pretty impressive resume at this point. He did well in Florida despite his lace of a resume that impressed the Chicago Tribune, and his resume was quite impressive in the area of disaster relief at the time of Katrina.
Maybe the Chicago Tribune isn't a leftist publication, but that author isn't very observant if they are claiming that Brown didn't have the experience to be FEMA director during Katrina. He's already proven himself capable in that position.
This is all old news to me and am not sure why you feel the need to dredge it up. My first post states I have been an active member of IAHA (now AHA) for 25 years. I watched these legal proceedings; was a recipient of several pleas for money for the legal fund when he wiped out the budget; and watched many respected members turn in their cards in frustration.
Do not try to tie me to left wing blogs. I could care less under which circumstances he left the organziation. He did leave it in a financial shambles though. Although I suspect you've never been a member of AHA so have no firsthand experience with this.
AND, if you were conscious and alert when reading ANY of my posts, you should have noticed that I NEVER criticised his current handling of FEMA or this disaster. I did question his qualifications for the job.
I would have though Jeb Bush far more responsible for managing the both the evacuation and aftermath of the Florida hurricanes than FEMA, although I'm sure they pitched in with the requisite financial help. To a large extent, Katrina was many orders of magnitude more devestating than anything that happened in Florida and so exact comarisons are difficult.
I'm off to the State Library shortly to immerse myself in CFR TITLE 44 VOL 1 CHAP 1 PARTS 0-399...right after I walk the dogs, of course ;-)
>>> My interest in FEMA proactivity goes back much further than this, however. Specifically, I want to know whether they had the authority to seize command and control operations for the rebuilding of the levees to withstand a category 5 (as opposed to 3) hurricane, given the known deficiences at both the local and state level in Louisiana government to administer this operation because of incompetence and corruption. <<<
LOL. No way. FEMA assists state and local governments in federally-declared disaster relief efforts. They are not involved in infrastructure improvements.
BTW, the following blog has a nice powerpoint presentation of FEMA's response as of 6:00AM on September 4.
http://alexandertheaverage.blogspot.com/2005/09/fema-summary.html
>> AND, if you were conscious and alert when reading ANY of my posts, you should have noticed that I NEVER criticised his current handling of FEMA or this disaster.<<
I did not mean to imply that you did. It just seems to me that the common point of what I have read from IAHA members (supporters and detractors) is that Brown took his job as rules enforcer seriously. I suspect that is why Bush likes him.
He was confirmed by a democrat party Senate. Remember jumpin jim jeffords.
Brown it seems was confirmed by a democrat controlled Senate.
"I would have though Jeb Bush far more responsible for managing the both the evacuation and aftermath of the Florida hurricanes than FEMA, although I'm sure they pitched in with the requisite financial help."
You're right. That's because that's the role of the Governor in such a disaster, not the role of FEMA. Brown successfully managed FEMA in it performing it's role in aiding the state and localgovernments.
"To a large extent, Katrina was many orders of magnitude more devestating than anything that happened in Florida and so exact comarisons are difficult."
Katrina may very well be the worst disaster that anyone living has seen our country face. We don't have anything to compaer it with, and no one has experience dealing with a disaster of that scale in our country.
Based upon a quick read and given current information, listed below are some preliminary conslusions:
CFR TITLE 44 VOL 1 CHAP 1 PARTS 0-399.pdf
Mitigate - To lessen in force or intensity
1] Once Katrina hit New Orleans with a category 5 hurricane breaching levees only designed to withstand a category 3 or below assault, FEMA's response was better than could reasonably be expected in dealing with a disaster of this magnitude in an area that was woefully unprepared, largely through their own well known deficiencies.
Where FEMA fell short, in my opinion, was in not paying due diligence to:
1] set regulatory priorites to maximize the net benefits to society, taking into account the local entities (given their known deficiencies) (PART 1 SUBPART A PARA 1.4 (5).
2] failure to adequately implement the provisions of the Preparedness, Training, and Exercises Directorate (PART 1 SUBPART A PARA 2.42 (1-5).
The operational downgrading of this section of their legal mission probaly preceded Mike Brown's arrival at FEMA by several decades and further, my guess would be that he was ordered to maintain the status quo before being hired.
If I might add parenthetically, I think it is unforgiveable the way that the Liberal Democrats have used this tragedy for base political purposes.
"1] set regulatory priorites to maximize the net benefits to society, taking into account the local entities (given their known deficiencies) (PART 1 SUBPART A PARA 1.4 (5)."
There's no evidence that FEMA set their priorities incorrectly. They did a good job of making sure NO had an evecuation plan. They helped fund all the appropriate sutdies.
NO failed to use their evacuation plan to get people out. NO failed to heed the warnings the studies produced, and spend both thier tax dollars and federal funds on other projects.
FEMA doesn't have the authority to force NO to do the right thing, nor do they have the manpower to make sure the evacuation plan is carried out. The manpower that is brought in to handle such major emergencies is the National Guard, and they're under control of the governor.
"2] failure to adequately implement the provisions of the Preparedness, Training, and Exercises Directorate (PART 1 SUBPART A PARA 2.42 (1-5)."
FEMA did preparedness training. However, the local civil servants didn't follow that training and do their jobs.
FEMA helps local governments prepare. They can't force them to really do anything. They aren't responsible for the extreme negligence on the part of the local government.
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