Washington, DC – The Former Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) who was responsible for and oversaw federal actions dealing with Hurricane Katrina testified today at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) held the hearing to examine the roles of FEMA and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leaders in preparing for and in response to the August 2005 hurricane. This was the 18th in and ongoing series of hearings that are part of the committee’s investigation of the government’s handling of Hurricane Katrina.
“By almost any measure, FEMA’s response to Katrina has to be judged a failure. The response was riddled with missed opportunities and poor decision-making, and failed leadership,” said Senator Collins. “But the responsibility for FEMA’s failed response must be shared by DHS. The Department’s lack of preparedness for the Katrina catastrophe manifested itself in a variety of ways. Instead of springing into action or, better yet, acting before the storm made landfall, the Department appears to have moved haltingly, and, as a result, key decisions were either delayed or made based on questionable assumptions. Similarly, FEMA leaders failed to take steps that they knew could improve FEMA’s ability to respond more effectively and quickly to a catastrophe.”
In addition to Former Director Brown, the witnesses who testified at today’s hearing were: Patrick L. Rhode, Former Acting Deputy Director and Chief of Staff, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Robert B. Stephan, Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Matthew Broderick, Director for Operations Coordination, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The committee has announced additional hearings on Monday, February 13th titled, “Hurricane Katrina: Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Worsen the Disaster” and Tuesday, February 14th titled, “Hurricane Katrina: The Homeland Security Department’s Preparation and Response.” DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff is expected to testify at the Tuesday hearing.