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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

FEMA’s Brown needs new job

The Spokesman-Review

The president’s deeds didn’t match his words. In this case, that’s a relief.

Last week, President Bush was on TV getting a debriefing from disaster relief officials, when he turned to FEMA director Michael Brown and said, “Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job.”

A few days later, Brown’s duties were essentially turned over to Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, the Coast Guard’s chief of staff with extensive experience during catastrophes. It’s incomprehensible that Brown and other top officials at FEMA were given their jobs to begin with. Unlike Allen, they had no real-world experience with disaster relief.

Allen garnered widespread praise for his leadership in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He mobilized the Atlantic Ocean response, taking control of U.S. waters and securing U.S. ports. Since then, he has been a key player in reorganizing the Coast Guard under the Department of Homeland Security.

Brown, on the other hand, has no such qualifications. Before arriving at FEMA, Brown was commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association. He was appointed staff counsel to FEMA in 2001 by then-director Joe Allbaugh, who was one of the masterminds for Bush’s 2000 campaign for the presidency. When Allbaugh moved into the private sector, Brown was tapped to lead FEMA.

None of Brown’s top three lieutenants has disaster management experience on their resumes either. They were key players in Bush political campaigns and were rewarded for their loyalty. Political patronage is nothing new, but the job of FEMA director cries out for an experienced hand. Selecting Brown was like a putting a rookie in charge of the police department, or handing a Supreme Court nomination to somebody who never went to law school.

As Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, it seems everyone Brown dealt with knew more about the disaster relief than he did. That inexperience showed when he took five hours after the hurricane’s landfall before finally putting in a request for personnel, according to an internal memo. He then gave the first wave of workers two days to arrive at the scene; the second wave was given a week. Strangely, he noted that walking shorts would be acceptable attire.

This eerie obliviousness to the severity of the catastrophe and the sudden needs of victims was ultimately broadcast to the nation when he told CNN that he wasn’t aware of the atrocious conditions of those left to fend for themselves at the New Orleans convention center.

The role of FEMA has been downplayed since it was folded into the Department of Homeland Security. Its budget was reduced from $664 million to $444 million annually. Veteran staffers have resigned or transferred to other departments.

In its first big test since reorganization, FEMA floundered. President Bush was right when he said disaster-response results in the Gulf Coast have been unacceptable.

It’s time to listen to the veteran emergency management leaders who say the agency needs to be removed from DHS, which emphasizes the fight against terrorism, and returned to a Cabinet-level position with an experienced leader.