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FEMA Chief Brown: Former head of the Arabian Horse Association
Qualified to Manage Agency?
Why FEMA Failed: The Bush Administration and Disaster Relief
Politicizing Disaster Relief: How FEMA Overcompensated Florida
Citizens in the Run-Up to the Presidential Election
Toxic Soup: The Deadly Floodwaters of New Orleans
Depleted Disaster Aid: Rejecting International Donations
and the Using Resources in Iraq
FEMA Chief Brown: Former head of the Arabian Horse
Association Qualified to Manage Agency?
We speak with Judd Legum from the Center of American Progress
about FEMA's role in handling the catastrophe in the wake
of hurricane Katrina. [includes rush
transcript]
As the fallout from Hurricane Katrina continues, more is
being revealed about FEMA's role in handling the catastrophe
and the qualifications of the people in charge of the agency.
Michael Brown heads FEMA and his official title is Under Secretary
of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response.
President Bush merged the agency with the Department of Homeland
Security in 2003. In the days after Katrina hit, Brown came
under fierce criticism for his seemingly clueless and insensitive
statements about the disaster that was unfolding in New Orleans.
Last Thursday night, as ten of thousands of people waited
in squalid conditions inside the New Orleans Convention Center
desperate for food, water, and security, Brown told Paula
Zahn's CNN that he was unaware of the conditions even though
TV images had shown the plight of the people all day. Brown
then appeared to lay blame on the victims of the hurricane
when he responded to a question about the probable high death
toll saying, "Unfortunately, that's going to be attributable
a lot to people who did not heed the advance warnings."
And yesterday, newly leaked memos showed that FEMA waited
five hours after Hurricane Katrina had struck New Orleans
before requesting help to be dispatched to the region. Even
then Brown said that the 1,000 Homeland Security employees
could take two days to show up at the disaster scene. Brown's
memo to Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff politely
ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us
to meet our responsibilities." According to the Associated
Press, Brown's memo lacked any urgent language besides describing
the hurricane as a "near catastrophic event." Brown's
memo also said that employees would be expected to "convey
a positive image of disaster operations to government officials,
community organizations and the general public." Yesterday,
Brown held a press conference and was asked to respond to
calls for his resignation. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
has called for you resignation. I'm wondering if you have
a response to that
- Micheael Brown, “The President's in charge of that,
not me...I serve totally at the will of the President of
the United States."
The Bush administration has staunchly defended Michael Brown.
Last week, while admiting the federal response was not acceptable,
Bush lauded Brown saying "Brownie, you"re doing
a heck of a job." Yesterday, White House Press Secretary
Scott McClellan became defensive when asked by reporters if
Bush had continued confidence in Michael Brown and FEMA. In
these past few days, information has come calling into question
the qualifications of Brown and two of his top deputies. It
turns out that none of them had virtually any real experience
in emergency management before they joined FEMA.
- Judd Legum, Research Director at the Center for American
Progress and co-editor of the Progress Report.
Why FEMA Failed: The Bush Administration and Disaster
Relief
As Republican leaders announced a joint House-Senate inquiry
into failures surrounding the response to Hurricane Katrina,
we take a look at why FEMA failed with Salon.com staff writer
Farhad Manjoo who writes, "Ideologically opposed to a
strong federal role in disaster relief and obsessed with terrorism,
the Bush administration let a once-admired agency fall apart."
[includes rush
transcript]
In Washington, Republican leaders on Wednesday announced
a joint House-Senate inquiry into failures surrounding the
response to Hurricane Katrina.
Congressional Democrats were reportedly not involved in putting
the joint inquiry together and called instead for an independent
probe similar to the 9/11 commission.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said, "An
investigation of the Republican administration by a Republican-controlled
Congress is like having a pitcher call his own balls and strikes."
Meanwhile, the Bush administration has requested an additional
$51.8 billion in new relief money, with most of the funds
directed to FEMA.
This comes as senior House Republican officials said that
some lawmakers were pressing the White House to dismiss FEMA
director Michael Brown. This according to The New York Times
Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, a senior Democrat on the Appropriations
Committee, said he would try to offer an amendment to sever
FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security.
- Farhad Manjoo, a staff writer at Salon.com.
His latest piece is titled In it he writes, "Ideologically
opposed to a strong federal role in disaster relief and
obsessed with terrorism, the Bush administration let a once-admired
agency fall apart."
Politicizing Disaster Relief: How FEMA Overcompensated
Florida Citizens in the Run-Up to the Presidential Election
We look at FEMA's disaster response in Florida in the fall
of 2004, and how the presidential election played a role in
the distribution of hurricane aid there.
As FEMA comes under increasing scrutiny for its role in handling
the New Orleans disaster, its response has not always been
so sluggish.
In the fall of 2004, with the presidential election on the
horizon, the key battleground state of Florida was facing
its second hurricane in less than a month.
In response, FEMA awarded millions of dollars in disaster
funds to residents of Miami-Dade County, even though the area
did not experience hurricane conditions.
FEMA officials, the governor and the White House steadfastly
denied suggestions that politics played a role in the distribution
of hurricane aid in Florida.
But records contained in hundreds of pages of e-mails of
Governor Jeb Bush suggest otherwise. According to the documents,
a federal consultant to FEMA predicted that a disaster could
reflect poorly on President Bush and suggested that his re-election
staff be brought in to minimize any political liability.
- Megan O'Matz, a reporter with the South Florida Sun-
Sentinel which first obtained the records and broke the
story.
Toxic Soup: The Deadly Floodwaters of New Orleans
As the toxicity of the New Orleans' floodwaters grows worse,
we look at the environmental and public health dangers looming
in the city. We speak with a chemical toxicologist and independent
water-consultant about the problems brewing in the water of
New Orleans.
Well the death toll from hurricane Katrina's devastation
continues to mount. While there is still no official count,
public authorities have estimated the numbers of those killed
could be as many as 10,000. Adding to the danger and tragedy
in New Orleans is the growing toxicity of the stagnant floodwaters
laced with chemicals, dead bodies, oil and human waste. On
Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency announced the
first results of floodwater samples show high levels of E.
coli and lead. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson told reporters
that in all cases amounts exceeded 10 times the safe limit
and issued a warning against making contact with the floodwaters.
As many as five people have died so far from contaminated
floodwater, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
said on Wednesday. Officials suspect they contracted infections
after coming into contact with cholera-related bacteria. Last
weekend Democracy Now! producer John Hamilton was in New Orleans
and asked a local resident and physician, Dr. Tuti Sheiban,
if she thought the floodwaters around them were a health hazard.
- Dr. Tuti Sheiban, physician and local resident of New
Orleans. “I think it is. In my medical opinion, yes.
We have corpses here. We have corpses that have been here
for a few days. We have human corpses, animal corpses. We
have sewage. It is just sitting here. This is a different
climate than what people know. It's been over 100 degrees
here every single day with this stagnant water. There are
some fish in it. But it's some dirty water. I think it's
going to be a serious health risk. Particularly West Nile.
We have West Nile already in Louisiana before this happened.
We haven't had a whole lot of deaths, but we have had incidents
of West Nile killing people and I think that this still
water is where those mosquitoes breed. And now we have all
these mosquitoes and all these people and all this dirty
water. I think it is pestilence waiting to happen. I'm very
concerned about this water and these conditions, for the
people that we do save.
New Orleans began pumping the toxic floodwaters into Lake
Pontchartrain on Monday. Michael McDaniel, the Louisiana secretary
of environmental quality, said it was "simply unfeasible"
to attempt to filter the water before flowing it into the
lake. The EPA granted the Army Corps of Engineers a waiver
from treating floodwater before sending it into Lake Pontchartrain.
Also complicating the clean up, are two major oil leaks found
in St.Bernard and Plaquemines parishes. Much of that oil has
flowed into the Gulf of Mexico. Now people are asking questions
about the environmental costs and whether the coastal waters
will suffer long-term environmental damage. As the death toll
continues to mount, how significant is the environmental toll?
- Harold Zeliger, a chemical toxicologist and water-quality
consultant. He has investigated hundreds of toxic chemical
exposures and environmental spills nationally and internationally
Depleted Disaster Aid: Rejecting International Donations
and the Using Resources in Iraq
While international donations have been pouring in for victims
of hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration has been somewhat
reluctant to accept offers from countries like Cuba and Venezuela.
We speak with Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies
about international donations and how essential resources
have been stretched thin by the war in Iraq.
International donations have been pouring in for victims
of hurricane Katrina. Countries across the political and economic
spectrum have responded. Germany and Italy have sent food,
Canada and Singapore have provided planes and helicopters,
and Greece is sending two cruise ships to house evacuees.
Afghanistan and Armenia both offered $100,000. Sri Lanka,
a recipient of U.S. aid, is offering $25,000 cash. And on
Sunday, the United Nations announced the US had accepted the
UN's offer of assistance. But the United States has not warmly
responded to all donations. The US was slow in accepting offers
from Venezuela. Yesterday, Venzuela's ambassador to Washington
said boatloads of gasoline are being shipped to the US. It
will be sold on the market rather than donated.
Last Tuesday Cuba offered to send 1,100 doctors to assist
in the crisis. Cuba said the doctors could have been on the
ground by last Wednesday. But the Cuban government announced
the U.S. State Department rebuffed its offer of aid. And the
US rejected an offer by Iran yesterday to ship up to 20 million
barrels of oil. The offer was made on the condition that the
US waive trade sanctions with Iran. According to the State
Department's Executive Secretary, Harry Thomas, the US has
accepted offers of nearly $1 billion in assistance from some
95 countries.
- Phyllis Bennis, fellow at the Institute
for Policy Studies and author of several books, including
"Before and After: US Foreign Policy and the September
11th Crisis."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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