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Disaster Response Changes Promised
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Modifying past comments by his office, Chertoff said the government must "be prepared to get help and supplies into the pipeline as quickly as possible, even before our partners anticipate their needs." He pledged to collapse "stovepiped" command centers toward "a fully integrated and unified" department by the June 1 start of hurricane season.
Townsend and Chertoff condemned former FEMA director Michael D. Brown, who testified to the Senate on Friday that the administration mishandled domestic preparedness by overemphasizing terrorism. The result, he and state emergency managers have said, has taken money and focus away from natural disasters, FEMA and state responders.
Taking aim at Brown, Townsend said one can learn from experience or "become bitter and lash out, trying to find someone, anybody, to blame, and unfortunately we have seen that already." She added: "We cannot attempt to rewrite history by pointing fingers or laying blame."
Chertoff also attacked Brown, with whom he had feuded since becoming secretary six months before Katrina hit.
Three days after Brown told senators that he went straight to the White House and did not call Chertoff the day of Katrina's landfall because it would "have wasted my time," Chertoff said: "There is no place for a lone ranger in emergency response." He added that the cost "is visited on too many innocent people."
In e-mail statement, Brown called Chertoff's criticism "disingenuous" and said he saw vindication in vows to boost money and staff for FEMA. "Personal attacks on me by Secretary Chertoff are simply an attempt to ignore the information I gave to department leadership throughout my tenure regarding FEMA's marginalization," Brown said.
Adding details to past pledges, Chertoff proposed to create a full-time FEMA response force of 1,500 employees, instead of relying largely on volunteers, push "wrenching change" to integrate FEMA within Homeland Security, increase capacity of its disaster registration systems to handle 200,000 people a day, and push claims personnel into the field to serve victims instead of requiring them to use the Internet or telephones.
Logistics contracts this year will require vendors to give FEMA "real-time" monitoring and control of shipment of supplies. Chertoff said he will also ask coastal states to hold evacuation exercises before June 1.
