When you became
FEMA director under President Clinton, it was just after Hurricane Andrew and crisis management was more relevant than ever.
Viewed with 20/20 hindsight,
FEMA director Mike Brown appears positively foolhardy while expressing can-do optimism on the eve of Katrina's arrival.
Chertoff and former
FEMA Director Michael Brown spent most of February in a tit-for-tat blame game.
In announcing Lee's appointment, Acting
FEMA Director David Paulison said, "She arrives at an important time for FEMA as we are working to bolster procurement efforts in support of continued rebuilding in the Gulf Coast and future disaster response operations."
Ambassador John Bolton is to diplomacy as
FEMA director Michael Brown is to disaster relief: a man ill-suited by experience and temperament to the assigned task.
When Clinton
FEMA Director James Lee Witt made some timid proposals for reforming the flood insurance program, pressure from the National Home Builders Association, wealthy coastal homeowners and the politicians they control led to their rapid withdrawal.
"We've got men and women down there just working their hearts out trying to get to individuals that may still be alive, "
FEMA director Joe Allbaugh said.
Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO)--(1) The person appointed by the
FEMA Director, or in his/her absence, the FEMA Deputy Director, or alternatively the FEMA Associate Director for Response and Recovery, following a declaration of a major disaster or of an emergency by the President, to coordinate Federal assistance.
"While seismic hazard in the United States has remained fairly constant over the years, seismic risk has been increasing substantially," explains
FEMA Director James Lee Witt.
"This survey points out how far we still have to go to spread the message about disaster prevention, and that is what FEMA is doing through Project Impact," said
FEMA Director James Witt.
Amazing as it sounds, James Lee Witt was the first
FEMA director with real experience in disaster management--he had served as Arkansas' state emergency management director.
