White House says Katrina inquiry helps with latest storm

A White House-led inquiry into the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina has found that communication and the flow of information needs to be improved during a disaster, and the administration is working to fix the problem, according to chief White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend.

Townsend, who briefed reporters at the White House today, is leading the inquiry. She said while the probe is ongoing, the White House has already concluded that steps are needed to improve lines of communication within the federal government, between the federal government and state and local officials and first responders, and with the public.

Some of the preliminary findings are already being implemented in preparation for Hurricane Wilma, which is heading toward Florida. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has pre-positioned more people, supplies and more and better communications equipment in the area than it did during Katrina, she said.

Townsend said the White House review, which she hopes to complete by December or January, is centered on processes and systems and not on the performance of individuals. "It's clear we want to quickly identify and fix problems, and not play a blame game," she said. She said congressional inquiries into the Katrina response would "quite clearly result in assigning responsibility and blame."

Among the other areas the task force is focusing on is the role of the military in a catastrophic event. The inquiry includes a review of the Insurrection Act, which governs the president's power to deploy troops within the United States, and the Stafford Act, which concerns the relationship of the federal government and the states in responding to disasters.

Townsend is heading up a full-time staff of 12 that is looking into the matter. The staff is led by one of Townsend's aides and includes officials from the Defense, Homeland Security, Justice and Transportation departments.

Townsend said she is still "trying to gather the facts" about what happened, and has not yet interviewed officials such as former FEMA chief Michael Brown. She noted that there were "some things that went right," pointing to "thousands of federal workers and state and local officials and first responders who were true heroes and saved thousands of lives."

She indicated FEMA is not likely to be removed from the Homeland Security Department as a result of the probe, though she did not rule it out. Townsend next week will travel to Louisiana and Alabama to talk with state and local officials and early next month will go to Texas, Mississippi and Florida.