DHS chief: Major changes to FEMA coming soon
Reforms will cut bureaucratic red tape, bolster logistics systems, Michael Chertoff says.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Tuesday that "very significant and far-reaching changes" to the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be announced within weeks. The changes are a result of internal reviews of how FEMA handled hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They are designed to strengthen the agency's logistics systems and make Homeland Security Department leaders more aware of conditions on the ground in areas affected by disasters, Chertoff said.
"Our effort is going to be designed to empower the men and women of FEMA to act with efficient urgency to cut some of the bureaucracy out, and to let them do their job where it's most needed, as quickly as possible," Chertoff said during a speech in Washington. His speech addressed the department's challenges and accomplishments in 2005, and expectations for 2006.
"We don't want to stifle the people in the field with unnecessary bureaucratic process and procedure," Chertoff said. "We want to make sure we have accountability. We want to be responsible stewards of the public funds. But we want to make sure we can act quickly to save lives and address people's anxieties and concerns on the spot as quickly as possible and as thoroughly as possible."
FEMA has borne the brunt of criticism of how the federal government prepared for and responded to the Gulf Coast hurricanes and the flooding of New Orleans. Two congressional panels are investigating how all levels of government handled the disaster. Several lawmakers have called for returning FEMA to a Cabinet-level agency, which it was before it was rolled into DHS in 2003.
The White House also is completing its own internal review of how the disasters were handled.
"Out of this challenge and out of this adversity, we will rebuild and we will retool FEMA--maybe even radically--to increase our ability to deal with catastrophic events," Chertoff said.
He also defended the actions of FEMA personnel, saying, "It's not pleasant to see FEMA [be] the butt of jokes or the butt of criticism even now months after the hurricanes.
"Despite the heroic efforts of many FEMA employees, this agency continues to face enormous criticism," Chertoff said. "So I want to be very clear about something. To the men and women of FEMA, let me say this: 'This department supports you 100 percent. We acknowledge the extraordinary effort put in by FEMA employees who worked literally day and night to do what they could, sometimes with very inadequate tools in order to help people in who were in distress."