FEMA Overhaul: Just in Time

The Baltimore Sun's Siobhan Gorman (formerly of National Journal, GovExec's sister publication), reports today that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff wants to "re-engineer" the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The overhaul, Chertoff said, will use just-in-time delivery systems used by large private companies as a model. Sounds fine, but I'd be more excited if not for two things:

• Chertoff immediately fell back on management cliches in describing the endeavor. "I have told people they should really think out of the box," he told the Sun. "They should not be afraid to propose radical solutions."
• He ducked the critical question of whether or not the lines of responsibility between federal, state and local authorities in disaster response will be redrawn, saying only, "this is one of the great challenges in terms of how we go forward."