9.12.2005
Congress, Heal Thyself (WashingtonPost.com)
EDITORIAL
Monday, September 12, 2005; Page A18
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS have been quick to point fingers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Some of the blame ought to be directed at themselves.
Where, for instance, was the oversight before Katrina? In particular, given the critical role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the minimal qualifications of Michael D. Brown to be its director, you might think the Senate would have wanted to conduct a thorough hearing before confirming him to the post. No such luck. Mr. Brown had a cursory hearing in 2002 -- it lasted all of 42 minutes and was attended by four senators -- when he was named deputy director of FEMA; no one at that hearing questioned his lack of background in emergency response.
And when Mr. Brown was promoted to the top job, he had no confirmation hearing at all -- thanks to a ridiculously loose provision in the law creating the Department of Homeland Security that waived the reconfirmation requirement for "any officer whose agency is transferred to the Department . . . whose duties following such transfer are germane to those performed before such transfer." If Mr. Brown wasn't qualified to head FEMA, Congress shares some of the responsibility for putting him there.
(More ... Congress, Heal Thyself) ¶ 20:48
Monday, September 12, 2005; Page A18
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS have been quick to point fingers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Some of the blame ought to be directed at themselves.
Where, for instance, was the oversight before Katrina? In particular, given the critical role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the minimal qualifications of Michael D. Brown to be its director, you might think the Senate would have wanted to conduct a thorough hearing before confirming him to the post. No such luck. Mr. Brown had a cursory hearing in 2002 -- it lasted all of 42 minutes and was attended by four senators -- when he was named deputy director of FEMA; no one at that hearing questioned his lack of background in emergency response.
And when Mr. Brown was promoted to the top job, he had no confirmation hearing at all -- thanks to a ridiculously loose provision in the law creating the Department of Homeland Security that waived the reconfirmation requirement for "any officer whose agency is transferred to the Department . . . whose duties following such transfer are germane to those performed before such transfer." If Mr. Brown wasn't qualified to head FEMA, Congress shares some of the responsibility for putting him there.
(More ... Congress, Heal Thyself) ¶ 20:48
