I did not write this; got it in E-mail but thought it was interesting
enough to pass on:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_09/007023.php
CHRONOLOGY....Here's a timeline that outlines the fate of both
FEMA and flood control projects in New Orleans under the Bush
administration. Read it and weep:
* January 2001: Bush appoints Joe Allbaugh, a crony from
Texas, as head of FEMA. Allbaugh has no previous experience in
disaster management.
* April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the
Bush administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work.
In May, Allbaugh confirms that FEMA will be downsized: "Many are
concerned that federal disaster assistance may have evolved into
both an oversized entitlement program...." he said.
"Expectations of when the federal government should be involved
and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is
an appropriate level."
* 2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New
Orleans as one of the three "likeliest, most catastrophic
disasters facing this country."
* December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh
announces he is leaving to start up a consulting firm that
advises companies seeking to do business in Iraq. He is
succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like Allbaugh, has
no previous experience in disaster management.
* March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level
position and folded into the Department of Homeland Security.
Its mission is refocused on fighting acts of terrorism.
* 2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's
preparation and planning functions are reassigned to a new
Office of Preparedness and Response. FEMA will henceforth focus
only on response and recovery.
* Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster
mitigation funding requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone
manager Tom Rodrigue: "You would think we would get maximum
consideration....This is what the grant program called for. We
were more than qualified for it."
* June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee
construction in New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish
emergency management chiefs Walter Maestri comments: "It appears
that the money has been moved in the president's budget to
handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose
that's the price we pay."
* June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million.
One of the hardest-hit areas is the Southeast Louisiana Urban
Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995
flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany
parishes.
* August 2005: While New Orleans is undergoing a slow motion
catastrophe, Bush mugs for the cameras, cuts a cake for John
McCain, plays the guitar for Mark Wills, delivers an address
about V-J day, and continues with his vacation. When he finally
gets around to acknowledging the scope of the unfolding
disaster, he delivers only a photo op on Air Force One and a
flat, defensive, laundry list speech in the Rose Garden.
So: A crony with no relevant experience was installed as head of
FEMA. Mitigation budgets for New Orleans were slashed even
though it was known to be one of the top three risks in the
country. FEMA was deliberately downsized as part of the Bush
administration's conservative agenda to reduce the role of
government. After DHS was created, FEMA's preparation and
planning functions were taken away.
Actions have consequences. No one could predict that a hurricane
the size of Katrina would hit this year, but the slow federal
response when it did happen was no accident. It was the result
of four years of deliberate Republican policy and budget choices
that favor ideology and partisan loyalty at the expense of
operational competence. It's the Bush administration in a
nutshell.
‹Kevin Drum
--
Om.
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson