Melancon says e-mails paint a picture of Brown's lack of lea

[sunny]

Frustrate? Outrage? That is putting it mildly :grrr: wwltv.com

link to PDF of emails: http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/images/11/0 ... emails.pdf


Congressman Melancon critical of former FEMA chief Mike Brown

Melancon says e-mails paint a picture of Brown's lack of leadership

12:27 PM CST on Thursday, November 3, 2005

Karen Swensen / WWL-TV Reporter

New information has come to light about how former FEMA head Michael Brown led the organization’s response to Hurricane Katrina.

Louisiana Congressman Charlie Melancon obtained copies of emails to and from the former director. The Congressman said those e-mails could frustrate, if not outrage, Louisianians.

On the very morning Katrina blasted into New Orleans as a Category-4, then-FEMA Director Mike Brown was in contact with his staff between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. They exchanged e-mails about Brown’s appearance.

Cindy Taylor, Brown’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs wrote, "I know it’s early, but...My eyes must certainly be deceiving me. You look fabulous - and I'm not talking the makeup!"

Brown responded, "I got it at Nordstroms...Are you proud of me?" He later added, "If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god."

Several days later his press secretary advised Brown to roll up his sleeves—literally—and said, "...Even the President rolled his sleeves to just below the elbow. In this cris(is) and on TV you just need to look more hard working...ROLL UP THE SLEEVES."

Louisiana Congressman Charlie Melancon currently sits on the committee investigating the Katrina response. He personally asked for the release of the e-mails.

“You know, I'm not picking on Mike Brown, but Jesus Christ, can you imagine a general in the military operation but if he was giving those kinds of e-mails back and forth rather than worrying about his troops on the ground and what they needed to do next?” Melancon said.

Melancon said Brown was out of touch and the e-mails support that.

An August 31, two days after Katrina hit, a FEMA employee sent a desperate message: "Sir, I know that you know the situation is past critical...hotels are kicking people out, thousands gathering in the streets with no food or water. Hundreds still being rescued from homes...Estimates are many will die within hours..." and the email continues.

Four minutes later, Brown responded: "Thanks for the update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?"

“I mean, what do you tweak?” Melancon asked. “I don't think you have to be told what to do when you're the guy who heads FEMA.”

Another e-mail with the subject heading "Medical Help” advised Brown of a 42-foot trailer loaded with hospital equipment. Remember at the time the airport was used as a makeshift hospital and was woefully under-equipped. Four days later, Brown forwarded the e-mail and simply said, “Can we use these people?"

“First of all, the response should've been immediate, ‘Yes we can, tell us what we can do to get 'em down here. Where are they,’” Melancon said.

Perhaps the most shocking e-mails document when FEMA was made aware of the levee problems. Federal officials have said they did not know about them until Tuesday, the day after Katrina hit.

But Monday morning at 9:39 a.m., Brown received a message that read, “Report that the levee in Arabi has failed next to the Industrial Canal." At 9:53 a.m., Brown received a second e-mail, which stated, “A LEVEE BREACH OCCURRED ALONG THE INDUSTRIAL CANAL AT TENNESSEE STREET..."

Later morning at 10:20, Brown received another e-mail: "Severe flooding on the St. Bernard/Orleans parish line.”

And at 11:57 a.m., he got another one stating, "New Orleans F.D. (fire department) is reporting a 20-foot wide breach on the Lake Ponchartrain levee. The area is Lakeshore Blvd. and 17th Street."

At 12:09 p.m., Mike Brown responded, "I'm being told here water over, not a breach."

“I didn't lose my home, I didn't lose my job, but I damn well believe we ought to do more for the people, and that they deserved a whole lot better than what they got from FEMA,” Melancon said.

Melancon said other e-mails reflected Brown's concern for his dog and where he would eat, even an e-mail in which Brown wrote, "Can I quit now? Can I come home?"

The Congressman said he would not be so critical if he had received other e-mails in which Brown came across as an effective leader and made decisions, but added that he has not seen any such e-mails.

Melancon said the Congressional Committee also requested documents from the White House, the Pentagon, the Army Corps of Engineers and others. So far, Melancon said he has received no response.

[vbhoutex]

Not meaning to hijack this thread, but is/was it the leadership or is it simply too much beaurocracy? Fema is getting slammed in TX too for their lack of response.

Local Leaders Blast FEMA For Slow Financial Response
Homeland Security Secretary Visits Houston To Discuss Border Security

POSTED: 7:22 pm CST November 1, 2005
UPDATED: 5:13 pm CST November 2, 2005

As the secretary of Homeland Security visited Houston on Wednesday, local leaders criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its slow rate of reimbursing Houston and Texas for evacuee costs and other inefficiencies.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was at the Westin Galleria Hotel addressing the Houston Forum Club about border security and immigration reform.

He refused to answer questions about the criticisms from Gov. Rick Perry and Houston Mayor Bill White.

Chertoff praised Texas for opening its arms to hundreds of thousands of evacuees. But he did not say when FEMA would be settling the tab with cities and counties for its costs to house 175,000 new residents.

"They have some procedure that's a 12-stage review process. That's ridiculous," White said.

"There are a lot of organizations beyond the county and the city that are in dire straits because the money is not coming in a timely manner from FEMA into local communities," Harris County Judge Rocket Eckels said.

Between the city and county, about $200 million is needed to pay for evacuee housing and other expenses.

Eckels met privately with Chertoff on Wednesday while White met with two lawmakers from Texas and Michael Jackson, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, in Washington on Tuesday. Both men said they believe there will be results and quick action.

Perry wrote Tuesday in a letter to Chertoff criticizing FEMA's conflicting instructions and its delay in identifying sex offenders and other violent criminals among Katrina evacuees, and warning that tens of thousands of Katrina evacuees will soon be evicted with no place to go.

The Republican governor, who was quick to offer Texas' help after Katrina battered Louisiana, also accused FEMA of treating Texas hurricane victims differently from Louisianans affected by Hurricane Rita.

"Natural disasters recognize no state boundaries, and neither should FEMA," Perry wrote.

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said agency officials plan a written response to Perry's letter but said FEMA hasn't seen evidence of some of the claims being made.

The letter came on the same day that the Texas Apartment Association pleaded with FEMA for federal payment of evacuee rent, warning that delinquent tenants faced impending evictions.

Perry's letter cited the TAA survey -- which estimated that 15,000 evacuees could face eviction this month -- in order to "underscore the fact that FEMA needs to act on a housing program that is more long-term than anything we've seen from them," said Perry spokesman Robert Black.

"The federal government, ultimately, is going to have to come up with some kind of plan on what to do with those folks," Black said. "FEMA has no long-term plan for almost half a million people in Texas."

FEMA officials say they have not seen evidence from the Texas Apartment Association to back up the eviction claims. Also, evacuees have not alerted FEMA to imminent evictions, Knocke said.

"It's a serious claim and we're going to look at it," he said.

According to Perry's letter, FEMA's lack of thoughtful action also endangered the Texas population because the agency failed "to swiftly assist Texas in identifying Katrina sex offenders and violent criminals, as well as parolees and probationers who are subject to supervision."

Privacy laws restrict some information sharing about offenders. But FEMA can work on verifying if names on its rolls match those of suspected sex offenders when it receives a specific request from law enforcement, Knocke said.

The governor also railed against a denied request for extended reimbursement, calling the financial assistance a "common-sense" necessity. Perry had asked FEMA to extend by 60 days the federal government's agreement to pay 100 percent of costs for debris removal and emergency protective services in Texas counties.

Knocke did not explain why the agency denied Perry's request for extended reimbursement, but said the governor is allowed to appeal.

Perry said in the letter Tuesday that he had appealed FEMA's decision to President Bush, requesting full reimbursement for a minimum of 30 additional days.

Texas was eager to assist evacuees on multiple fronts and is happy to continuing doing so, but the state needs federal help, Perry wrote.

"Texas is willing to work and do our part, but FEMA has to sit down and come up with a long-term, thoughtful plan," he said.

Copyright 2005 by Click2Houston.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

DO NOT TURN THIS INTO A POLITICAL DISCUSSION!!

[sunny]

You can hijack my threads anytime, David!

I'm still so confused that I'm not sure what the real problem was. I just have a problem with Brown wondering where his dog would eat when children were dying on the street.

[jasons2k]

Actually, the dog comment probably bothers me the least. After all, if he is on the road, somebody has to make sure his pets are taken care of. I think criticizing a personal email like that, taken out of the context of probably hundreds of emails, is a bit harsh.

The other emails, that's a different story. The whole dressing-up/Nordstrom exchange, "can I quit now?", etc., are inexcusable. He should have quit then without asking.

[Lindaloo]

It is a little bit of both, David. You know how the media can be.