Questions emerge over qualifications of FEMA chief
Fri Sep 9, 2005 1:10 PM ET
WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - With U.S. President George W. Bush under intense fire for the response to Hurricane Katrina, questions emerged on Friday about the qualifications of those leading the relief effort.
Many of those at the top of the U.S. agency charged with managing disaster relief had no emergency oversight experience but did have political ties to Bush, The Washington Post reported.
In addition, Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, had less experience in disaster relief than described in his official agency biography and cited during his confirmation hearing, Time magazine reported. It quoted a local official as saying a prior job in Edmond, Oklahoma, was "more like an intern" than a manager.
Democrats this week demanded Brown be fired and some Republicans have complained as well about delays and missteps in responding to Katrina's devastating assault on New Orleans and the U.S. Gulf Coast last week.
The White House, asked if Bush retained confidence in Brown, gave a general statement of support for all those involved in relief efforts.
"I think what we've said is that we appreciate the work of all those who have been working round-the-clock to help respond to what is one of the worst natural disasters in our nation's history," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "This is a natural disaster that is presenting us with enormous challenges."
The Washington Post reported that five of eight top FEMA officials had come to their jobs with virtually no experience in handling disasters. The agency's top three leaders, including Brown, had ties to Bush's 2000 presidential campaign or the White House team that lays the groundwork for presidential trips.
Brown's biography on the agency Web site said he had once served as an "assistant city manager with emergency services oversight," but Time quoted an official in Edmond as saying the job was actually "assistant to the city manager," with little responsibility.
"The assistant is more like an intern," city spokeswoman Claudia Deakins told the magazine. "Department heads did not report to him."
In response to the report on Time's Web site, FEMA issued a statement that took issue with elements related to an unofficial biography, and described his job in Edmond as "assistant to the city manager."
Time also reported that Brown's profile on the legal Web site Findlaw.com, which is usually based on information provided by lawyers or their offices, said he was an "outstanding political science professor" at Central State University, now the University of Central Oklahoma.
The school took issue with that assertion.
"(Brown) wasn't a professor here, he was only a student here," school spokesman Charles Johnson told Time.
FEMA responded by saying: "Time's misleading online report on Undersecretary Mike Brown's background is based on online information Mr. Brown has never seen. ... It's disappointing this magazine relied on unconfirmed information."
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