ABSTRACT
CONTENTS History of FEMA...................................................................................... 38 FEMA: Federalism and Ideology ............................................................... 42 FEMA: Management and Ideology ........................................................... 45 Conclusions on Federalism, Management, and Ideology ........................... 47 References ................................................................................................. 48
During testimony before a U.S. House of Representatives committee, former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown gave
lawmakers a lesson in federalism. Brown expressed his perception that FEMA is a coordinating agency for state and local emergency responses. ‘‘We don’t own fire trucks, we don’t own ambulances,’’ he explained (Fox News, 2005). He laid the blame for the poor response to Hurricane Katrina on Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, and described state and local government in Louisiana as ‘‘dysfunctional.’’ When his poor performance was compared with the response of Rudy Guiliano after the September 11 World Trade Center attacks, Brown responded by rhetorically asking, ‘‘So I guess you want me to be the superhero, to step in there and take everyone out of New Orleans?’’ (Jordan, 2005).
