3/10/09 Baton Rouge Advocate: Our Views: A new head for FEMA

http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/41004072.html

Our Views: A new head for FEMA

* Advocate Opinion page staff

* Published: Mar 10, 2009 – Page: 6B – UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

The nomination of W. Craig Fulgate to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency won’t get as much national attention as President Barack Obama’s picks for Cabinet-level departments, but Louisiana residents should have more than a passing interest in the person selected to run FEMA.

The agency’s bungled response to Hurricane Katrina underscored the need for competent leadership at FEMA.

But the aftermath of Katrina also raised a lot of questions about FEMA that transcend any single leader, however gifted or able.

Is FEMA properly designed to respond to a Katrina-size catastrophe, and if not, how can it be remade to answer such needs?

Should it be apart from, or a part of, the Department of Homeland Security?

And is it time for a full-scale overhaul of the federal legislation that guides disaster response?

These are important questions, and we hope they are explored in depth during Fulgate’s confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate.

Fulgate, who visited the Gulf Coast recently to gauge hurricane recovery, is certainly familiar with hurricanes and their potential for damage.

Since 2001, Fulgate has been the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

We agree with Ben Smilowitz, executive director of the Disaster Accountability Project, who said, “The Senate should use Mr. Fulgate’s confirmation hearing as an opportunity to learn if, and exactly how, FEMA is turning a new page.”