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Jeb Bush: Let Locals Lead Disaster Relief
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush delivered a stern message to Congress on Wednesday: State and local officials, not the federal government or the U.S. military, should have the primary responsibility for handling natural disasters. President Bush and other top officials have suggested that the military could take over disaster response in some cases. But Gov. Bush, along with Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, told the House Homeland Security Committee that despite many failures at all levels of government during Hurricane Katrina, an increased federal role was not the solution, the Miami Herald reports. "I can say with certainty that federalizing emergency response to catastrophic events would be a disaster as bad as Hurricane Katrina,” Bush told the committee.
Story Continues Below "If you federalize, all the innovation, creativity and knowledge at the local level would subside.” Although Bush said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had done a good job coordinating the immediate response when four hurricanes hit Florida last year, he criticized FEMA’s actions during recovery. He cited the agency’s "bureaucratic slowness” in securing long-term housing and loans, debris removal and reimbursement. Said Bush: "FEMA’s logistics program is broken and needs to be fixed.”
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