FEMA Response to GAO Report on Maintenance and Deactivation of Housing Contracts in Response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

FEMA Response to GAO Report on Maintenance and Deactivation of Housing Contracts in Response to Hurricane Katrina And Hurricane Rita

November 15, 2007 -- FEMA response to the Government Accounting Office (GAO) Report on "Maintenance And Deactivation Of Housing Contracts In Response To Hurricane Katrina And Hurricane Rita":

"The GAO report does not reveal new issues from the Katrina response. We are aware of and have drawn lessons learned from these issues. This is another look backwards that tries to project the mistakes made in Katrina onto the FEMA of today. We reject that effort.

Katrina was a disaster of catastrophic proportions. FEMA has repeatedly acknowledged, including in Congressional testimony, that we made mistakes. FEMA genuinely regrets those mistakes, yet we have learned from them.

FEMA and our partners are far better positioned to respond to a catastrophic disaster. FEMA has:

1.
Competed and negotiated fair pricing and terms on pre-positioned contracts;
2.
More than tripled our professional contracting staff from 35 during Katrina to 118, and they are better equipped, trained and prepared to respond to a catastrophe;
3.
Pre-scripted more than 200 mission assignments with federal agencies to deliver essential capabilities when needed; and,
4.
Established an expanded logistics capability that is better integrated with other responding Departments and Agencies.
5.
FEMA has negotiated multiple Interagency Agreements with its agency partners to ensure better communication and clarity of roles and responsibilities in a disaster.

FEMA has demonstrated these new capabilities in response to tornadoes, floods, and other severe weather, and most recently in the California wildfires. This is the FEMA that would respond if a catastrophic disaster were to happen today."

- James McIntyre, FEMA National Spokesman

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

Source: FEMA

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