All Headline News - Congressman Wexler Accuses Brown of Poisioning FEMA - September 27, 2005

All Headline News - Congressman Wexler Accuses Brown of Poisioning FEMA - September 27, 2005: "Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A statement released by Congressman Robert Wexler's office claims former FEMA director Michael Brown's current present as a consultant 'reflects poorly on the marred agency and the Bush Administration, which clearly has not learned its lesson after the Katrina disaster.' The statement follows Brown's earlier self-defense of his actions during post-Katrina relief efforts.Despite Brown's resignation as director of FEMA on Sept. 12 - three days after he was removed from overseeing the onsite disaster response by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff - he continues his employment at FEMA under a consulting contract.

According to Wexler, President Bush's failure to remove Brown from FEMA 'further reflects a fundamental lack of resolve in addressing the breakdown at this agency.' He also slams the President for his 'steadfast refusal to support an independent investigation' of the actions taken by FEMA following Katrina's disasterous impact on Louisiana and Mississippi.Wexler also argues in his statement that, 'Mr. Brown's involvement at FEMA poisons all recovery efforts, as he is a constant reminder of the tremendous failures in Katrina's immediate aftermath and has a vested interest in covering up the true extent of the problems in the federal response. It is time for the President to rid - once and for all - the partisan, unprofessional political appointments in our nation's most critical agencies.'

Initially, on January 24, 2005, Wexler requested the removal of Under Secretary Brown due to reports that FEMA, under Brown's leadership, had disbursed over $30-million in disaster relief money to some 10,000 Miami-Dade residents who made fraudulent claims following Hurricane Frances."