Reply #58: Bush Urges Shift in Relief Responsibilities, Washington Post

[Coastie for Truth]

Bush Urges Shift in Relief Responsibilities,Congress Asked to Consider Placing Pentagon in Charge of Disaster Response

On Sunday, President Bush called on Congress to consider a larger role for U.S. armed forces in responding to natural disasters, as he completed what White House aides called a weekend "fact-finding" mission to determine whether the Pentagon needs more control.

"Clearly, in the case of a terrorist attack, that would be the case, but is there a natural disaster -- of a certain size -- that would then enable the Defense Department to become the lead agency in coordinating and leading the response effort?" Bush said after a briefing from military leaders at Randolph Air Force Base here. "That's going to be a very important consideration for Congress to think about."

Bush has told aides that one of the major breakdowns in the Hurricane Katrina response was the federal government's inability to seize control of rescue and relief efforts. Under existing law and procedure, a state governor is in charge when natural disasters strike and is responsible for deploying the National Guard, though in certain cases, the president can order troops to support local law enforcement.

Bush is asking Congress to consider a major change, potentially shifting federal responsibility for major natural disasters from the Department of Homeland Security to the nation's top military generals. The Defense Department has been hesitant to take such a role because of sensitivity to the idea of adopting a police presence on U.S. soil and because of strains on the armed forces from the war in Iraq.

Some interesting points in the article-

*DHS and FEMA and Louisiana bungled in applying the military's existing capabilities to rescue Katrina victims.

*Rather than creating new laws and authorities, government officials simply need to execute existing plans competently, they said.

*Federal law, response plans and congressional studies make it plain that there is already abundant statutory, regulatory, and budgetary authority to request the military. (But critics said that Bush and Blanco were too slow to do so for Katrina.}

*Under the existing "National Response Plan" local military commanders are authorized and pre-approved "to respond to requests of civil authorities" for "immediate response" needs, including rescue, evacuation, medical treatment, restoration of vital services and safeguarding and distribution of food and supplies.

*The military is also allowed to provide whatever other disaster support is necessary.