FEMA and national disasters

I saw a PBS FRONTLINE documentary (And I use the term loosely) talking about FEMA and how it failed in Hurrican Catrina.

The program urged that FEMA should be the group out their driving buses and evacuating cities. They also claimed in this program that if the state and local government mess up - FEMA should have the ability to MAKE the states do whatever it wants them to do. The characters in the program gave the example of "clean air regulations and OSHA" as proof that FEMA can order any state or local government to do anything it wants.

But the fact remains - FEMA has no control over the states (not even via clean air regulations or OSHA) and FEMA can not force congress to pass laws that bind the states. Furthermore FEMA has never been staffed as America's "crisis rescue" agency.

But the program also had to admit that FEMA is in fact a SMALL government agency whose mandate is just to "manage" not to OWN resources or conduct evacuation, rescue etc. It helps coordinate and manage -- period. They seem to delight in blaming the Bush Administration for the fact that FEMA was never staffed RESCUE! (Not in all of time!)

So now the military is being asked to expand their charter to cover rescue and relief for national disasters. And of course - we will probably not have FEMA running the military so this only further reduces the role for FEMA.

Thoughts?

In Christ,

Bob