Michael Brown resigned as FEMA Chairman on Sept. 12, but he's still on the Homeland Security payroll, and apparently will be for another few weeks.
After the resignation, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff agreed to extend Brown's $148,000 contract by 30 days. Earlier this month, he agreed to a second 30-day contract extension, not long before telling Congress he didn't "endorse" Brown's pass-the-buck defense of his actions before, during and after Hurricane Katrina.
Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS), whose coastal district was among the hardest hit by Katrina, told the Associated Press that the contract extension is an insult to taxpayers, particularly those Gulf Coast residents "whose lives were in danger in the aftermath of that storm because of Mike Brown's incompetence.''
"I've got tens of thousands of people living in two-man igloo tents tonight, and less than a quarter of the people who have asked for FEMA travel trailers have gotten them,'' Taylor said. "And at the same time they can find $140,000 a year to pay this incompetent son of a gun; that's ridiculous.''
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What is Brown doing?
When he first had his contract extended, it was so Brown could "consult" — although on what was not clear, given his disastrous handling of Katrina.
Today, Brown told the AP that he was retained to finish reviewing Freedom of Information requests about the Katrina response — although seemingly that duty could be handled by Brown's successor, acting director R. David Paulison.
Brown also said he is participating in agency reviews of the response to "see what needs to be done to make it work better.'' But do taxpayers really want Brown — whose testimony suggested he was in serious denial — making suggestions on how FEMA should react in the future?
When someone gets fired on NBC's show, The Apprentice, they leave the building, hop a cab, and one can assume vacate New York altogether. Shouldn't the U.S. government have the same standard?
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This item first appeared at Journalists Against Bush's B.S.
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Article comments
1 - Maurice
I think this is common even in private industry. Lee Iacocca was given an office and secretary when he was fired from Ford. He occupied that office doing nothing but looking for another job for 2 years.
I have seen this same thing at my company where a person is 'kept on' until they can find another place to land.
This is only true for the higher ups.
2 - ClubhouseCancer
It's obvious: Brownie was serving as the head of the Supreme Court search committee.