March 2004: Former FEMA Director Warns that US Is No Longer Prepared to Respond Effectively to Disasters

Former FEMA director James Lee Witt tells Congress: “I am extremely concerned that the ability of our nation to prepare for and respond to disasters has been sharply eroded. I hear from emergency managers, local and state leaders, and first responders nearly every day that the FEMA they knew and worked well with has now disappeared. In fact one state emergency manager told me, ‘It is like a stake has been driven into the heart of emergency management.’” [Independent Weekly, 9/22/2004; Reuters, 9/2/2005]