WASHINGTON, Sept 12: The heavily-criticized head of the US agency overseeing disaster relief in hurricane-hit areas resigned on Monday. President Bush appeared not to know about the resignation. “I can’t comment on something that you may know more about than I do,” he told reporters while visiting the disaster zone.
But critics were delighted.
“Michael Brown’s departure from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) is long overdue, and his resignation is the right thing for the country and for the people of the Gulf coast states,” said Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the Senate.
Mr Brown had been called back to Washington on Friday and replaced as the pointman on the ground by Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen. Mr Bush had stood up for under-fire Brown in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, telling him: “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”
RESUME REVISED: The Federal Emergency Management Agency earlier quietly revised the official biography of Michael Brown to correct an error about his background in local government following allegations he exaggerated his disaster relief experience.
Mr Brown’s biography on FEMA’s Web site, was updated to revise his title while working in local government in Edmond, Oklahoma, in the 1970s.
One correction was made to make clear that Brown had not served as “an assistant city manager,” as had been stated in his biography.
The new biography states that Brown served as “an assistant to the city manager.”
FEMA also revised Brown’s role in emergency planning at the time.—Reuters
