I strongly feel, while more work remains to be done, FEMA has made significant progress over the last 2 years.

Let us get out of their way and not say, 'The only way you get funding is if you use our contractor who may be coming from Texas or somewhere.'

I would like to ask Mr. Skinner, you know, first, I want to amen everything you said about letting the dust settle and roots grow into the ground with FEMA.

So you have a Federal Emergency Management Agency, but you don't really want to spend the money to make it what it needs to be?

It is also changing culture in the organization.

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on how we can continue to improve communications and coordination between FEMA regions and state and local emergency response organizations.

Now, of course, FEMA still has work to do.

I know that this is not always convenient, and you put a lot of time, energy into these opening statements and preparing for these questions.

I still think it is too few. I think we should be over 20,000, but we hit that goal.

I am very opposed to that. This has become a well-organized Department.

I have been an advocate for the center to try to package more of that training and take it out in increments.