Debbie Wasserman Schultz: “I want to just highlight that this is not an isolated incident. It would be easy to say that FEMA was just overwhelmed…”

“I want to just highlight that this is not an isolated incident. It would be easy to say that FEMA was just overwhelmed and could not possibly have been expected to be prepared for a storm the size of Katrina since this administration changed the rules of the game when it comes to FEMA. FEMA used to be an independent agency prior to the Bush administration and prior to its being absorbed into the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11. FEMA was an independent agency with a director and a staff that had expertise in disaster preparedness. I want to just highlight for my colleagues prior to Hurricane Katrina some of the instances of irresponsibility on FEMA's part under Secretary Brown's leadership. In 2004 Florida officials recorded 123 fatalities from last year's hurricanes. We had four hurricanes that hit Florida last year. FEMA pays expenses for 315 deaths; 123 fatalities documented from last year's storms. FEMA pays expenses for 315 deaths. There is something wrong with that. In 2004 FEMA reimbursed over 5,000 people $9.3 million for rental assistance when a follow-up study showed that most residents never left their homes. In 2004 FEMA reimbursed people for 11-piece bedroom sets when they just owned a bed. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina strikes Florida damaging over 200 homes. FEMA has declined to pay individual assistance to those homeowners.…”