Landrieu rips FEMA’s blank report

• By GERARD SHIELDS
• Advocate Washington bureau
• Published: Jul 31, 2008 - Page: 8A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu lit into top administrators of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday, criticizing the agency for submitting a new disaster housing strategy with blank pages in it.

The Louisiana Democrat, who chairs the Senate disaster recovery subcommittee, held up the 81-page report, showing the missing seven pages on critical issues ranging from low-income housing to establishing temporary housing sites. Landrieu also noted the report is a year late.

“We get blank pages late,” Landrieu said. “I can’t tell you how upsetting this is to me. This is unacceptable.”

The administrators for the beleaguered agency said the pages were left blank because they are conducting a two-month comment period that will be used to fill in the recommendations. The pages are marked “under development.”

Adm. Harvey Johnson Jr. told Landrieu the report is not the final word on the matter. The strategy will lead to a formal plan in the fall, he said.

“We’re working on the answers concurrently,” Johnson said. “You’ll find we will address each of these issues in the final version of the strategy.”

Landrieu also has expressed concern the strategy recommends that FEMA use traditional forms of temporary housing, including travel trailers.

FEMA used 140,000 trailers to house victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Federal tests of FEMA-issued travel trailers have shown high levels of formaldehyde, which can cause respiratory problems.

Landrieu said she is frustrated that trailers remain an option for disaster victims.

“I fear we are no better today than when Hurricane Katrina struck three years ago,” Landrieu said.

One change in the strategy is that trailers would be used only at the request of those states where disasters occur. Trailers also would be properly tested for formaldehyde, the report says.

Trailers remain a necessary option, Johnson said. “We did not want to take that off the table.”

Landrieu also complained that, under the plan, much of the new strategy will be implemented by a proposed national task force. The task force would have to be established by the next administration, which Landrieu said means the Bush administration is pushing off its responsibilities on the matter.