WASHINGTON -- United States Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., today chaired a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Disaster Recovery Subcommittee hearing examining the federal government's failed disaster housing response following the 2005 hurricanes and recommendations for reform. The hearing followed last month's release of the Subcommittee's nine-month investigation into the post-Katrina and Rita botched response, and that myriad challenges that remain along the Gulf Coast.

"Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the manmade catastrophic floods that followed have been well documented and were horrific, but their effects were magnified exponentially when survivors registered for FEMA's disaster housing programs," Sen. Landrieu said. "This hearing highlights the startling findings in this report, and lays the groundwork for reform."

The report detailed the Bush Administration's dysfunctional and wasteful housing response, and found that FEMA remains unprepared to adequately provide housing during a catastrophic disaster. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the subsequent flooding damaged more than 1.2 million homes.

For the first time, the report reveals that weeks after Hurricane Katrina and Rita made landfall, FEMA decided that it would be the primary provider of housing assistance and relegated HUD to a subsidiary role. This decision wasted countless taxpayer dollars, as FEMA was not prepared to handle the housing needs created by a large-scale catastrophe.

The report also highlights FEMA's overreliance on expensive manufactured housing, such as trailers, and concludes that FEMA will continue to use them in response to future Katrina-sized disasters. In addition, it points to the Bush Administration lawyers' narrow legal interpretation of their authority under the Stafford Act, which led to inflexible rules and decisions.

"After this exhaustive investigation, we are left with one overarching conclusion," Sen. Landrieu said. "We have spent $15 billion dollars on housing programs and much of it was used on expensive, unsafe short-term housing, such as trailers and mobile homes. Six pieces of legislation have been introduced, and we have held numerous public hearings. However, FEMA and HUD remain unprepared to provide housing in the event of a catastrophic disaster."

The report includes the following recommendations: give FEMA the authority to repair rental property, make HUD the agency primarily responsible for housing recovery and provide necessary funding, and create a catastrophic designation under the Stafford Act.

"One day, an earthquake is going to hit Memphis, a tsunami is going to hit Seattle, or a major hurricane is going to hit Long Island," Sen. Landrieu said. "A plan to put people in travel trailers and mobile homes in Times Square or on Long Island will not work. It did not work well in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. We need a smart and intelligent plan that recognizes the dimensions, scale and characteristics of a catastrophic disaster."

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., the Subcommittee's new Ranking Member called the Subcommittee's work "extraordinary." "The next disaster is right around the corner, and we need to learn from our mistakes," Sen. Graham said. "This is something that Republicans and Democrats should come together pretty quickly on because when these storms hit, no one asks your party affiliation."

Sen. Landrieu heard testimony from FEMA Acting Administrator Nancy Ward.

"I commend you on a thorough report, and after reviewing your findings and your recommendations as they are characterized in the report, I can say there is very little, if anything, that I disagree with," Administrator Ward said. "You have outlined the problems, and we acknowledge that there have been problems. And your recommendations are valid, and ones that I see great opportunity in working with you on. The report recognizes what we, and all of our housing partners, have continuously reiterated — one of the most challenging aspects of the recovery process is disaster housing, and those challenges intensify and increase during a catastrophic event."

Ward emphasized the role of FEMA's National Disaster Housing Strategy. The Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA) required the strategy, and its latest version was delivered on the final day of the Bush Administration. Ward said that the Strategy serves as the basis for a national discussion, universal framework and a common set of principles from which a concrete implementation plan for disaster housing can be created. Currently, a Task Force to handle operational planning is being organized.

"Senator, we both know how important it is to get this right for the American people," Administrator Ward said. "Secretary Napolitano wants to get it right. President Obama's new nominee to FEMA, Craig Fugate, will be an extraordinary leader in this area to get it right. And together, we will take your work and your recommendations and move forward in a collective way to get it right."

Sen. Landrieu also asked Acting Administrator Ward about the recent sexual harassment and other complaints alleged against leadership in FEMA's New Orleans Transitional Recovery Office. Ward responded that an all-employee online survey was conducted so that employees could provide their concerns, which are being kept confidential. In addition, FEMA is working to train staff and managers. Several formal complaints, she said, are going through due process.

"It was disturbing to walk into an environment that is under FEMA leadership and to see the kinds of concerns that employees had about their general work environment," Ward said. "So we are making several recommendations to the Secretary around work environment issues, training, communications, the expanded survey."

Nelson R. Bregon, General Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Community Planning and Development for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also testified at the hearing. He noted that the Disaster Housing Investigation highlights interagency issues that must be addressed and legislative proposals that should be considered.

"We look forward to working with our partners on Capitol Hill and in other federal agencies, particularly FEMA, to resolve those issues and become effective leaders and partners in disaster recovery," Mr. Bregon said.

"HUD will be the center of governmental reform and renewal in this Administration," Bregon said. "As Secretary Donovan has been stating publicly, we will invest at an unprecedented level in research and evaluation, and we will hold ourselves accountable to the highest standard.

Mr. Bregon also explained the Administration's position on HUD taking the lead housing role following a catastrophic disaster.

"One of the concerns that we have at this point is that although we have the infrastructure and the knowledge, in many instances — if this is a large-scale undertaking —we would need the resources," Mr. Bregon said. "Not only the financial resources, but the human resources as well, and the legislative authority to undertake some of the programs we would need for long-term housing recovery."

"If we are given the authority and the financial resources, yes, we are the agency that can do it, do it well and do it quickly."

Sen. Landrieu also heard testimony from Krystal Williams, Executive Director of the Louisiana Housing Alliance; Reilly Morse, Senior Attorney of the Katrina Recovery Office for the Mississippi Center for Justice; Sheila Crowley, President of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition; and Karen Paup, Co-Director of the Texas Low-Income Housing Information Service.

"The Disaster Recovery Subcommittee will continue working with the Administration and Congress to implement the critical reforms this report outlines," Sen. Landrieu said. "We began this process when Secretaries Napolitano and Donovan visited the Gulf Coast region at my request."

Photographs of the hearing are available for publication:

• U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La.: http://landrieu.senate.gov/media/09.03.18_Landrieu_Hearing1.JPG

• U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La.: http://landrieu.senate.gov/media/09.03.18_Landrieu_Hearing2.JPG

• FEMA Acting Administrator Nancy Ward: http://landrieu.senate.gov/media/09.03.18_Ward_Hearing.JPG