Senior House Democrats Urge the President to Terminate Michael Brown's Consulting Contract

Senior House Democrats Urge President to Terminate Michael Brown’s Consulting Contract

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. â€" House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and other senior House Democrats sent a letter to President Bush this afternoon urging him to immediately terminate Michael Brown’s consulting contract with the Department of Homeland Security.

Below is the text of the letter:

November 9, 2005

President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to urge you to immediately terminate Michael Brown’s ongoing consulting contract with the Department of Homeland Security. After Mr. Brown’s dismal performance in preparing for and responding to Hurricane Katrina, your Administration’s decision to continue paying Mr. Brown an annual salary of $148,000 is inexplicable and a gross waste of taxpayer dollars.

After being relieved of his Katrina-related duties, Mr. Brown resigned as Undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response on September 12. Two weeks later, Mr. Brown testified before Congress and confirmed that he was continuing to receive his salary as a consultant to FEMA.[1] Amazingly, he had been asked to stay on the payroll for 30 days in order to determine what went wrong with FEMA’s response to Hurricane Katrina. The Department of Homeland Security justified the contract by saying that Mr. Brown was â€Å"transitioning out of his job” and that FEMA needed to get a â€Å"proper download of his experience.”[2]

Now, we have learned that Mr. Brown’s contract has been extended for another 30 days. That is unacceptable. Incredibly, Secretary Chertoff defended the decision to retain Mr. Brown by saying, â€Å"We don’t want to sacrifice the real ability to get a full picture of Mike’s experiences.”[3]

It is difficult to imagine anyone less qualified to assess FEMA’s failed response to Katrina and make recommendations for improving the agency. Mr. Brown’s e-mails in the days immediately preceding and following Hurricane Katrina paint â€Å"a full picture” of Mr. Brown’s experiences. As an analysis released by our colleague Congressman Charlie Melancon demonstrated, the e-mails reveal that Mr. Brown made few decisions and seemed completely out of touch. Many of his e-mails focus on trivial matters such as what he should wear or who would care for his dog,[4] not on providing relief for those in desperate need.

FEMA should certainly debrief Mr. Brown, but he hardly needs to be on the taxpayers’ payroll for that purpose. An extended contract to â€Å"download” Mr. Brown’s experiences is an abuse of taxpayer funds and an insult to the survivors of Katrina who were so poorly served by Mr. Brown and his agency. We urge you to terminate this contract immediately.

Sincerely,

Nancy Pelosi
House Democratic Leader

Steny Hoyer
House Democratic Whip

David Obey
Ranking Member, Appropriations Committee

Henry A. Waxman
Ranking Member, Government Reform Committee

Bennie Thompson
Ranking Member, Homeland Security Committee

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1. Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, Hearings on Hurricane Katrina: The Role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Sept. 27, 2005).
2. Brown Still on FEMA Payroll, CBS News (Sept. 27, 2005).
3. FEMA Extends Brown’s Contract by 30 Days, Associated Press (Oct. 27, 2005).
4. Rep. Charlie Melancon, The E-Mails of Michael Brown (Nov. 2, 2005).