FEMA in Galveston

I think FEMA attempted to get going early after Hurricane Ike. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be handling the ongoing issues any better than they did with Katrina. Lord knows there are plenty FEMA employees living in the nicer hotels around Galveston Island on the taxpayer dime, but the stories from people dealing with them aren't encouraging. They almost always include a line about how incredibly incompetent the agents are in keeping and accessing records.

Laura Elder wrote a small piece in her Biz Buzz column in the Galveston County Daily News on March 12 about FEMA moving into Dillard's old digs at a mall across the causeway on the mainland. She says a question she asked agency spokesman Bill Lehman was apparently considered in very bad taste.

Although FEMA is a taxpayer-funded entity and its spending subject to public scrutiny, Lehman declined to say how much rent the agency was paying for the Dillard's space. [...] "That's like asking me how much money I make," he said.

Oh, really, Bill? Well, two things. One, that question is not at all out of line. FEMA's spending accounting is supposedly publicly accessible by law. And, two, how much money do you make? I'm sure as a government employee, your salary is also publicly accessible by law.

Jerk.