therising
November 2nd, 2005, 07:40 AM
Apparently lack of experience is not an issue if you're friends with the President:
complete article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/02/national/nationalspecial/02recovery.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1130934854-rp4BzEVtpoM4JHFZHhAGZA
F.D.I.C. Chairman Picked to Oversee Gulf Recovery
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 - The Bush administration on Tuesday named Donald E. Powell, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission and a former Texas banker with long ties to President Bush, to coordinate the federal role in rebuilding the parts of the Gulf Coast devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
He will report to the secretary of homeland security, Michael Chertoff, who said Mr. Powell brought "the leadership, ideas and optimism that the residents of the Gulf Coast region deserve." Mr. Chertoff, who said he had made the appointment in consultation with the White House, said Mr. Powell would be the administration's "primary point of contact with Congress, state and local governments, the private sector and community leaders on mid- and long-term recovery and rebuilding plans."
Before being named by Mr. Bush in 2001 to lead the deposit insurance agency, Mr. Powell was chief executive of the First National Bank of Amarillo. In the 1990's, as governor of Texas, Mr. Bush named Mr. Powell to be chairman of the Board of Regents at Texas A&M University. Mr. Powell was one of Mr. Bush's leading fund-raisers in the 2000 presidential campaign.
Administration officials said Mr. Powell's experience in government and business, his role at Texas A&M and his position as chairman of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce had exposed him to regional economic development issues and qualified him for a major role in the posthurricane reconstruction effort.
But he has no direct experience overseeing large-scale rebuilding efforts of the sort being undertaken by officials in Louisiana and Mississippi. Democrats were quick to draw parallels to Michael D. Brown, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who stepped aside after Hurricane Katrina under a firestorm of criticism and accusations that he did not have enough experience to do the job and got it only through connections.
"This appointment is business as usual and shows that the gulf recovery is not a top priority for the president," said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts. "Mr. Powell may be an accomplished banker and political fund-raiser, but according to the administration, he has no disaster recovery experience. I find this terribly troubling, especially given the tragic missteps of Michael Brown."
complete article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/02/national/nationalspecial/02recovery.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1130934854-rp4BzEVtpoM4JHFZHhAGZA
F.D.I.C. Chairman Picked to Oversee Gulf Recovery
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 - The Bush administration on Tuesday named Donald E. Powell, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission and a former Texas banker with long ties to President Bush, to coordinate the federal role in rebuilding the parts of the Gulf Coast devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
He will report to the secretary of homeland security, Michael Chertoff, who said Mr. Powell brought "the leadership, ideas and optimism that the residents of the Gulf Coast region deserve." Mr. Chertoff, who said he had made the appointment in consultation with the White House, said Mr. Powell would be the administration's "primary point of contact with Congress, state and local governments, the private sector and community leaders on mid- and long-term recovery and rebuilding plans."
Before being named by Mr. Bush in 2001 to lead the deposit insurance agency, Mr. Powell was chief executive of the First National Bank of Amarillo. In the 1990's, as governor of Texas, Mr. Bush named Mr. Powell to be chairman of the Board of Regents at Texas A&M University. Mr. Powell was one of Mr. Bush's leading fund-raisers in the 2000 presidential campaign.
Administration officials said Mr. Powell's experience in government and business, his role at Texas A&M and his position as chairman of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce had exposed him to regional economic development issues and qualified him for a major role in the posthurricane reconstruction effort.
But he has no direct experience overseeing large-scale rebuilding efforts of the sort being undertaken by officials in Louisiana and Mississippi. Democrats were quick to draw parallels to Michael D. Brown, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who stepped aside after Hurricane Katrina under a firestorm of criticism and accusations that he did not have enough experience to do the job and got it only through connections.
"This appointment is business as usual and shows that the gulf recovery is not a top priority for the president," said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts. "Mr. Powell may be an accomplished banker and political fund-raiser, but according to the administration, he has no disaster recovery experience. I find this terribly troubling, especially given the tragic missteps of Michael Brown."