March 1, 2006
After a comprehensive eight-month review of the governmental mistakes that lead to the death of thousands, the "Presidential Report on the 2005 Katrina Storm Disaster" concluded that the most important governmental failure was Presidential leadership during the first few days of the crisis.
"If one thing could have saved lives, it would have been quick and forceful action from the highest level of government: namely the President of the United States."
The report went on to place blame on the head of FEMA, Michael Brown, and Michael Chertoff, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, both of whom were overwhelmed during the crisis. These department heads were "...struggling between demands to keep recovery costs low and abide by administration policies to wait for White House direction before committing to governmental resources."
"But fundamentally it was a disengaged President who continued his vacation at time of national crisis for three days". The report continued "Simple models of administrative effectiveness show that leadership from the top always trickles down. In this case, the chief executive was disengaged for the critical three days following the disaster. The directors of FEMA and Homeland Security received no pressure or input from the President to step up rescue efforts. In that environment, they were left to assume that the existing policy of 'go slow' was still in effect."
President Bush, on vacation in Crawford Texas, said the report was made by "Fine people, who did good work. They hunkered down on the problem and I appreciate their work". Pressed about the criticism on his own lack of engagement he said "I didn't read the whole report".