WASHINGTON, May 16 (UPI) -- The head of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency said this week the agency had solved the issues that hindered its response to Hurricane Katrina.
At a recent Homeland Security conference, FEMA chief R. David Paulison said that while the agency does not have a complete new federal disaster plan, it has surpassed the problems associated its controversial response to Katrina in August 2005, USA Today said Wednesday.
"You're not going to see the same kind of response. You're going to see a federal government that is very proactive," he said.
With the 2007 hurricane season expected to be "very active," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told Paulison the agency had better be prepared to react appropriately.
"FEMA will have a lot of explaining to do if it is not ready when a hurricane makes landfall this season," Thompson said Tuesday.
Paulison said that while many National Guard members have been deployed overseas, the remaining troops are sufficient for the disaster agency, USA Today reported.
