They make some good points in their commentary. What I see happening is that there is an ad hoc nature to the response that is occurring. The Administration does not want to "own" the disaster--yet they do own it by it happening on their watch. Because they don't want to own it, they are looking to use other methods than the traditional disaster response process that has been honed over the years.
The authors make the point that with an active hurricane season FEMA will likely become involved at one point or another. I can see the disaster recovery debate now. Was the damage that was incurred to property from: wind, rain, storm surge or oil? It could be a whole lot messier than it is already when you add in a natural disaster.
In my opinion FEMA and the Stafford Act will not be added to the mix until there is a natural disaster superimposed on the current oil spill.
Recovery Diva and Bill Cumming both shared this information.
