Michael Brown's Senate Confirmation Hearing - June 19, 2002

[VolcanoJen]

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_senate_hearings&docid=f:81311.wais

Interesting... the senators on the committee were well aware of his prior-to-FEMA job with the International Arabian Horse Association. They were told this by Sen. Ben Nighthorse (no pun intended):

Prior to his current job, from 1991 to 2000, Mr. Brown was
the Commissioner of the International Arabian Horse
Association, an international subsidiary of the National
Governing Organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee. In his
position there, he created ethical programs, enforcement
policies and procedures, conducted investigations, and
prosecuted fraud and corruption cases.


None of us here at DU will be surprised to learn which Senator (and also chair of the committee on governmental affairs) supported Mr. Brown most wholeheartedly:

Chairman Lieberman: Mr. Brown, I thank you very much. I
will certainly support your nomination. I will do my best to
move it through the Committee as soon as possible so we can
have you fully and legally at work in your new position. In the
meantime, I thank you very much. I thank your family for their
support of you, and at this point, we will adjourn the hearing.

All in all, a pretty interesting document, chock-full of backslapping and gladhandling and glowing, flowery bullshit.

[tjdee]

1. Was there a roll call vote on this?

I'd love to see who thought a partisan horse man was a good person to manage disasters.

[VolcanoJen]

2. I'm trying to find the actual confirmation vote but I've struck out.

Anyone else want to give it a try?

[tjdee]

5. I did, but I'm stupid.

:cry:

I'm horrible at searches of this kind (oy, and it wasn't even a DU search). Hopefully a DUer will come up with it soon.

[charlie]

10. Voice vote

No record. I'd give you a direct link, but these stupid gov sites generate session URLs that expire. Go here -- http://thomas.loc.gov/home/nomis.html -- and enter "michael brown" in the word/phrase/name textbox.

[VolcanoJen]

11. Is there any record of how many "yeas" vs. how many "neas"?

For some reason, I don't come up with any results when I try that search.

Thanks for your intrepid research, charlie!

[charlie]

12. Uh-uh

(And someone at the Library of Congress needs to be transferred to Point Barrow, Alaska. Their site is the most unintuitive, labyrinthine, and utterly opaque database search on the web)

Here's the text from the page:

NOMINATION: PN1557-107
DATE RECEIVED: March 21, 2002

Michael D. Brown , of Colorado, to be Deputy Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, vice Robert M. Walker, resigned.

REFERRED TO: Senate Governmental Affairs
REPORTED BY: Senate Governmental Affairs


LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Committee Action: June 19, 2002 - Committee on Governmental Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 107-616.
Floor Action: March 21, 2002 - Received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
Committee Action: July 24, 2002 - Committee on Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported favorably.
Floor Action: July 24, 2002 - Reported by Senator Lieberman, Committee on Governmental Affairs, without printed report.
Floor Action: July 24, 2002 - Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar No. 930. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to requests to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
Floor Action: August 01, 2002 - Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.

ORGANIZATION: Federal Emergency Management Agency

CONTROL NUMBER: 107PN0155700

You're welcome, VolcanoJen :hi:

[gauguin57]

3. Brown was horse man. Nagin was The Cable Guy (head of a local

cable company, and a Republican until he wanted to run for mayor of NOLA 3 years ago, and needed to be a Dem. to win). Chertoff was a prosecutor, I believe.

These people are a bunch of political appointees who have no idea what they're doing.

Former HS secretary Tom Ridge is a pretty lame, ineffectual guy, but at least he had been the governor of a state, had been in Congress and had fought in Vietnam. So, at least he had experience with management, govt bureaucracy, and reacting in a crisis situation.

What credentials does Chertoff have? What's FEMA's "Brownie" (as Bush calls him) got?

This is bullshit. Who conducted these job interviews? Didn't anyone look at anyone's resume, or call their references? Cheez whiz!

[VolcanoJen]

4. Except that Nagin was elected, though, right?

I find his qualification a little questionable, too, but he wasn't a political appointee, that is, if NOLA elects mayors the way most cities do...

[KT2000]

6. Chertoff = Watergate!

he paid his dues as legal counsle to the senate for Watergate Committee.
It is in his hands we have entrusted our lives and security.

[Skidmore]

8. I didn't know that being a local cable guy was

precludes someone from being mayor of their town. So now we need to have poli sci degrees or law degrees or medical degrees or own corporations to be mayor? Heading a local company doesn't require some sort of management skills?

[Spazito]

15. Nagin was elected and to compare him and Brown is like

comparing apples to dirty diapers. Nice try though.

[xultar]

7. Is this why Dem Leadership is so quiet on this thing?

[VolcanoJen]

13. See? I think we might be onto something here.

That's the way I'm leaning, xultar.

[charlie]

9. Lol

He botched it when asked his opinion on the adequacy of an evacuation plan for New Yorkers living near a nuclear plant. His excuse sounds reeeeal familiar:

Chairman Lieberman. I appreciate that, obviously, from the
point of view of Connecticut. I am not asking for what your
response will be, but do you have any sense of how you will
handle this petition from New York about a review of the Indian
Point plant?

Mr. Brown. In all honesty, I do not. I just received it
yesterday----

Chairman Lieberman. You did?

Mr. Brown (continuing). When I got back into the States and
I just looked at it for the first time yesterday.

Chairman Lieberman. Understood. We will continue to want to
be in dialogue with you on this, as well, and I appreciate the
commitment that you made to be involved in ongoing review of
these plans because it is obviously critical.

[VolcanoJen]

14. A gentle kick for the daytime crowd... intrepid researchers needed!

:kick: