Janet Napolitano
/ AP Photo
THE GULF COAST, TEXAS (AP) -- New Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is ordering a fresh review of hurricane recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast.
The order is one of the former Arizona governor's first acts as Homeland Security secretary and comes 3 1/2 years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita swept ashore.
In testimony prepared for a congressional hearing tomorrow, Napolitano says the Federal Emergency Management Agency will assign a new team of senior staff members.
They're to look at ways to improve hurricane recovery operations that have been under way since the 2005 hurricanes.
Napolitano's announcement comes on the heels of President Barack Obama's decision to extend the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding.
Former President George W. Bush created the position in 2005, but it was set to expire at the end of this month.
Obama extended it through September, the end of the government budget year.
Acting coordinator Paul Conway, a holdover from the Bush administration, will remain in the position until Obama chooses a replacement to head the office.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
