Once the press conference had concluded, Shelby approached Witt and placed his hand on the director's shoulder. "You're the best," he told Witt. Bachus had more kind words, telling National Journal: "Gov. [George W.] Bush would be well served to appoint James Lee Witt, if he wants to put a Democrat [at FEMA]." According to Witt, these Republican legislators told him that they would personally recommend him to Bush, if Witt wanted to remain at the agency. But Witt's tenure is coming to an end. Last week, Bush appointed Joe Allbaugh, his presidential campaign manager, to lead FEMA. Witt will most likely return to Arkansas, where he might run for governor or for Congress.
Admiration for Witt isn't limited to Alabama. During the first presidential debate last fall, both Bush and Al Gore were eager to one-up each other in their praise for the director. "I've got to pay the Administration a compliment," Bush remarked. "James Lee Witt of FEMA has done a really good job of working with governors during times of crisis." Gore then added: "I accompanied James Lee Witt down to Texas when those fires broke out. And FEMA has been a major flagship project of our reinventing-government efforts." (Of course, after the debate, Gore lost points when it was revealed that he actually traveled with FEMA's deputy director, and not Witt.) FEMA aides joke today that the real winner of the debate wasn't Bush or Gore-it was James Lee Witt.
Indeed, at a time when Washington seems more polarized than ever, most Democrats and Republicans have been able to agree on one thing: that the little-known Witt represents the very best of the Clinton Administration. He has made FEMA much more responsive to the public. He has worked to prevent disasters. He has cut a significant amount of bureaucratic red tape. And he has helped boost the public image of a once-troubled agency that was about to be placed under the governmental guillotine.
"For many years, FEMA had been regarded almost universally as an agency not up to the job," President Clinton said in 1996. "And I'm very proud that under James Lee Witt's management ... FEMA is now a model disaster-relief agency, and, in some corners, thought to be by far the most successful part of the federal government today." ...
After Hurricane Hugo hit the South Carolina coast in 1989, an earthquake shook California in the same year, and Hurricane Andrew damaged Florida in 1992, attacks on the agency reached their apex. Critics argued that FEMA's response to these disasters was too slow. "It is the sorriest bunch of bureaucratic jackasses I have ever encountered in my life," Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, D-S.C., complained on the Senate floor in the aftermath of Hugo.
Some members of Congress, including Rep. Fortney H. "Pete" Stark, D-Calif., called for the agency's elimination and placing disaster relief in the hands of the military. "[FEMA's] response was a blizzard of red tape, a hurricane of hot air, but no avalanche of help-more like a glacial mountain of delay," Stark said.
But Witt has turned the agency around. One of FEMA's institutional problems was that it was a product of the Cold War, and many of its resources were devoted to dealing with a possible nuclear attack on the United States. After taking office, Witt worked to redirect those resources to help with disaster relief. Said Zensinger: "The thinking was: `We didn't have the Cold War anymore. Why don't [we] pay more attention to domestic issues?' "
Witt has also made the agency more responsive to the victims of natural disasters. By implementing a toll-free hot line and upgrading the agency's technology, Witt has helped to reduce from an average of 30 days to just five to 10 days the time it takes for victims to apply for and receive federal financial assistance.
In addition, Witt has made disaster mitigation one of his priorities. He created a program called Project Impact, which targets communities where disasters are likely to occur. Under the program, communities form partnerships with both the government and the private sector to enforce stricter building codes and to strengthen existing infrastructure. FEMA has also moved or bought 19,000 homes that are prone to massive flooding. According to Dale Shipley, the executive director of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, mitigation has been Witt's greatest achievement. "That's his legacy, I think," Shipley said.
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