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American Morning
Interview with FEMA Director Michael Brown
Aired October 28, 2003 - 07:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Federal Emergency Management Agency designated several counties in southern California eligible for aid, after President Bush declared the areas a major disaster. FEMA Director Mike Brown arrived in California last night, and earlier this morning I asked him what he expects the price tag will be for all of this damage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL BROWN, FEMA DIRECTOR: The price tag is something that we don't worry about right now. We really focus on getting the assistance out, making sure that the mayors and the governors have all of the resources they need to fight these fires, that the individuals have the resources that they need to kind of get their lives back together, and then we'll tally up those costs at the end of day and see where we are.
O'BRIEN: I want to play for you a chunk of what Governor Gray Davis had to say about -- some of it directed to FEMA. Let's listen in.
GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: I talked to Governor-elect Schwarzenegger at about 4:45 today. I've ordered that my office of emergency services brief his team hourly. I asked him -- and he was happy to do this on his trip to Washington tomorrow -- to impress upon the Small Business Administration, to impress upon FEMA, get your tail out to California, set up one-stop shops and put money in the hands of people who deserve it.
O'BRIEN: Obviously, now they're on the ground, but he's admonishing FEMA, get your tails out to California and put money in the hands of people who need it. Give me your reaction to those pretty harsh words.
BROWN: Well, I don't know what the governor is referring to. I can tell you, quite frankly, FEMA has been here for the past five days since these fires started.
We do what are called fire management assistance grants, and we started approving those -- I approved some in the middle of the night, 2:00 in the morning, 8:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m. -- all hours of night and day. We approved the fire management assistance grants in which we pay and are going to reimburse the state and the locals for 75 percent of their firefighting costs.
So, we've been here on the ground literally reimbursing and helping the state since these fires first broke out five days ago. O'BRIEN: I have read that you're on the ground now as part of a fact-finding trip. What's your plan over the next several days -- or if it's weeks -- that you're going to be out in California?
BROWN: Well, I'll be here long enough today to get an assessment, see how things are going, see what the states need, see what the local folks need. The president has asked me to just do an assessment, see where we and are to make sure that the resources that the state is requesting, the locals are requesting, that they're actually getting that resource.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Director Brown expressed his condolences to all of the families who have lost homes and also loved ones. And he also thanked the firefighters on behalf of the president.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 28, 2003 - 07:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Federal Emergency Management Agency designated several counties in southern California eligible for aid, after President Bush declared the areas a major disaster. FEMA Director Mike Brown arrived in California last night, and earlier this morning I asked him what he expects the price tag will be for all of this damage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL BROWN, FEMA DIRECTOR: The price tag is something that we don't worry about right now. We really focus on getting the assistance out, making sure that the mayors and the governors have all of the resources they need to fight these fires, that the individuals have the resources that they need to kind of get their lives back together, and then we'll tally up those costs at the end of day and see where we are.
O'BRIEN: I want to play for you a chunk of what Governor Gray Davis had to say about -- some of it directed to FEMA. Let's listen in.
GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: I talked to Governor-elect Schwarzenegger at about 4:45 today. I've ordered that my office of emergency services brief his team hourly. I asked him -- and he was happy to do this on his trip to Washington tomorrow -- to impress upon the Small Business Administration, to impress upon FEMA, get your tail out to California, set up one-stop shops and put money in the hands of people who deserve it.
O'BRIEN: Obviously, now they're on the ground, but he's admonishing FEMA, get your tails out to California and put money in the hands of people who need it. Give me your reaction to those pretty harsh words.
BROWN: Well, I don't know what the governor is referring to. I can tell you, quite frankly, FEMA has been here for the past five days since these fires started.
We do what are called fire management assistance grants, and we started approving those -- I approved some in the middle of the night, 2:00 in the morning, 8:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m. -- all hours of night and day. We approved the fire management assistance grants in which we pay and are going to reimburse the state and the locals for 75 percent of their firefighting costs.
So, we've been here on the ground literally reimbursing and helping the state since these fires first broke out five days ago. O'BRIEN: I have read that you're on the ground now as part of a fact-finding trip. What's your plan over the next several days -- or if it's weeks -- that you're going to be out in California?
BROWN: Well, I'll be here long enough today to get an assessment, see how things are going, see what the states need, see what the local folks need. The president has asked me to just do an assessment, see where we and are to make sure that the resources that the state is requesting, the locals are requesting, that they're actually getting that resource.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Director Brown expressed his condolences to all of the families who have lost homes and also loved ones. And he also thanked the firefighters on behalf of the president.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
