Just under a month ago, word leaked out of the bowels of the bureacracy that former FEMA chief Mike Brown would temporarily continue to receive a salary from the federal government despite having resigned. But an item in the 30th graf of a Los Angeles Times article by Mary Curtius raises some questions as to just how temporary Brown’s payments are.
Brown is still on FEMA’s payroll as a consultant, [FEMA spokeswoman Nicol] Andrews confirmed. He works from home, where he is “pulling all the documentation together” for the investigations into Katrina response, she said, and his original 30-day contract was recently extended for another 30 days.
Why does Brown continue to receive taxpayer dollars? If the Bush administration were indeed serious about reducing the deficit, it could start with the small, but meaningful gesture of taking Michael Brown off of the federal payroll.
Also on my blog Basie! today, The Sunday Shows — a listing of and commentary on the guests for tomorrow’s public affairs programs.