Galveston, TX – Texas Governor Rick Perry says he hopes the Federal Emergency Management Agency treats Texas better in response to Hurricane Ike than the last time a big hurricane hit the state.
Perry previously criticized the agency's response after Hurricane Rita, which struck Texas in the days immediately after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Much of the nation's attention was focused on New Orleans and how it suffered through the natural disaster.
Perry made his remarks in Galveston after an aerial tour of damage yesterday. At a news conference about 30 minutes later, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said FEMA's efforts are always ``based on need'' and he thought the federal government so far is doing an excellent job.
Later in Houston, Perry said he was referring to recovery efforts, financial and otherwise, once search-and-rescue is completed.