U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., has joined several lawmakers in a push to restore the independence of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), saying it has been weakened under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

"FEMA's response to Katrina was terribly inadequate," Rahall said. "The slow response shows a real lack of focus and need for change. I have watched, with disbelief and great sadness, the horrifying circumstances in New Orleans and my heart goes out to all of the people there who had to wait way too long for the help they, as American citizens, are entitled."

Rahall is working to enact both HR 3656 and HR 3659, two nearly identical bills which would take FEMA out of the DHS and restore it to a Cabinet-level agency.

"Taking FEMA out of DHS will improve its ability to respond to disasters like Hurricane Katrina," Rahall said. "In West Virginia we've seen time and time again how quickly flooding can become catastrophic and every lost second in response time often means lost lives. We have to have the most effective agency in place as possible. Clearly, we do not have that now."

In the wake of Katrina, there have been numerous bureaucratic snafus reported at the hands of FEMA. When Wal-Mart sent three trailer trucks loaded with water, FEMA officials turned them away. Agency workers prevented the Coast Guard from delivering 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and on Saturday they cut a parish's emergency communications line, leading the sheriff to restore it and post armed guards to protect it from FEMA

And just yesterday, five West Virginia Air National Guard C-130 transport aircraft sent to pick up displaced victims from Hurricane Katrina returned home empty, following a series of miscommunications and misdirections.

"Those planes were down there, our people were down there, ready to help as many people as we could," Rahall said. "Instead we came back with five empty planes. If nothing else, this underscores the need to reorganize this agency and get some competent people at the helm."

"We have a responsibility to protect our citizens," Rahall continued. "Something happened during the response to Katrina that kept us from fulfilling that responsibility. We have to figure out what and we have to figure it out sooner rather than later."

Rahall said he hopes this legislation, if passed, will be the first important step to bringing FEMA back to the level of performance it has not seen since the Clinton administration.

"For too long FEMA has been neglected. It has lost its leadership and it has lost a significant share of its funding," Rahall said. "It's our hope that by restoring its status as an independent agency FEMA will be able to once again respond to disasters with the same degree of efficiency it once did. We are no less vulnerable to natural disasters in this country than we are acts of terrorism, and both of theses threats should be given the attention they deserve to unequivocally meet the needs of each and every American."