Former FEMA director Michael Brown aggressively defended his role in responding to Hurricane Katrina today and blamed most co-ordination failures on Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.
He also said that in the days before the storm, he expressed his concerns that "this is going to be a bad one" in phone conversations and e-mails with President Bush, White House chief of staff Andy Card and deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin.
And he blamed the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for not acquiring better equipment ahead of the storm. His efforts to shift blame drew sharp criticism from Democratic and Republican politicians alike.
"I'm happy you left," said Connecticut Republican Representative Christopher Shays. "That kind of look in the lights like a deer tells me you weren't capable of doing that job."
Mississippi Democrat Representative Gene Taylor, told Mr Brown: "The disconnect was, people thought there was some federal expertise out there. There wasn't. Not from you." Brown appeared before a special congressional panel set up by House Republican leaders to investigate the catastrophe.
"My biggest mistake was not recognising by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional," two days before the storm hit, Brown told the panel. Mr Brown, who for many became a symbol of government failures in the natural disaster that claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, rejected accusations that he was too inexperienced for the job.
"I've overseen over 150 presidentially declared disasters. I know what I'm doing, and I think I do a pretty darn good job of it," he said. Mr Brown resigned as the head of FEMA earlier this month after being removed by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff from responsibility in the stricken areas.
Mr Brown will remain on the FEMA payroll for two more weeks, advising the agency, said Russ Knocke, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.
Mr Brown, who joined FEMA in 2001 and ran it for more than two years, was previously an attorney who held several local government and private posts, including leading the International Arabian Horse Association. Brown's testimony drew a scathing response from Louisiana Democratic Representative William Jefferson.
"I find it absolutely stunning that this hearing would start out with you, Brown, laying the blame for FEMA's failings at the feet of the governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans." And in a testy exchange, Mr Shays compared Brown's performance unfavourably with that of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani after the September 11th, 2001, terror attacks.