We continue to work with the intelligence community and officials at all levels of government. Although the threat information was very specific, it still remains of doubtful credibility.

FEMA budgets have increased over the last couple of years and personnel numbers have held strong as well. There has always been a commitment to ensure the resources are there.

We’d like to get to the point where we’re not just training people and releasing them.

There’s nothing new or insightful on these tapes. We actively participated in the lessons-learned review, and we continue to participate in the Senate’s review and are working with them on their recommendation.

Our purpose is to push the security envelope overseas.

There will be plenty of time to assess what worked and what didn’t work. Clearly there will be time for blame to be assigned and to learn from some of the successful efforts.

We’ve been forthcoming throughout this process.

will respond in written form to the governor and address in great detail the concerns that he’s raised as soon as possible.

Virtually each of these claims fall short of reflecting the substantial work that has been done in securing America since 9/11.

I’m not going to address a number of the issues we are discussing with Congress in the press. I’ll just tell you that we are committed to strengthening work site enforcement.

We were already operating under the National Response Plan.

Apart from its obvious errors, it displays a significant misunderstanding of core aspects of the Katrina response that could have easily been corrected in the most basic conversations with DHS leaders.

I don’t believe there is one critical error. They are going to be some missteps that were made by everyone involved.

We take these allegations very seriously, and we will cooperate fully with this ongoing investigation.

We’ve had a regular dialogue with first responders and discussed some of these issues with them. We’re clearly an all hazards department and have taken significant measures to enhance preparedness and recovery capability since Sept....

A cursory phone call to DHS would have revealed that the catastrophic annex is designed for ‘no-notice’ or ‘short-notice’ events, where no personnel or supplies have been pre-positioned, which was clearly not the case in...

We are investigating internally, We take any leak, or potential leak, of classified material very seriously.

I think we have been very, very clear. The focus, without hesitation, is on risk management. Homeland Security grants are now based on risk instead of spreading a little out for everyone.

Since 9/11, as a nation, our preparedness has increased dramatically. We need to ensure that in major metropolitan areas, preparedness is an all-hazards preparedness. So we’re going to have a look at these individual plans...

We are not talking about DOD taking over federal response efforts to a catastrophe from start to finish,

Further, the preliminary report falsely implies inaction by DHS and FEMA before landfall. In fact, the clear record shows that state officials expressed satisfaction with the federal government’s asset pre-positioning and other pre-hurricane assistance during...

The intelligence community has not found any evidence to substantiate the threat information.

It’s not just a director that we’re looking to bring on board. We’re looking at a package of senior veterans that can come in and really help to lead the agency and continue to retool...

We are encouraging those states that want to work with us.

Lucia Pinochet is no longer in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security. She is returning, this evening, to the country of her last departure.

This is a unique circumstance. This is not like a business in the private sector or even other departments in the federal government. It’s a unique department with a great sense of urgency for fulfilling...

While the situation in the Superdome was nightmarish and not satisfactory to anyone involved, it was not a life-and-death situation and we had to focus our priorities where we could,

I’m not sure what is shocking about this video. There’s really nothing new or insightful from it.

That was the trigger,

I would tell you it is hard to see how Mike can make that argument with a straight face after he testified he willfully kept the secretary and the department out of the loop.

Like any relationship, you recognize you can always find ways to grow and strengthen those ties, and we’ve been interested in doing so. We hope to move on it very quickly.

We agree with the concept that we should provide incentives to encourage security practices that go beyond mandated law and regulation.

They were training to help the life-savers.

aiding those in need and getting about the reconstruction and rebuilding process.

Had the intelligence community concluded the threat was imminent or credible, we would have followed … different protocols.

I completely disagree with the notion that race is a factor or that their socioeconomic status is at all a factor … This is a catastrophe, … We’re here to save. We’re here to help...

The Coast Guard and [the Customs Service] have the authority from a law enforcement perspective, and they have the assets?the guns and the boats?to ensure security at our ports.

Our undivided attention is placed on the victims of this catastrophe and seeing that they get the help that they desperately need. There is going to be a time and a place for the government...

We take these allegations very seriously.

We’re the first to admit that there’s more that we want to accomplish. But I think it’s disingenuous to make the suggestion that somehow only marginal progress has been made.

We are quite confident in the procedures that are in place.

These were administrative, clerical and support functions.

There may well be situations where it merits the Red Cross holding back while our personnel go in first. But our priority is meeting the immediate life-saving and life-sustaining needs of those who’ve gone through...

The process for sharing this type of specific threat information with state and locals was consistent with protocols for how we share the information and for how that information is vetted by the intelligence community.

We are making substantial progress in implementing several core management initiatives, including strategic management of human capital, competitive sourcing, improved financial performance, expanded electronic government and budget and performance integration.