Witt on possible list for Homeland Security post

By By Andrew DeMillo, The Associated Press

The man that Bill Clinton credited with turning around the Federal Emergency Management Agency may get a shot at doing the same thing with federal Homeland Security.

Former FEMA Director and Arkansas native James Lee Witt's name is one of several that's being floated as a potential Homeland Security secretary for Barack Obama's administration. An adviser to the president-elect, Witt says he's not been approached about the position and isn't seeking a return to a White House post.

But he isn't ruling it out entirely either.

"If they asked me, I'd have to sit down with them and see what their expectations were," Witt said Friday. "It would be an interesting challenge."

Witt, who splits his time between Washington and Arkansas, served as FEMA's head between 1993 and 2001 in the Clinton administration. Prior to that, he served as Clinton's chief of emergency operations in Arkansas.

Witt is one of several names that have been floated to head up the Department of Homeland Security, which was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Others whose names have been floated for the spot include Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton and former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, chairman of the 9/11 commission.

Those who know him best in Arkansas say he may be the best candidate for the job.

"His record at FEMA under President Clinton attests to his ability to effectively lead a major federal agency," said U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, who had criticized FEMA under Bush for leaving thousands of trailers intended for Hurricane Katrina victims at an airport in Hope. "Perhaps above all else, as a native Arkansan, James Lee would help provide Washington a much-needed shot of common sense and small town values."

Witt took over FEMA in 1993 when it faced criticism because of its response to Hurricane Andrew and he was credited by Clinton and others with turning around the agency. A cabinet-level agency under Clinton, FEMA was placed under Homeland Security by President Bush.

Now running a Washington-based public-safety and crisis-management consulting firm, Witt has been outspoken on problems that he's seen with the way FEMA has been run under the Bush administration. In 2006, he said that if he was running the agency he would work to make it more efficient, employ new technology and streamline bureaucratic procedures.

One of the biggest issues facing the Department of Homeland Security would be whether to remove FEMA from it and restore that agency to an independent entity. Witt has said he thinks merging FEMA with other agencies to form Homeland Security was a mistake.

Witt said Friday he thinks restoring FEMA's independence should still be considered, but isn't something he would make a condition of his accepting a Homeland Security post. He said he isn't looking to return to Washington, but said it would tough to turn down Obama.

"It would be very difficult to tell the president of the United States no," Witt said. "I want to help the new administration as much as possible ... I'm not looking for a position, but if asked I would anything I could to help."