GULFPORT, Miss. -- Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen should fix the problems with the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster response or face being replaced, said U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Bay St. Louis, after a Saturday morning flight over the Mississippi Sound and barrier islands.
"If he doesn't get off his butt and fix this, yes," said Taylor when asked if he was saying Allen should be replaced.
Taylor and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Tupelo, flew as far east as Ship Island and west to Cat Island from Gulfport, Miss., on a National Guard Black Hawk helicopter.
"I'm having a Katrina flashback," said Taylor after landing. "I haven't seen this much incompetence since Michael Brown was running FEMA." Brown was the FEMA director when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 and was fired for a flawed response effort.
Taylor said the boats deployed off the Mississippi coast are running without direction. He said the boats need radios and GPS systems to communication and locate oil for cleanup.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2010/06/coast_congressman_fuming_over.html