Over the past week, several prominent lawmakers said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) needs to be completely reorganized, sparking reaction from the Homeland Security Department, which currently has authority over FEMA.

The lawmakers, including Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), have insisted that FEMA should be made into an independent agency, operating at Cabinet-level and reporting to the president. Others think the bureau should remain under the Department of Homeland Security but should be restructured to promote more efficient responses.

Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) went one step further last week when he introduced legislation to make FEMA its own agency, ensuring it would receive more governmental funding and attention, according to a Feb. 20 Los Angeles Times article.

Presumably the goal of taking FEMA out from under the Department of Homeland Security would make it less bureaucratic; however, the department directs all terror responses and logically should be able to handle natural disaster responses as well.

It would be pointless to split Homeland Security and FEMA -- considering all the overlap between the two agencies. If FEMA were to become independent, it would lose all the resources and manpower the department currently provides. Why force more work than necessary if either way the agency will emerge better?

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he has accepted responsibility for Hurricane Katrina response problems but has indicated that he has every intention to restructure FEMA in such a manner as to make it a more efficient and effective agency.

Why not give him a chance? He knows the agency, he knows what went wrong and hopefully he has a plan of action to improve FEMA.

Obviously, with the mess of Katrina response, FEMA needs serious restructuring. But the changes in FEMA would best be made through the Department of Homeland Security.