FEMA'S FATE

A report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee says that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is crippled and beyond repair and should be replaced with a new agency to plan and carry out relief missions for domestic disasters. FEMA is supposed to handle emergency preparedness and response, but Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman says the agency failed on both counts after Hurricane Katrina -- with deadly results and should be abolished. A recommendation to scrap what a final report calls a ''symbol of bumbling bureaucracy'' tops a slate of recommendations from senators who spent seven months investigating the storm response. Larry Mantle speaks with guests about FEMA's possible demise, what might replace it and how well we are prepared for another disaster like Katrina.