[Minivan Man]

Earlier, Gov. Kathleen Blanco lashed out at FEMA, complaining the agency was moving too slowly in recovering the bodies of those killed by the hurricane. The dead "deserve more respect than they have received," she said.

However, Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman David Passey said the state asked to take over body recovery last week. Passey said he did not understand the governor’s remarks.

“The collection of bodies is not normally a FEMA responsibility,” he said.

Blanco said FEMA has slowed down the process by failing to sign a contract with the company hired to handle the removal of the bodies, Houston-based Kenyon International Emergency Services. Kenyon is working without a contract but threatened to pull its workers out of Louisiana unless either the state or the federal government offered it a signed agreement, the governor said.

“No one, even those at the highest level, seems to be able to break through the bureaucracy to get this important mission done,” Blanco said. “The failure to execute a contract for the recovery of our citizens has hurt the speed of recovery efforts. I am angry and outraged.”

Passey said FEMA had an oral agreement with Kenyon last week, but the company decided not to sign a written contract. He said he did not know the reason, and calls to Kenyon were not immediately returned.

Blanco said the state would sign a contract with Kenyon, even though the body recovery is the responsibility of FEMA, because "I could not bear to wait any longer."