WASHINGTON, D.C. - People watching WBRZ's Facebook Live feed of the Congressional hearing into FEMA's response to the flood rallied around a Florida lawmaker.

"We have to do a better job of meeting our federal responsibility," Congressman John L. Mica (R), said in his closing remarks of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets meeting Friday morning. Mica, who is elected from a Florida congressional district centered in the Orlando area, is the chair of the committee.

Mice praised Congressman Garret Graves and Congressman Cedric Richmond, both of Louisiana and opposing parties, for working with local authorities immediately after the flood event. However, Mica had sharp criticism for FEMA and its response. Toward the end of the hearing, Mica blasted the federal government, specifically, for its manufactured housing unit program. The FEMA program allows people to live in a mobile home if they've been displaced from either the home they own or rent. As of Thursday evening, only five families had been placed in mobile home units.

Mica was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1992. Prior to Congress, Mica was a businessman, running operations in various industries: real estate, communications, international trade consulting and governmental affairs. Mica's wife, Patricia, is a former public school teacher.

Viewers of the Facebook Live event commented on Mica's fierce and sharp attitude toward FEMA's response to the flood.

Governor John Bel Edwards was joined by other high-ranking state elected leaders and the mayors of Walker, Denham Springs and Central at the meeting. All said if the federal government botches response and recovery to the flood, the three towns could fall apart.

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