Abolishing FEMA? 4/27/06 Noon Claudia Coffey With the start of the hurricane season about five weeks away, a bipartisan Senate panel is saying FEMA should be closed down and replaced by a new agency. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine says a proposed government agency to replace FEMA would be "better equipped with the tools to prepare for and respond to a disaster." The idea is part of a bipartisan Senate report due for release on Thursday on the government's failure to respond to emergencies like Hurricane Katrina. The report scheduled for release Thursday concludes that FEMA should be rebuilt into a more efficient, well-funded replacement. The bipartisan report's recommendations -- obtained by The Associated Press -- call for another overhaul of the Homeland Security Department -- FEMA's parent agency. Former FEMA director Michael Brown says that's just an attempt to "re-creating the wheel."