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WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was assigned by the Bush administration on Tuesday to oversee the federal government's disaster recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast.
Donald Powell, 64, will be in charge of coordinating long-term plans to rebuild the states hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in late summer. The federal response to Katrina, the first and most damaging of the two, has been widely criticized.
Powell will be the administration's point man for dealing with Congress, state and local governments and private businesses on relief efforts. He has worked on economic development and housing issues - two central matters in hurricane rebuilding efforts - as a Texas bank executive, university administrator and chamber of commerce official, officials said.
"Don has the leadership, ideas and optimism that the residents of the Gulf Coast region deserve," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
The top federal official overseeing day-to-day Katrina recovery efforts, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen, will leave that post by year's end.
President Bush also created a special White House council to develop and review administration plans to help rebuild the region.
Headed by National Economic Council chairman Al Hubbard, it will be made up of Cabinet secretaries and other administration officials.