WASHINGTON – A chastised Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff sparred with senators of both parties on Wednesday as he acknowledged “many lapses” in his agency’s response to Hurricane Katrina.

Chertoff told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that he would do things differently if he had the chance. One thing he would not do: Give overall responsibility for the relief effort to Michael Brown, who was director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the time.

Brown, who resigned under pressure shortly after the Aug. 29 storm, has accused Chertoff and White House officials of ignoring his warnings on the day of the storm.

“It is completely correct to say that our logistics capability in Katrina was woefully inadequate. I was astonished to see we didn’t have the capability most 21st century corporations have to track the flow of goods and services,” Chertoff said.

Chertoff testified as a separate House investigation concluded that thousands of Katrina’s victims could have been spared through better planning and faster action.

The House inquiry concluded that much death and suffering could have been avoided if the government had heeded lessons from the 2001 terror attacks and taken a more hands-on stance toward disaster preparedness.