WASHINGTON— Better, but there’s still room for improvement.

That’s how Texas officials characterized the federal response to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike at a Senate subcommittee hearing Tuesday on the aftermath of the two disasters.

“It’s a new FEMA, compared to what we were dealing with a couple of years ago,” Houston Mayor Bill White said.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas joined Mr. White, along with Louisiana officials.

All three Texans commended the federal response to the situation, especially on the part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as they contrasted it with the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

But Mr. White also had some suggestions to improve the federal response to natural disasters, including allowing FEMA to carry out innovative programs while breaking their reliance on standard operating procedures.

Mr. White also said housing voucher programs should be flexible and tailored to local communities, suggested making the Army Corps of Engineers Blue Roof program more user-friendly, and allowing FEMA to enter into reimbursement agreements with local governments when dealing with the cost of debris removal and increased policing in the wake of serious storms.

“We did not dodge a bullet,” said subcommittee chairwoman Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. “The bullet hit the Gulf Coast.”