Statement of Senator Daniel K. Akaka

Thank you Mr. Chairman. I join you in welcoming my good friend former Senator John Breaux and our other distinguished panel members.

I want to thank you for organizing this important hearing to begin discussions on how the public and private sectors can collaborate more effectively to prepare for and respond to natural and man-made disasters.

Despite the catastrophe of September 11th, and the renewed focus on disaster planning in its aftermath, Hurricane Katrina starkly demonstrated that much more must be done at all levels of the government and the private sector to plan and prepare for disasters. We need innovative approaches to incident management.

The government cannot succeed without forging a partnership with the private sector. The private sector owns approximately 85% of our Nation's critical infrastructure. The private sector has the expertise and resources to play a leading role at every stage of response and recovery. With improved disaster planning and response, cooperation between the two will result in a reduction in the loss of life and property - which is the overall goal of emergency management.

Because of its unique geography, my home state of Hawaii is at risk of many natural catastrophes. Just last year, an earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale caused extensive property damage on the Big Island of Hawaii, as well as on Maui. I am acutely aware of the need for an "all hazards" approach to disaster preparedness and response, and I believe that in order to be effective this approach must include public, private, and non-profit cooperation in the development of guidance, standards, plans, and solutions. I hope today's witnesses will address their agency and organizational efforts to ensure that disaster preparedness and emergency response planning is inclusive of all stakeholders affected by disasters.

I also was interested in the conclusion of the BENS ["bens"] Task Force that the government should do a better job of tapping commercial supply chains to get relief to those in need after a disaster. This type of collaboration is especially important to Hawaii - because of our separation from the Mainland, it takes much longer for relief sent by other states to reach those in need.

My Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, which recently held a hearing on procurement at DHS, has taken a keen interest in government procurement practices. It is essential that DHS work closely with FEMA to put contracts into place with the private sector that can ensure that when disasters strike, we have the resources necessary to respond and that we can move supplies quickly to where they are needed. I look forward to hearing more about this topic.

Dialogues like this are an important part of ensuring that when the next major disaster strikes, we will have systems in place to provide needed relief in a way that is swift, comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective for the American people.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for holding this hearing today, and I look forward to learning more about the private-sector preparedness initiatives that are being considered and implemented.

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