David Paulison
International Association of Emergency Managers, Emmitsburg, MD, June 5, 2008
Introduction
Thank you. It is a pleasure being here with you again. I am committed to open dialogues and “engaged partnerships.” Our regular opportunities to meet and speak together are important to me and to the entire FEMA team. Without a doubt, Deputy Administrator for Preparedness Dennis Schraeder and Assistant Administrator for Grants Programs Ross Ashley, both of whom will be meeting with you this week, share this commitment.
I know that you are focused on preparing your communities for any event. At FEMA, we have been focused not only on our own reforms and preparations, but on how we can help you in your efforts to be ready.
While we may not have faced any major hurricanes in the past two years, we have faced floods, fires, tornados, earthquakes and storms. In fact, FEMA has been involved in more than 300 disasters or fires since Hurricane Katrina struck nearly three years ago. We have made a major commitment to improving our relationships and teamwork with our partners in the states and at every level of government. I am happy to say that teamwork and commitment has been evident over the past year, and that FEMA remains dedicated to working with you as an “engaged partner.” Over the past year, we have all worked hard to stand together.
As we officially entered Hurricane season this week, it is worthwhile to look at some specifics.
Improved Operations
To begin with, FEMA has focused on expanding our capabilities and strengthening our organization.
We have placed greater emphasis on Pre-Scripted Mission Assignments that help us to facilitate rapid response, as well as to standardize development of mission assignments prior to and during disaster operations. In 2006, FEMA started with 44 Pre-Scripted Mission Assignments with 2 Federal agencies. Today that number is 223 with 31 agencies.
On the ground, we are stronger with our new Incident Management Assistance Teams – or IMATs. They will be ready support you in the state within 12-hours, coordinate federal activities and provide initial situational awareness.
Our new Logistics Management Directorate is working closely to develop a supply chain that is in sync with the private sector. Already we can better track our resources and thus improve our coordination. We also have contracts and inter-agency agreements that will improve our capabilities in providing supplies and services, base camp support, evacuations and transportation.
Our operations capabilities are improving every day. But it doesn’t stop there. We are also all involved on the ground as you and your communities work to rebuild.
FEMA now has 60 Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers that can be deployed on-site at a disaster to help people get the support they need. FEMA continues to work with you and our federal, state, and voluntary partners to build a robust system for evacuation, sheltering and housing, including our collaboration with the American Red Cross to implement the National Shelter System. We’ve established a National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System and a National Emergency Child Locator Center to help those displaced find their loved ones. We have a new policy to help those with pets. And we are focused on streamlining and improving the housing and individual assistance programs.
Each improvement has already made a difference. Today, when disaster strikes, FEMA personnel are on the ground, earlier than ever, standing with those in need, and helping them to get back on their feet.
Improved Planning and a Culture of Preparedness
Our response will only be as good as our planning and preparedness within FEMA.
When I joined the agency, we had few full-time operational planners. Today we have hired and continue to hire operational planners at the FEMA Headquarters and Regional levels to improve our ability to perform sophisticated operational analyses, analyze trends and plan for the response to ongoing and future events.
Our plans incorporate a Gap Analysis review. Last year we rolled out this tool to identify what was needed where. We use a consistent set of measures and tools to evaluate strengths and vulnerabilities in seven critical areas: debris removal, commodity distribution, evacuation, sheltering, interim housing, medical needs and fuel capacity along evacuation routes.
We have also placed a renewed effort on training for FEMA and our partners. We are here at the Emergency Management Institute and it trains not just federal workers but responders and emergency management professionals from across the country and around the world. I commend IAEM for your support for the Certified Emergency Managers program – a commitment we share with you.
FEMA will soon issue our 2008 Disaster Housing Plan which sets out our approach to working with states, local communities and individuals with disaster housing needs during this hurricane season.
FEMA’s approach is to provide flexible, scalable interim housing assistance that can be adjusted to the range of requirements generated by a disaster. The 2008 Disaster Housing Plan can expand to employ the full range of interim housing options and capabilities. FEMA may, in close coordination and collaboration with the state, provide interim housing to eligible disaster victims when they are either unable to quickly return to their homes, or are unable to quickly secure permanent housing.
The Plan is the operational extension of and link to our forthcoming national Disaster Housing Strategy, which will lay out a long-term agenda for disaster housing needs.
Of course, our own plans and reforms are only part of the picture.
Improved Support For Our Partners
We recognize that no matter how prepared we are FEMA can not do it alone. FEMA is committed to supporting you, too, so that we are all better prepared.
President Bush and Secretary Chertoff have been committed to strengthening FEMA. This year, they proposed a $9.7 billion FEMA budget that is the strongest in FEMA’s history. This is to your benefit, as well. Nearly a quarter of FEMA’s budget – roughly $2.2 billion – will go to state and local grants. Another $1.9 billion will go to mitigation projects. And the Disaster Relief Fund will receive another $1.9 billion. When all is said and done, just about 10% of our budget will go to FEMA for our operations – the rest is focused on our efforts on the ground.
Over the past five years FEMA and DHS have provided over $23.8 billion for state and local projects through our disaster grant programs and an additional $2.5 billion in fire fighter grants. With more than $26 billion provided to our partners across state and local government and involving non-profit and private sector elements, we have provided grants that are directly helping to improve our nation’s preparedness for any disaster.
Looking To The Future: Transition
Speaking of preparing for the future…you may have heard this is an election year. When Hurricane Season concludes, we will not have our normal moment for review and reflection. We will need to maintain our readiness while undergoing a transition of Administrations.
We have a robust transition plan in place for the change in Administration next January. The initial focus has been on filling the career deputy slots with experienced and qualified people who will be ready to “hold down the fort” until the next President chooses their leadership team for FEMA. I have named one of our career Regional Administrators, Nancy Ward, to serve as our Senior Career Transition Officer to help facilitate the transition for FEMA senior leadership and potentially serve as Acting Administrator in the event that no Administrator exists.
We are also working across FEMA’s components and Regions to develop simple, useful, and uniform means to transfer knowledge, experiences, and lessons learned to the new leadership. We will provide actionable guidance on the workings of critical functions such as the disaster declaration process, activation of the NRCC, grant processes and other activities that our stakeholders depend upon. We will not leave you standing alone during this transition.
Conclusion
Just a few short years ago, FEMA’s plans were based on sequential failure. When cities or counties were overwhelmed, they asked you in state government for help. When the state was overwhelmed, you came to us. Then we acted. That old paradigm is a thing of the past. It just didn’t work.
Today, we are committed to developing an engaged partnership with you that begins long before a disaster hits and results in cities and communities working hand-in-hand with FEMA and your other federal partners. FEMA is not there to replace or take over from your people on the ground. Today we pledge to work with you to plan for, mitigate against, respond to and recover from a disaster in a partnership of which you can be proud. I ask for your help as we move forward…together.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 11-Jun-2008 11:20:15 EDT