National Lieutenant Governors Association Winter Meeting
"Trends in Emergency Management" - March 12, 2009
Thank you. It really is a special honor to speak to you today and one I have been looking forward to.
Let me start by stating, that I am very, very excited about the future of FEMA and the Department.
I think we have a fabulous new Secretary, and an outstanding new Administrator-nominee.
But what I think is most important is that both Secretary Napolitano and Craig Fugate bring a fresh new attitude to their positions and one that has been forged in state government, and that is so critical.
I started in state government in California and I know the challenges you face everyday, from budget shortfalls, to what is a priority today and tomorrow, to how do you best serve the citizens of your state. I get that.
So everyday I try to bring that same thought process to the decisions I make and the direction I would like to see FEMA move toward. And I share those same thoughts with the Secretary and Mr. Fugate.
In emergency management we MUST have one mission, with the same goals and outcomes. It doesn't matter if a tornado hits Greensburg, Kansas or Macon County, Tennessee, it doesn't matter if a flood devastates Cedar Rapids, Iowa or Alstead, New Hampshire, the focus on preparedness, the mission to respond and the goals for recovery should be the same.
But it has to be a JOINT effort between you at the state and local level and us at the federal level in order for it to succeed.
So how do we do it together? I believe we start at the beginning together, with policies and decision making directives.
You must have input from the beginning instead of just commenting on what has been created. That is how we solve these problems together, mutually.
And they are very difficult decisions to make, preparedness, evacuation planning, sheltering, commodity distribution, housing, and long term recovery.
Let me just focus on those for a second.
PREPAREDNESS. It all starts there. Planning, training, mitigation, emergency supply kits, communications plans, critical infrastructure hardening, I can go on and on.
I really think preparedness is our greatest challenge because it influences everything that follows. The more our citizens and communities are prepared, the less response needed, the greater we can focus the critical needs, and the less cost there is for all of us.
It MUST be a priority and we must look at everyone to participate. The private sector can play a very important role in preparedness because they employ your citizens and they are the ones most interested in recovering quickly. I encourage you to engage your private sector to be a partner in community preparedness. It will not be successful if government carries the entire load, the private sector MUST be a partner and at FEMA we are forging those relationships.
EVACUATION is a state and local decision, but when mass evacuations are required, we at the federal level have assets you will need, mostly money, for reimbursement for transportation contracts. We need to know your plans and you need to know what we can help with so why not plan it together. It helped greatly in Louisiana for Hurricane Gustav last September.
SHELTERS: Pre-identifying them is critical so that you know where to direct people to go. But we need to plan together so we know how to support you. We can assist in planning for how many you will need to provide food and water, for what size generator you will need if power goes out, etc. If we have to guess, everyone suffers
COMMODITIES: Citizens should be prepared for the first 72 hours, states and local communities need to be prepared for the first 72 hours. Our goal is to supply you with commodities in far less time, but we all need to plan it together. We need to pre-stage commodities and you do too, but lets plan what those are and where they are so we don't duplicate efforts. Instead we will compliment each others efforts.
HOUSING: No matter where it is needed or how much is needed, housing will always be a challenge. FEMA is looking at new and creative ways to provide short term housing such as transitional sheltering assistance in hotels that we initiated in Texas for Hurricane Ike. We provided funds to develop alternative housing solutions and Mississippi has built nearly 3000 homes for disaster victims following Hurricane Katrina. We are working with states in forming Housing Task Forces following disasters so that states have the lead in planning what is best for them and their citizens. And recently FEMA released the National Housing Strategy seeking an open discussion with the States for housing solutions. I can honestly tell you that housing and finding solutions is at the forefront of our mission everyday.
And then there is LONG TERM RECOVERY and how you want it to look at the state and local level and how we can help
I just spent the last week in New Orleans reviewing our processes and how we make key decisions, particularly in the area of Public Assistance.
I am convinced that opportunities exist to improve how we do business, and how we support our customers.
Trust me when I say that, up and down the leadership line, we intend to aggressively pursue those opportunities and approach every case with a more "can do" attitude.
To that end, FEMA is counting on your support and engagement.
We face many challenges, and many opportunities to improve. But we will never achieve ultimate success until we achieve an ultimate level of joint cooperation and collaboration, and trust. There is no greater time or opportunity for us to seize upon that then now.
Once again, I am excited about where we are heading, I am excited about what we can accomplish, and I am excited about the opportunity that now presents itself for all of us to come together and do what's right for those that we are entrusted to serve every day.
Thank you for allowing me to speak with you this afternoon.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 31-Mar-2009 11:58:02 EDT