Hearing on Readiness in the Post-Katrina and Post-9/11 World
September 11th, 2007 by Jesse LeeThe Transportation Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management is currently holding a hearing, “Readiness in the Post-Katrina and Post-9/11 World.” The subcommittee will receive testimony on the contents of the new National Response Framework released September 10, 2007, by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and the process for its development. Witnesses will also testify about what this framework indicates, six years after 9/11 and two years after hurricane Katrina, about our Nation’s preparedness for and ability to effectively respond to all hazards, including natural disasters and terrorist threats.
Tim Manning, Director of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management testifies on the failure of DHS to coordinate with state and local agencies in their planning. Manning also serves as Chairman of the Response and Recovery Committee for the National Emergency Management Association:
Tim Manning: “The most critical issue for NEMA is that the current framework is not a plan. The document reads more like a primer for state and local officials — which is a valuable resource, however it is not a national plan for responding to disasters. This can be compared to showing up for a football game with an encyclopedia entry on who’s involved and how the game is played, but without the actual playbook for the offense or defense.” |
Paul Stockton, a senior research scholar at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, gives testimony on issues with the draft plan ignoring reforms passed by Congress. Stockton was formerly the associate provost at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and was the former director of its Center for Homeland Defense and Security:
Paul Stockton: “I believe that the draft framework as currently written ignores, and is likely to subvert important changes that Congress enacted into law in the Post-Katrina Reform Act. I’m going to suggest this morning that Congress had compelling reasons to adopt those changes and also suggest that departing from the law, departing from the law, puts the nation at rish of some of the same systemic failures that hobbled the federal response to Hurricane Katrina… the framework will foster confusion over who is responsible for leading and coordinating federal assistance in a disaster operation, and confusion can have deadly consequences.” |