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Thompson, Oberstar Clash over FEMA |
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by Mickey McCarter
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Tuesday, 23 December 2008 |
House chairmen write to Obama to argue state of FEMA
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee objects sharply to a proposal to remove the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from the head of the chamber's transportation committee in letters to President-elect Barack Obama.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote to Obama Dec. 19 to observe that FEMA has been vastly improved since its disastrous response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and that removing it from DHS would impair its operations. Thompson summarized major criticisms of the agency as a lack of emergency management experience in its leadership, a lack of direct access to the president, and false barriers between preparedness and response in the agency.
Congress addressed some of the organizational problems with FEMA in the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (Public Law 109-295), Thompson contends. Rather than remove FEMA from DHS, Obama should mind the lessons learned in addressing these criticisms, appoint a strong FEMA chief with a good relationship to the president, and give the agency time to build improved capabilities.
"Ultimately, the strength of that relationship will determine the effectiveness of the federal response so it is essential that an Obama Administration chooses a leader who is qualified, but also one that has a strong relationship with the president," Thompson writes. "Then, in times of disaster, under the Post-Katrina Reform Act, FEMA can leverage the resources of the department in the event of a national crisis in a way that an independent agency outside of DHS could not."
DHS and FEMA both would suffer from another massive reorganization five years so soon after the creation of the department and after enactment of the Post-Katrina Reform Act, Thompson says. Removing FEMA from DHS would not solve capacity issues faced by FEMA, as shown by "periods of great dysfunction" in FEMA before DHS was stood up.
"Though each disaster is unique, there are certain characteristics that mark every successful federal response and throughout FEMA's administrative ups and downs, FEMA remains the chief federal repository for that specialized knowledge. A state's ability to forge and maintain close working relationships through the DHS grants and training process will result in collaborations and coordination in the event of a disaster," Thompson concludes.
In contrast, Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, wrote to Obama on Dec. 17 to demand the removal of FEMA from DHS, declaring that its placement in the larger agency impedes its ability to serve as a "quick response" agency. FEMA has consistently failed to meet expectations because of its place in DHS, Oberstar argues, as shown by hearings held by his committee.
Any changes to the agency implemented by Congress "have done little to restore the type of robust emergency management agency that is needed at the federal level," Oberstar states.
Examples of FEMA's ineffectiveness can be found in the discovery of unhealthy levels of formaldehyde in trailers it supplied to victims of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA's failure to quickly provide housing to victims of Hurricane Ike, and its slow removal of debris in Texas after Hurricane Ike, Oberstar says.
FEMA also strains its relationships with state and localities with an inappropriate focus on terrorism rather than emergency management, he adds. States and cities are denied grant funds if they cannot demonstrate how capacities built with those funds would fight terrorism rather than natural disasters.
Finally, FEMA suffers from unnecessary bureaucratic duplication and delays as part of DHS, Oberstar submits. All of its decisions must go through the secretary of homeland security, who also has the power to duplicate FEMA's command structure with the appointment of a principal federal official to the agency's federal coordinating officer. These actions create unnecessary confusion and delays, the congressman says.
In closing to Obama, Oberstar declares his committee has jurisdiction over FEMA and that making FEMA independent would have strong support in Congress.
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Mickey McCarter |
| About the author: |
| eNewsletter Editor/Senior Washington Correspondent,
is a journalist with more than a decade of experience in reporting
on
military affairs and information technology.
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