The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved a bill that would remove the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and establish it as an independent cabinet-level agency with an administrator who would report directly to the president. The bill would require FEMA to be led by experienced emergency managers and would strengthen the agency’s regional office structure. The bill also would create the Urban Area All-Hazards Preparedness Grant Program that would allow urban areas to receive all-hazards preparedness funding directly rather than through states. In addition, the bill would preserve FEMA’s role in preparing for, mitigating, responding to and recovering from acts of terrorism while leaving the law enforcement coordination and intelligence gathering functions within the DHS.
“By removing FEMA from the unwieldy bureaucracy within [the] DHS that has hindered the agency’s disaster response and recovery efforts for the past several years, this legislation re-establishes FEMA’s flexibility, capacity for quick decision-making and effectiveness,” said Rep. Jim Oberstar, chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, in a news release.
But senators and homeland security officials within the Obama administration don’t agree. On Thursday, Sens. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins, chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs respectively, both said in statements that the question of whether or not FEMA would be independent from the DHS had already been settled. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said the same thing in May. In addition, a report released in February by the DHS Office of the Inspector General concluded that FEMA would be better positioned to carry out its mission inside DHS.
House Committee Revives Debate Over FEMA as an Independent Agency
By: News Report on November 11, 2009
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