Washington, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) voted to pass the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Report that contained key reforms for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  The priority reforms were among those requested by local law enforcement and leaders throughout the Eighth District after their experiences and frustrations with FEMA's response to Hurricane Rita.

                                           

"The biggest challenge our local law enforcement and leaders faced in the wake of Hurricane Rita was communicating to FEMA what was happening on the ground and moving staged supplies to the communities with the greatest need.  This bill replaces the top-down model with regional offices and directors who can work in tandem with local leaders to make sure emergency response is timely and communities get the supplies they need," said Brady who has worked hard to see that the lessons of Hurricane Rita are not forgotten or repeated.   

 

"This way during a disaster we can get quicker decisions from regional FEMA officials we know and who know us, rather than wait for some faceless bureaucrat in Washington to make a decision," Brady concluded. 

 

Highlights of the reforms contained in the bill include:

 

Streamline Coordination and Communication at the Federal, State, and Local Levels

• Establishes two Deputy Under Secretary positions - one for Emergency Preparedness and Mitigation and one for Emergency Response and Recovery - both of whom will be well-qualified and report directly to the Under Secretary, to increase coordination between FEMA and local first responders;
• Establishes DHS Regional Offices and Regional Directors to work in partnership with state and local governments, and emergency response and support providers, to ensure coordination and integration of regional preparedness and response activities;
• Grants the Regional Director, in a time of crisis, the ability to coordinate and direct the federal response within the operational area, and make operational decisions without having to obtain approval from headquarters, vastly improving response time; and
• Creates an Assistant Secretary for Emergency Communications, who will be responsible for helping establish and maintain interoperable communications capabilities at all levels of government, ensuring first responders on the ground can communicate with one another.

 

 

Strengthen FEMA and Improve Preparedness and Response Measures Nationwide

 

• Elevates and strengthens FEMA within DHS, making a number of important preparedness, response, and emergency communications to the agency
• Mandates that the head of FEMA be an experienced and well-qualified emergency and disaster response manager
• Elevates the head of FEMA to an Under Secretary, who will serve as the President's principal advisor on emergency management and report directly to the President in times of national emergency and crises;
• Consolidates DHS' Directorate of Preparedness within FEMA, to increase coordination between FEMA and local first responders;
• Mandates better DHS oversight of administered federal benefits, and establishes proper internal management controls to prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse; and
• Requires DHS to develop national standards for first responder training and a comprehensive, uniform program for the training of homeland security personnel and first responders at all levels of government.