[Senate Hearing 117-413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-413
NOMINATIONS OF ERIK A. HOOKS,
HON. MICHAEL KUBAYANDA,
LAUREL A. BLATCHFORD, HON. EBONY M. SCOTT,
AND DONALD W. TUNNAGE
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON
HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
NOMINATION OF ERIK A. HOOKS TO BE DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR,
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY, HON. MICHAEL KUBAYANDA TO BE A
COMMISSIONER, POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION,
LAUREL A. BLATCHFORD TO BE CONTROLLER, OFFICE OF FEDERAL
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET,
HON. EBONY M. SCOTT AND DONALD W. TUNNAGE TO BE ASSOCIATE JUDGES,
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
FIRST SESSION
__________
NOVEMBER 18, 2021
__________
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
48-436 PDF WASHINGTON : 2022
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Claudine J. Brenner, Counsel
Kikta Khani, Research Assistant
Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
Andrew Dockham, Minority Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director
Amanda H. Neely, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs and General
Counsel
Allen L. Huang, Minority Counsel
Clyde E. Hicks, Jr., Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
Renee T. Sheehy, Minority U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector
General Detailee
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Thomas J. Spino, Hearing Clerk
C O N T E N T S
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Opening statements:
Page
Senator Peters............................................... 1
Senator Portman.............................................. 2
Senator Carper............................................... 18
Senator Hassan............................................... 20
Senator Scott................................................ 23
Senator Padilla.............................................. 25
Senator Ossoff............................................... 28
Senator Hawley............................................... 30
Senator Rosen................................................ 32
Prepared statements:
Senator Peters............................................... 37
Senator Portman.............................................. 38
WITNESSES
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Delegate in Congress from the
District of Columbia........................................... 9
Erik A. Hooks to be Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Testimony.................................................... 4
Prepared statement........................................... 40
Biographical and professional information.................... 43
Letter from U.S. Office of Government Ethics................. 66
Responses to pre-hearing questions........................... 70
Responses to post-hearing questions.......................... 97
Hon. Michael Kubayanda to be Commissioner, Postal Regulatory
Commission
Testimony.................................................... 6
Prepared statement........................................... 102
Biographical and professional information.................... 106
Letter from U.S. Office of Government Ethics................. 126
Responses to pre-hearing questions........................... 129
Responses to post-hearing questions.......................... 159
Laural A. Blatchford to be Controller, Office of Federal
Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget
Testimony.................................................... 8
Prepared statement........................................... 175
Biographical and professional information.................... 177
Letter from U.S. Office of Government Ethics................. 199
Responses to pre-hearing questions........................... 205
Responses to post-hearing questions.......................... 219
Letter of support............................................ 223
Donald W. Tunnage to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the
District of Columbia
Testimony.................................................... 10
Prepared statement........................................... 224
Biographical and professional information.................... 225
Responses to post-hearing questions.......................... 244
Hon. Ebony M. Scott to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of
the District of Columbia
Testimony.................................................... 11
Prepared statement........................................... 247
Biographical and professional information.................... 249
Responses to post-hearing questions.......................... 269
APPENDIX
Washington Post Article.......................................... 272
NOMINATIONS OF ERIK A. HOOKS,
HON. MICHAEL KUBAYANDA,
LAUREL A. BLATCHFORD,
HON. EBONY M. SCOTT, AND DONNALD W. TUNNAGE
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15 a.m., via
Webex and in room SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon.
Gary Peters, Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen,
Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Johnson, Scott, and Hawley.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN PETERS\1\
Chairman Peters. The Committee will come to order.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Senator Peters appear in the Appendix
on page 37.
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Today, we are considering five nominations: Erik Hooks, to
be Deputy Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA); Michael Kubayanda, to serve a second term as a
Commissioner on the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC); Laurel
Blatchford, to be Controller of the Office of Federal Financial
Management (OFFM), within the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB); and Ebony Scott and Donald Tunnage who are both joining
us remotely, to be Associate Judges on the Superior Court for
the District of Columbia.
Welcome to each of you and to your friends and family
members joining us here today. Congratulations on your
nominations, and thank you for all of your previous service and
for your willingness to take on these very important new roles.
These are all very different positions, but each is critically
important to the Federal Government and to our nation's
capital.
I am pleased that we are considering highly qualified
nominees for each of these roles, and in particular, for
several roles that have been vacant for far too long. FEMA has
been without a Senate-confirmed Deputy Administrator for nearly
2 years, and OMB has not had a Senate-confirmed Controller in
almost 5 years.
Additionally, the D.C. Superior Court is struggling with
high vacancy levels. There are currently 14 Associate Judge
vacancies on the court, and I am glad we have two nominees to
the Superior Court here today, and I hope to see several other
seats filled shortly.
Thank you again for your willingness to serve and for being
with us today. I look forward to hearing from each of the
nominees.
I recognize Ranking Member Portman for his opening
comments.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PORTMAN\1\
Senator Portman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to
commend the nominees for stepping up to serve the public, both
in the Federal Government and the D.C. Government.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Senator Portman appears in the
Appendix on page 38.
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Mr. Hooks, you come to us with more than 30 years of public
service in law enforcement and public safety in North Carolina.
I think your firsthand experience working with FEMA, which is
the leading emergency management, Federal level, but also doing
that at the State level is critical background for someone
tapped to help lead the agency.
I am sure you saw that in the latest legislation, the
infrastructure legislation, there is a $1 billion funding for
the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)
program. I think this is a good program, and I think it will
make your job a lot different, and ultimately will help the
taxpayer and certainly citizens who live in areas that are
prone to natural disaster, because it lets you mitigate
disasters before they strike. If confirmed, it is my hope that
you will use your State experience to ensure that BRIC is used
in a strategic way, for exactly those purposes, to target those
regions with the highest vulnerabilities to disasters.
Commissioner Kubayanda, the Postal Regulatory Commission is
a small but mighty group, I think 75 people, but it plays a
very important role in promoting transparency and
accountability in the postal system. We rely on it, including
examining the Postal Service's financial data, monitoring its
service performance, and ensuring they follow the law when
setting prices. Over the past 2 years, as you know, the
importance of the Postal Service to the nation's supply chain
has stood out, and the Postal Service faces, obviously, a
difficult situation as First-Class Mail, which has
traditionally sustained the institution, has continued to
decline. So it is a time of change.
I know this is your second nomination to the Postal
Regulatory Commission. You have already served as a
Commissioner for nearly 3 years and the Chairman since last
January. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the
nation's postal system, as well as its challenges, and what you
are looking forward to for the future.
Ms. Blatchford, I enjoyed our conversation over the
telephone. As you know, I think this is an incredibly important
position, the Controller in the Office of Federal Financial
Management, OMB. I think it is one of the most important
positions in the Federal Government, as the Federal Government
addresses the significant economic and other issues that face
our country. As a former OMB director, I was very reliant on
the person in this position, and I understand it is important
to our Federal Government's proper functioning.
It is so important that Congress actually placed specific
qualifications on the position, and it is established in the
U.S. Code under 31 U.S.C. Section 504, the Controller is
required to possess a ``demonstrated ability and practical
experience in accounting, financial management, and financial
systems; and extensive practical experience in financial
management in large governmental or business entities.''
I look forward to discussing how you meet these
requirements for the position of Controller, and if you are
confirmed, I look forward to working with you on improving
transparency in the Federal Government's and better access for
all taxpayers to the accountability that comes from more
information.
To Judge Scott and Mr. Tunnage, thank you for being here
today as the Committee considers their nominations to be
associate judges on the D.C. Superior Court. Both of you have
spent essentially your entire careers in public service, as I
see, and I appreciate your willingness to serve as judges on
the D.C. court.
Congress has a unique relationship with the D.C. justice
system, as outlined in the Home Rule Act. As you know, there
are important issues facing D.C., including rising crime, that
all of us are aware of. There have been significantly more
homicides, assaults, and armed robberies this year than there
were at the same time last year, as an example. It is one
reason we need impartial and qualified judges on the D.C.
Superior Court to ensure timely justice for all parties. I look
forward to discussing this and other issues with Judge Scott
and Mr. Tunnage.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Ranking Member Portman.
It is the practice of this Committee to swear in witnesses,
so if each of our witnesses will stand, including our witnesses
that are joining us via Zoom, would rise and raise your right
hands.
Do you swear that the testimony that you will give before
this Committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help you, God?
Mr. Hooks. I do.
Mr. Kubayanda. I do.
Ms. Blatchford. I do.
Judge Scott. I do.
Mr. Tunnage. I do.
Chairman Peters. You may be seated.
Our first nominee is Erik Hooks, nominated to be Deputy
Administrator of FEMA. Mr. Hooks has more than 30 years of
public safety experience, including serving as Secretary of
Public Safety and Homeland Security Advisor (HSA) for the State
of North Carolina.
As Secretary, Mr. Hooks led North Carolina's largest
department, which includes the State's Emergency Management
Agency, Office of Recovery and Resilience, the North Carolina
National Guard, and several law enforcement agencies.
Prior to his tenure as Secretary, Mr. Hooks served for 28
years in North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation (SBI),
where he held several leadership roles, including Assistant
Director of the Professional Standards Division and head of the
Threat Assessment and State Asset Investigations Unit.
Welcome, Mr. Hooks. You may proceed with your opening
remarks.
TESTIMONY OF ERIK A. HOOKS\1\ TO BE DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR,
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. Hooks. Good morning, Chairman Peters, Ranking Member
Portman, and distinguished Members of the Committee. My name is
Erik A. Hooks, and it is a privilege to appear before you today
as the President's nominee to the position of Deputy
Administrator for FEMA. I am honored to have been nominated by
President Biden for this important emergency management
leadership role.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Hooks appear in the Appendix on
page 40.
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I am humbled by the opportunity to appear before this
Committee and thank you for considering my nomination. If
confirmed, I look forward to working with Secretary Mayorkas,
Administrator Criswell, and the entire team at FEMA and the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on building a more
resilient and prepared nation.
I would like to thank my wife of almost 30 years, Muriel,
and our son, Brandon, who have sacrificed along with me in my
deep commitment to public service and a career in public
safety.
I would also like to acknowledge the committed men and
women of FEMA, our military, Federal, State, and local
emergency management and public safety partners, who work
tirelessly to protect and lead recovery efforts from multiple
hazards across our great nation. If confirmed, it would be my
sincere privilege to again work alongside these resolute public
safety professionals.
I spent over 30 years serving the State of North Carolina,
first as a Special Agent and a senior leader with the State
Bureau of Investigation for over 27 years. Then in January
2017, the Governor of North Carolina appointed me to serve as
the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Advisor
for North Carolina. Over the last 4 years in that role, I led
North Carolina's disaster mitigation, response and recovery
efforts as the State navigated an increasing number of natural
disasters.
I had the privilege to lead approximately 27,000 sworn and
civilian public safety professionals as well as approximately
12,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen. I provided cabinet-
level leadership to the North Carolina Division of Emergency
Management and its Homeland Security Section, the North
Carolina National Guard, the North Carolina Office of Recovery
and Resilience (NCORR), the North Carolina State Highway
Patrol, the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division,
the North Carolina State Capitol Police, the Division of Adult
Correction and Juvenile Justice, the Governor's Crime
Commission, and support divisions within the Department of
Public Safety.
I was ultimately responsible for leadership coordination of
homeland security and emergency management functions to provide
comprehensive and coordinated preparedness, mitigation,
prevention, protection, response and recovery for emergencies,
disasters, and acts or threats of terrorism.
As the leader of North Carolina's State Administrative
Agency for Homeland Security Grant Funds, I administered
Federal funds to State, local and Tribal entities across North
Carolina. I also chaired the North Carolina State Emergency
Response Commission and through a talented team of
professionals, coordinated law enforcement counterterrorism
prevention, preparedness and response training on a statewide
basis, resulting in a cohesive team response by both law
enforcement and emergency first responders to acts of terrorism
or a terrorist threat.
I recently served on the Executive Committee of the
National Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council, and I am
a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police
(IACP).
Today we face a multitude of challenges which must be
successfully navigated through a proactive and collaborative
effort to ensure FEMA can deliver needed critical services to
the Nation. During my tenure as the North Carolina Secretary of
Public Safety we responded to numerous disasters, including a
number of State-declared disasters as well as Presidentially
declared disasters. My public service experience prepares me
for the position of FEMA Deputy Administrator.
I believe for us to create and maintain a true culture of
prevention, protection, and preparedness, we must work
collaboratively, across all levels of government and segments
of society, to ready our nation for the many hazards we face
and to ensure our nation's resiliency from catastrophic events
is at the highest level possible.
If confirmed, it would be my honor to serve our nation by
helping all communities reduce the risks associated with future
disasters, while assisting disaster survivors across the
country. I am committed to work tirelessly and with a deep
sense of purpose to ready the Nation for catastrophic
disasters, build a culture of preparedness, and reduce the
complexity of FEMA.
With your consent, I would be honored to serve the American
people. Thank you for your time and attention concerning my
nomination and I look forward to answering any questions you
may have.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Mr. Hooks, for your opening
comments.
Our next nominee is Michael Kubayanda, who is nominated to
serve a second term as a Commissioner on the Postal Regulatory
Commission. Mr. Kubayanda has served on the Commission since
January 2019, after being unanimously confirmed by the Senate.
He served as the Commission's Vice Chairman from August 2019
through the end of 2020, and has served as Chairman since
January 2021.
Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. Kubayanda has served
as a board member and privacy officer for the digital health
startup, and before that he held multiple roles with the U.S.
Postal Service Office (USPS) of Inspector General (IG),
including overseeing research on technical issues and postal
economics, and serving as Director of Government Relations.
Welcome, Mr. Kubayanda. You may proceed with your opening
comments.
TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE MICHAEL KUBAYANDA\1\ TO BE A
COMMISSIONER, POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
Mr. Kubayanda. Good morning, Chairman Peters, Ranking
Member Portman, and Members of the Committee. Thank you for
inviting me to testify regarding my nomination to the Postal
Regulatory Commission. I have been honored to serve as a
Commissioner since January 2019, and as Chairman since January
2021, a period in which the postal system has undergone
significant changes.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Kubayanda appears in the Appendix
on page 102.
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The Postal Service has served its mission of binding the
Nation together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Postal workers
kept Americans connected, allowed businesses to reach their
customers, enabled citizens to safely receive supplies, and
helped carry out elections. On the other hand, customers
reported woeful performance in some areas, and the quantitative
evidence confirmed this.
During this difficult period, the Commission has carried
out its mission of providing transparency and accountability.
The Commission produced two Annual Compliance Determinations on
time during the pandemic, overseeing service and financial
compliance. We have also issued major rulemakings on a
bipartisan basis, including the 10-year review of the
ratemaking system, and updates to our rules on accounting and
cost allocation.
In addition, we have increased the Commission's focus on
customer experience (CX) by probing the Postal Service's
performance against CX metrics, including those adopted from
the private sector.
Over the years, the Commission has mastered the annual
compliance cycle established under 1970 and 2006 legislation.
While these tools are proven, they may not be entirely adequate
for our present situation and the speed of commerce today. For
example, the high-profile service problems in the 2020 holiday
season occurred in fiscal year (FY) 2021. They will be
addressed in the 2021 annual compliance determination, but that
will not be out until March 2022. So that is 15 to 16 months
after the problems originally occurred.
The Commission is capable of providing transparency through
more relevant and timely analyses. Working with my colleagues,
I am doing everything in my power, and within the Commission's
authority, to make sure we provide them.
Our traditional tools for providing accountability and
transparency must be updated with a data-centric, customer-
centric, and citizen-centric approach. This modernization is
guided by bipartisan legislation approved by this Committee and
the needs of the moment. It is also modeled on the success of
other parts of the government such as the Postal Service's
Office of Inspector General (OIG).
The Commission is currently implementing the OPEN
Government Data Act. Pursuant to this law, the Commission will
soon hire its first Chief Data Officer (CDO) and establish a
Data Governance Board to make data available to the public in
machine readable formats and manage data as a strategic asset
to the Nation. The Commission is also reorganizing its staff to
launch a small data analytics group to examine the postal
network, address bottlenecks, and conduct specialized studies
of postal costs. This team will build on our prior work
identifying pinch points in the postal network through the
Commission.
Pending internal approvals, the Commission is also working
on new data visualization approaches, such as a beta version of
a service performance dashboard on our website. Dashboards can
provide more understandable and timely insights into service
performance, and eventually financial performance as well. The
proposed beta dashboard is the result of work performed in-
house by our enterprising staff with no additional investment.
These are modest steps on a small scale but they are
necessary in modernizing postal regulation.
To support this approach, the Commission has expanded its
technological capabilities. We have hired information
technology (IT) and cybersecurity experts and are moving to
cloud computing to support security and long-term cost savings.
The Commission has also applied to the Technology Modernization
Fund (TMF) to bolster these efforts.
Strategic use of data and technology can update the
Commission's traditional mission of transparency and
accountability. It allows the Commission to benefit from
better-informed inputs from a broad range of stakeholders and
provides discipline and focus for the exercise of our core
responsibilities.
Through this data-centric, customer-centric, and citizen-
centric approach, I hope the Commission can contribute to a
virtuous cycle, continue to make this corner of the government
more responsive, and adapt postal regulation to improve
services to American citizens and businesses. I hope to return
to the Commission to help it execute on this approach.
Thank you for considering my nomination and I look forward
to answering your questions.
Chairman Peters. Mr. Kubayanda, thank you for your opening
remarks.
Our next nominee is Laurel Blatchford, nominated to be
Controller of the office of Federal Financial Management within
the Office of Management and Budget. Ms. Blatchford has over 20
years of nonprofit and government leadership experience,
including servicing as the Chief of Staff of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Executive Director of
the Hurricane Sandy Task Force, where she guided the
implementation of disaster resilience funding across New York
and New Jersey.
She is currently a Managing Director at Blue Meridian
Partners, a nonprofit and philanthropic organization that
invests in economic and social mobility nationwide. Prior to
joining Blue Meridian, she served as President of Enterprise
Community Partners, a national nonprofit focused on affordable
housing and community development.
Welcome, Ms. Blatchford. You may proceed with your opening
remarks.
TESTIMONY OF LAUREL BLATCHFORD\1\ TO BE CONTROLLER, OFFICE OF
FEDERAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Ms. Blatchford. Thank you. Chairman Peters, Ranking Member
Portman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today as President Biden's
nominee for Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management,
in the Office of Management and Budget. I am deeply humbled to
have been nominated for this important role and would be
honored to have the chance to serve the American people, if
confirmed.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Ms. Blatchford appears in the
Appendix on page 175.
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I want to thank my husband of 21 years, Bernie Kluger, and
our two children for their love and support. I know he and they
are watching alongside many friends, family members, and
colleagues. Thank you all for your love and support.
I sit before you today because I am, at heart, a public
servant. This calling comes directly from my parents. My
father, Edward Blatchford, was an accomplished teacher and
school administrator whose leadership and vision impacted the
lives of many kids and their families. My mother, Claire, is
also an educator and community leader who has shared the
challenges and blessings of her own lived experience as a deaf
woman to help others in countless ways. Their lives of purpose
and service have had incredible impact on those around them,
and I am deeply grateful for their example.
I started my own public service career as a young paralegal
in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, investigating
organized crime. Since then, my path has taken me from working
on a wide range of projects in the New York City Mayor's
office, for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to a leadership role in
the largest local affordable housing and community development
agency locally in the country, to then serving as Chief of
Staff at the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development and as Executive Director of the Hurricane Sandy
Task force, to continued service in the nonprofit world, where
I served as President of Enterprise Community Partners. Along
the way, I have had the honor of working on a wide range of
issues including 9/11 recovery, our ongoing housing crisis, the
many management challenges facing HUD, and recovery from
natural disasters including Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm
Sandy, and more recent storms and wildfires.
Across these different roles, one clear lesson has shone
through: no matter how brilliant the idea, or how much money we
were able to invest, the success of every project I have ever
been involved with has depended on how the work is done. I have
seen time and time again that strong implementation--with
transparency, with efficiency, with consistency, and with
strong partnerships--is essential to success, especially in the
public sector. Great ideas without great execution are not
enough.
If confirmed as Controller, I would bring my track record
of delivering results to the unique and unprecedented
challenges and opportunities we are facing right now as a
country. Just as I have done before, I am eager to serve and
bring my energies and capabilities to ensuring that the Federal
Government works more effectively and efficiently for the
American people, and specifically that our considerable
financial resources and investments are deployed, tracked, and
spent as well as possible.
I would be especially excited to serve alongside the
talented and hardworking career and political staff at the
Office of Management and Budget, some of whom I had the
privilege of working with and knowing during my prior Federal
service. If confirmed, I would be honored to join this team, to
lead OFFM, and to work closely with leaders across the Federal
family and with Congress to ensure that we accomplish our
shared goals.
Thank you for the chance to appear before you today, and I
look forward to your questions.
Chairman Peters. Thank you. Next we will have a video from
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to introduce our final two
nominees, Ebony Scott and Donald Tunnage, who are both
nominated to be Associate Judges on the Superior Court for the
District of Columbia.
OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, A
REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Ms. Holmes Norton. Chairman Peters and Ranking Member
Portman, I appreciate the opportunity to introduce Ebony Scott
and Donald Tunnage to be Associate judges on the Superior Court
of the District of Columbia. Both bring the experience and
credentials to be excellent judges.
Ms. Scott currently serves as a magistrate judge on the
D.C. Superior Court, having been appointed in January 2020.
Prior to being a magistrate judge, Ms. Scott served as the
Deputy Director of the D.C. Mayor's Office of Legal Counsel
(OLC). In that position, she provided legal advice to the mayor
and the D.C. agencies. Prior to that work, Ms. Scott was a
general counsel of the D.C. Office of Human Rights, where she
oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Legal Division. Ms.
Scott has also served as Assistant Attorney General (AAG) and
Acting Section Chief in the Office of the D.C. Attorney
General's Housing and Community Justice Section.
Prior to her public service work, Ms. Scott worked in
private practice for almost 5 years, as a civil litigator, and
served as a law clerk for the D.C. Court of Appeals. She has
also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the American
University College of Law. Ms. Scott is a graduate of the
American University Washington College of Law and University of
Rochester.
I am also pleased to introduce Donald Tunnage to be an
Associate Judge on the D.C. Superior Court. Mr. Tunnage is a
career attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the United
States Department of Justice (DOJ). In this position, Mr.
Tunnage has spent two decades enforcing such important civil
rights laws as the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act.
Mr. Tunnage has received special achievement awards and is a
three-time recipient of special commendation for outstanding
performance.
During his time with the Department of Justice, Mr. Tunnage
was an Assistant State Public Defender--pardon me, not during
his time but before his time with the Department of Justice,
Mr. Tunnage was an Assistant State Public Defender in Florida,
litigating criminal appeals on behalf of indigent individuals.
A magna cum laude graduate of Morehouse College and a
graduate of Duke University Law School, Mr. Tunnage also holds
a master's in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School of
Government.
I appreciate the Committee moving these nominees, and I
look forward to working with you to end the vacancy crisis.
Chairman Peters. Welcome Judge Scott and Mr. Tunnage. Judge
Scott, you may proceed with your opening remarks.
I think you are on mute right now, Judge.
Mr. Tunnage, we will go to you. Judge Scott, we understand
it is the recording studio is having the issue, not you. We
will see if Mr. Tunnage, let's hope your sound is working, if
you want to proceed with your opening remarks.
TESTIMONY OF DONALD W. TUNNAGE\1\ TO BE ASSOCIATE JUDGE,
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Mr. Tunnage. Thank you. Good morning. Chairman Peters,
Ranking Member Portman, and Members of this Committee, thank
you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I am deeply
grateful to you and your dedicated Committee staffers for
considering my nomination.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Tunnage appears in the Appendix
on page 224.
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I would also like to extend my gratitude to all the members
of the Judicial Nomination Commission and specifically its
chair, the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan, for recommending me,
and I thank President Joseph Biden for nominating me to be an
Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of
Columbia. I extend also my gratitude and appreciation to
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton for her very kind
introduction. I am most appreciative of her support.
This nomination and the opportunity to appear before you
today are easily the highest honors of my professional career.
I sit before you today buttressed by the support of my extended
family, classmates, close friends, and colleagues. Through
unwavering support, they have mentored, supported, and
encouraged me in life and throughout my career.
I offer special mention to my husband, Juan Ruiz Rojas,
whose commitment and dedication form the fulcrum that allows me
to successfully balance, work, family and co-parenting our 4-
year-old son, Alec. Guiding and being a loving, caring parent
and Papa to Alec is the eternal commitment in my life.
My mother, Linda Walker, a formerly retired public-school
educator who returned to her career in education, because it is
more accurately her life's calling, is watching with great
enthusiasm and unbridled love and support from Fort Lauderdale,
Florida. I also would like to offer special recognition to my
late father, a veteran of the United States Army and a retired
public-school educator who was known affectionately as Don. I
am my father's namesake, and his unconditional and unswerving
support uplifted and motivated me during his lifetime, while
the memory of his unconditional love has been a personal and
private comfort since his passing.
The entirety of my professional career has been in pursuit
of fair process and equal treatment. Since 2000, I have had the
honor and privilege of serving as a career trial attorney in
the United States Department of Justice, where I have
represented the United States in enforcing statutes that ensure
full and fair participation of all citizens in life material
activities such as housing, employment, and the constitutional
right to be secure in their persons and effects.
During my two-decades career as a Justice Department trial
attorney, I have appeared in Federal districts courts in more
than ten States and I have dutifully executed and served under
five Presidential administrations.
Prior to joining the Justice Department, I served as an
assistant public defender, where my advocacy was for trial
proceedings that were fair and constitutionally compliant.
In my professional experience, I have practiced as a
defense counsel, a civil litigator, criminal prosecutor. I have
appeared in State appellate courts and Federal district courts.
In each role and every appearance I have advocated for equality
under law and procedural fairness. If I am granted the honor of
confirmation, those will be my guideposts as I seek to ensure
fair and impartial administration of justice.
In closing, I would like to restate my sincere gratitude,
Mr. Chairman, to you and every Member of the Committee for
considering my nomination, and I look forward to answering any
questions you may have of me.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Mr. Tunnage, for your comments.
Judge Scott, you are recognized for your opening comments.
TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE JUDGE EBONY M. SCOTT\1\ TO BE
ASSOCIATE JUDGE, SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Judge Scott. Thank you, Chairman Peters. Are you able to
hear me now?
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\1\ The prepared statement of Judge Scott appears in the Appendix
on page 247.
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Chairman Peters. Loud and clear.
Judge Scott. OK. Fantastic. I am used to these technical
glitches at this point.
Thank you again. Good morning to you, Chairman, and to
Ranking Member Portman, and thank you for holding this hearing
today as well as the Committee staff. Thank you to
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton for her kind remarks. They
are sincerely appreciated.
I would like to thank the Judicial Nomination Commission
and its chair, the Honorable Emmett Sullivan, for recommending
me to the White House, and I would like to especially thank
President Joseph Biden for this tremendous honor of this
nomination.
As Maya Angelou has said, I come as one, but I stand as
10,000. I did not travel the road that led me here today alone.
I would like to thank and acknowledge my Court family, in
particular, the Chief of the Superior Court of the District of
Columbia, Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring, and my mentor, Chief
Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, of the District of Columbia Court
of Appeals, for their immeasurable support. I am truly
fortunate to have the support not only of my colleagues present
and past, but of my friends and family members, too many to
name, many of whom are watching virtually, and all of whom I am
deeply grateful to.
I would like to recognize my husband, and thank my husband,
my soulmate, in fact, Jon Scott. His love has been enduring,
and his encouragement and understanding has been absolutely
endless.
I would like to recognize my maternal grandmother, Gladys
Slaughter, and my grandfather, who I affectionately refer to as
Grandpapa. They are both watching from my hometown of Buffalo,
New York. Thank you for your support, and most importantly your
love.
I would like to recognize my father-in-law, John Henry
Scott, and my mother-in-law, JoEllen Scott, who along with many
others, I suspect, are watching from my second home in
Greenville, South Carolina. I would also like to recognize my
husband's mother, Dorothy Harris Scott, who passed away in
1996. Although I never had the pleasure or the honor of meeting
my husband's mother, her spirit is with me, and I honor her
memory today.
I would like to now tell you a little bit about my
background. My mother, Darnetta Adamson, who is watching from
home, is, quite frankly, my hero. My mother had me as a
teenager, and even though she had many hurdles to cross as a
result of being a teenage mother, she always modeled for me
grace, hard work, humility, and strength. As I have told my
mother many times over the years, the pride that wells up in
her when she looks at me is the same pride that wells up in me
when I look at her. Thank you, Mom.
My father, Dewitt Oliver, who we lost at a very young age
to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), at the very beginning
of the COVID pandemic, was also a source of strength for me and
a man of dignity and valor, having served our country as a
Marine. Likewise, my paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Morse, who
we lost just a few months after my father, was also a source of
strength and encouragement. My grandmother instilled in me the
pursuit of excellence, which I have carried with me every step
of my career, including in my current role as a Magistrate
Judge on the Superior Court.
Since my appointment to the bench as a Magistrate Judge, I
have presided over the court's high-volume civil calendars,
dutifully applying the law to the facts, and serving the court,
most importantly with respect. Prior to my service on the court
I was a civil trial attorney and Assistant Attorney General for
the Office of the Attorney General for the District of
Columbia, and I brought a variety of matters in the Superior
Court over the course of 9 years. I also served as a generalist
and worked on administrative and personnel matters affecting
local and governmental employees and District agencies.
I began my career as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable
Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby on the D.C. Court of
Appeals, and I regularly regard that clerkship as the arc of my
career.
I can assure the Committee that my broad range of
professional experience has well-equipped me to be a prepared,
thoughtful, and fair Associate Judge, should I be confirmed. I
truly love this city, and have built my personal and my
professional life here. It would be an honor of a lifetime to
continue to give back to a city that has given me so very much.
I look forward to answering the Committee's questions.
Thank you.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Judge Scott.
We now have three questions that the Committee asks of
every nominee, and I am going to ask each of our nominees to
answer briefly with just a yes or no to these questions. We
will start with Mr. Hooks and then work down the panel, then we
will go online. Judge Scott, we will have you start on that.
First, is there anything that you are aware of in your
background that might present a conflict of interest with the
duties of the office which you have been nominated? Mr. Hooks.
Mr. Hooks. No, sir.
Mr. Kubayanda. No, sir.
Ms. Blatchford. No.
Judge Scott. No, Senator.
Mr. Tunnage. No, Senator.
Chairman Peters. Second, do you know if anything, personal
or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and
honorably discharging the responsibilities of the office to
which you have been nominated?
Mr. Hooks. No, sir.
Mr. Kubayanda. No, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Blatchford. No, Senator.
Judge Scott. No, Senator.
Mr. Tunnage. No, Senator.
Chairman Peters. And last, do you agree, without
reservation, to comply with any request or summons to appear
and testify before any duly constituted committee of Congress
if you are confirmed?
Mr. Hooks. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Kubayanda. I do.
Ms. Blatchford. Yes. Of course.
Judge Scott. Yes, Senator.
Mr. Tunnage. Yes, Senator.
Chairman Peters. Great. Thank you.
Mr. Hooks, this first question is for you. FEMA's disaster
response efforts have unfortunately, historically been plagued
by disparities affecting individuals from underserved
communities, including individuals from rural and low-income
communities as well as individuals with disabilities.
FEMA's 2020 National Advisory Council, which was led by the
chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management found, and
I quote, ``By perpetually assisting larger communities that
already have considerable resources, the smaller, less-
resource-rich, less affluent communities cannot access funding
to appropriately prepare for a disaster, leading to inadequate
response and recovery and little opportunity for mitigation,''
end of quote.
This Committee is working to address this issue right now,
to ensure that all Americans, no matter where they live, no
matter who they are, have access to equitable disaster
recovery. So my question for you, Mr. Hooks, first I would love
to hear your thoughts on this matter, and I want to know, yes
or no, and any detail you want to provide, that if confirmed,
you will commit to working with me on this issue and making
sure that FEMA is indeed prioritizing equity in all of its
programs and in all of its activities.
Mr. Hooks. Yes, sir. Thank you for the question, Mr.
Chairman. It is extremely important that FEMA serve all
communities that are eligible for services. Oftentimes those
communities that can afford it the least, and those underserved
communities, are the ones that suffer the most damage in the
consequences from disastrous acts or catastrophes due to nature
and other circumstances.
Through the last few years I think that both the Federal
Government and State and localities have really increased the
view of looking at all programs through a lens of equity, and
if confirmed, I look forward to contributing to that thought
process and certainly support the view that all communities
should be served, as evidenced by opening statement.
I also have wide experience with this in North Carolina,
and we have some very thriving, robust communities such as in
the Charlotte and Raleigh area. But we also have some very
rural communities as well, and I have certainly seen firsthand
the devastation that disasters have taken a toll on those
communities. I bring with me a set of experiences and
partnerships that I believe that I can bring a strategic
viewpoint to those, if confirmed in the position of Deputy
Director to FEMA.
Chairman Peters. Great. Thank you.
Mr. Kubayanda, as the Postal Service's regulator, the
Postal Regulatory Commission plays a key role in monitoring
whether the Postal Service is meetings its on-time delivery
goals and holding it accountable to these standards of service,
as you know very well.
How have you worked to hold the Postal Service accountable
for its service performance, and if confirmed for another term
how will you continue to advance transparency and
accountability for customers?
Mr. Kubayanda. Thank you for the question, Mr. Chairman.
The Postal Regulatory Commission has very well-established
processes for holding the Postal Service accountable. Through
the annual compliance process we oversee the Postal Service's
compliance, and I think we have done an excellent job over the
years of finding the issues in the postal network and building
toward a system of transparency and accountability in the
postal system.
As we go forward, I think there are some measures, new
steps that we can take to improve transparency in the postal
system, and there are really three related initiatives that we
have going on in that area of transparency. One is an Open Data
Initiative, also a Data Analytics Initiative, and also a Data
Visualization. These are all small-scale initiatives that I
think we have a chance to eventually scale up in order to hold
the Postal Service more accountable.
We are currently implementing compliance with the OPEN
Government Data Act, which includes bringing on a chief data
officer, and that will allow us to look at Postal Service
service performance over time to create some standardization of
data and make data available to the public and to stakeholders
in machine-readable formats. I think what that can do is allow
us to get better-informed inputs from stakeholders into our
compliance processes and hold the Postal Service accountable.
Also, that standardization will help make us more organized in
terms of our use of data as well.
I think all those can contribute to kind of modernizing our
standard compliance efforts.
Chairman Peters. Ms. Blatchford, as you know, the Payment
Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) passed out of this
Committee and is a landmark step to ensuring that the Federal
Government reduces improper payments and cuts down on waste,
fraud, and abuse in the Federal program and the benefits
delivery from the Federal Government.
My question for you is, if you are confirmed as the
Controller what will be your top priorities for accelerating
implementation of this act and improving the government's
ability to stop improper payments?
Ms. Blatchford. Thank you very much for this question. It
is an incredibly important topic, given the amount of money
that is being currently invested in supporting our recovery
from this pandemic.
I am very much aware that the Payment Integrity Information
Act was passed and that the implementation of that is underway.
If confirmed, I would look forward to working with the OFFM and
the teams to understand where the gaps might be. Again, my
guess is because of the size of the investment that we are
making collectively there are real areas to strengthen and to
focus.
Another thing I would say, I have seen time again in my
work, thinking about the Hurricane Sandy Task Force here,
moving money quickly into communities in these moments is very
important, but it has to be balanced with a focus on payment
integrity. The best way to do that, I think in particular, is
to focus on prevention, right, the reduction at the beginning
of the payment cycle. So that would really be my primary focus.
Catching waste, fraud, and abuse later, later down the chain,
is important, but I think certainly the best way to do that is
to lean into that prevention.
I know that there are a number of tools that have been
developed by OMB, in partnership with the Chief Financial
Officers (CFO) Council and other members of the oversight
community to really ensure that the tools are out there to
allow agencies to focus as much as possible on prevention of
improper payments as a part of that. I look forward to working
with you, if confirmed, on that.
Chairman Peters. Thank you. Ranking Member Portman, you are
recognized for your questions.
Senator Portman. Great. Thank you. Mr. Hooks, I want to
talk a little about what FEMA's role is in terms of resilience,
and I noted that as head of the North Carolina Department of
Public Safety you have a lot of experience with natural
disasters.
I mentioned earlier that we have recently passed this
legislation that was signed into law this week that provides
another $1 billion in funding for the Building Resilient
Infrastructure Communities program, basically pre-disaster
mitigation to ensure that the taxpayer money is better spent by
mitigating some of these potential disasters and helping
potential victims avoid the devastation of a hurricane, as you
have had in your State, or tornado, or floods, or fires, and so
on.
Have you worked with BRIC? Do you have any experience with
them?
Mr. Hooks. Yes, sir. Thank you, Ranking Member Portman.
Thank you for the question. Through our very experienced
emergency management team in North Carolina, North Carolina has
pretty successfully navigated the early rollout of the BRIC
program. It is my view that with sustainable funding the BRIC
program can be really transformative to the States, and
consequently to the Nation. BRIC program focuses on a very
necessary tool that we should be utilizing more, and that is
mitigation. I think it is well accepted that the investment of
every $1 in mitigation can save us $6 on the back end.
We have stood up a robust protocol to address the BRIC
funding in North Carolina that not only operates at the State
level but really partners with FEMA. Our FEMA Integration Team
(FIT), that was the first in the Nation, in North Carolina, has
been instrumental to our success, and also the buildout of the
Office of Recovery and Resiliency to work with our local
communities to help build a more resilient North Carolina and
ultimately a more resilient nation.
Senator Portman. Good. Again, conceptually it is a great
idea. A relatively new program, as you know. Since 2020, about
$1.5 million has gone out, so it is out there, and I am glad
you are working with it. I hope, should you be confirmed, that
you will work with us to even improve the program further and
probably some lessons from North Carolina would be helpful in
that. Would you commit to do that?
Mr. Hooks. Yes, sir, Ranking Member Portman. I certainly
commit to working with you and your staff as well as FEMA
leadership to address any challenges and break down any
barriers that we have to be successful.
Senator Portman. Good. This Committee has spent a lot of
time on helping to push back against the hateful attacks on
religious organizations, other nonprofits. We have this program
that we put together called the Nonprofit Security Grant
Program (NSGP), and we have made preparedness grants there
available over the last several years. This year we actually
doubled the funding to $180 million, split evenly between the
urban areas and the States.
Are you aware of this program? Have you used it in North
Carolina?
Mr. Hooks. Yes, sir. Again, thank you for the question,
Ranking Member Portman. As the State administrative agent as
well as the Homeland Security advisor, I had signoff authority
on the development of those grants as far as the administration
in the State of North Carolina. We were successful in North
Carolina at bringing not just the emergency management entity,
which the money would flow through from FEMA, but bringing law
enforcement and intelligence resources in partnership with
those communities so that we could adequately protect faith-
based institutions through this process. Again, we have
navigated that program pretty successfully in North Carolina.
Senator Portman. As you may know, some States have used it
more effectively than others. North Carolina has been pretty
aggressive in using it. It sounds like my State of Ohio has
certainly been successful in figuring out ways to put it to
work. We are glad you support it, and we look forward to
working with you on ensuring that the funding we are providing
is spent most effectively.
With regard to the Controller position, Ms. Blatchford, we
talked about this in person so you know where I am coming from.
You have a great deal of expertise and experience in the
housing sector, as an example, but you are not up for HUD
Secretary. You are up for another job, which again is one that
is just a hard-core financial management, auditing, accounting
job. I mentioned earlier the U.S. Code and what it requires
this job to have, and, you know, demonstrated ability and
practical experience in accounting, financial management, and
financial systems, extensive practical experience in financial
management in large governmental or business entities.
I know you do not have a certified public accountant (CPA),
but regarding accounting do you have any practical experience
as this calls for, or ability in accounting?
Ms. Blatchford. Thank you very much for that question,
Ranking Member Portman, and thank you for the conversation
yesterday. I am glad to continue that conversation today. I do
not have training in accounting, but I would just pull back a
bit to say a couple of things about why I do think that I am
qualified for this role.
First, as an experienced nonprofit and government leader of
large teams I have, by definition and by necessity, deeply
involved myself in financial management, everything from budget
development and execution, financial management of systems,
enterprise risk management, auditing. And so just have learned,
to the point that you made about practical experience, have
learned that I can deeply engage myself in those details as
needed.
But I also have learned to rely on the expertise of those
around me. I think most leaders know that you do not have every
technical skill in your toolkit but often you can rely on your
team for the areas that you might not have or that you need to
complement. Everything I have heard about the OMB and OFFM
teams is that they are extraordinary and would be supportive in
that particular area.
I would also say I think this is a question about what we
need as a country right now, and I think, from my perspective,
I would bring the strategic vision and the ability to support
and work with the technical experts on my team, but really
drawing on the expertise and the experience I have had of
navigating the inputs from accounting, the inputs from
financial management, to make the right decisions for the
organization that I am working for.
I look forward to, if confirmed, working with you to make
sure that we are really addressing all of those concerns.
Senator Portman. Again, I have a hard time squaring what
the requirements are, and again, having known that position,
and it is true that as a leader you rely on others. But the
reason the statute was written that way, and knowing the job,
having the expertise and experience is really important for the
leader.
Not surprising, and I talked to you about this on the
phone, but can you explain the Federal Credit Reform Act and
how you see this impacting how various Federal credit programs
calculate their leverage?
Ms. Blatchford. It is my understanding that the Federal
Credit Reform Act is a set of decisions in terms of current and
proposed programs. That evaluation is made by the Budget Review
Division (BRD) within OMB, that sits outside of OFFM. But as we
discussed yesterday, I understand where you are coming from on
this larger question, and had some experience working on this
when I was at HUD, with the FDA balance sheet.
I would look forward, if confirmed, to working with you,
the BRD team, and others at OMB to address any concerns you
might have about current or future programs as it relates to
that reform act.
Senator Portman. Thank you. My time has expired. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Ranking Member Portman.
Senator Carper, you are now recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARPER
Senator Carper. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. To our witnesses and
our nominees who are before us today, a warm welcome to you.
Before I proceed to my questions, I want to take a moment
to highlight that we have two D.C. Superior Court nominees
before us, Judge Scott and Mr. Tunnage. Before I was fortunate
enough to be elected to the U.S. Senate, I was Governor of
Delaware for 8 years and spent a fair amount of time
nominating, selecting people to serve on the Delaware bench,
which despite the fact that we are a little State there, has a
national, even international reach. I gave a lot of time and
thought to the kind of people I nominated to serve on the bench
in Delaware, and who ultimately did and some still do.
I think we have before us today vacancies on the D.C.
Superior Court that have been vacant for 3 years, and in
another case, more than 5 years. I think that is abhorrent. I
think that is disgraceful. It is on us in the Senate, and it is
on the current Administration and especially the previous
administration. I like to say justice denied is justice
delayed, and the idea that we have excellent nominees that have
been sent to us for consideration by the District of Columbia
and we are just sitting on them for years is awful. I am glad
that Mr. Chairman brought these nominees before us today and I
hope that they will get our approval.
One of the reasons why I pushed for several years for D.C.
Statehood is because I think if we are not going to allow a
State, a district like District of Columbia, which has more
people than several of our States and pays a lot of taxes, has
a lot of people serving in the military, and then we get the
traditional noms and we just sit on them for years, it is just
one more reason why we should consider the legislation that a
number of us are proposing, and that is D.C. Statehood.
OK. That is a story for another day, but I did not want to
miss it.
Secretary Hooks, great to have you with us. My wife is a
native of North Carolina so we think of you as a distant,
distant relative. She loves North Carolina and her roots are
still there.
You heard me say the other day, I think it was yesterday
when we met I talked about leadership, and most importantly the
success of any organization I have ever been a part of, whether
it was the Navy or helping to run
Delaware or serving in the U.S. Senate, it is always
leadership. In order for an organization to be successful in
achieving its mission, that is what is important. Dedicated,
committed, enlightened leadership is the key.
Mr. Secretary, as the Secretary of Public Safety in North
Carolina I understand you have led nearly 40,000 civilian
employees, which is about the size of the civilian workforce in
Delaware, including educators. But anyway, nearly 40,000
civilian employees and National Guard soldiers and airmen, and
you were responsible for coordinating emergency management
functions statewide.
Reflecting on this experience and other leadership roles
you have held throughout your distinguished career in public
safety and law enforcement, what are some of the hallmarks of
an effective leader, in your judgment, particularly when it
comes to coordinating emergency preparedness and response
efforts across multiple levels of government? Please, go ahead.
Mr. Hooks. Thank you, Senator Carper. It was an honor to
speak with you yesterday as well.
I am a firm believer that leadership can translate across
many domains, both the State and to this position as Deputy
Administration, if confirmed. One of the things that I think is
a hallmark of an effective leader is making the time and effort
to commit the investment in the people that are carrying out
that mission. I view both the staff that I had in North
Carolina and the potential staff that I may have, if confirmed
at FEMA, as part of the critical infrastructure.
The most important aspect of any organization are the
people that make up that organization. Programs are important.
Funding is certainly important. But we have to invest in those
individuals to ensure that they have a culture where they feel
that they can thrive, that they can grow, and that they can be
successful. Leaders have to invest in those individuals, often
at the demise of their own, self-interests, because I do
believe that that shared sacrifice that these people make to
secure our nation and preserve our freedoms in North Carolina
are extremely important and they should be recognized for that.
We want to create a climate, a culture of success, and
promote diversity and inclusion at all ranks, and let them know
that they are valued for the contributions that they make to
the success of our Nation.
Senator Carper. Great. Thank you for that response, Mr.
Secretary.
I want to turn now, if I could, to Mr. Kubayanda. Very nice
to see you. I call you Mr. Chairman. The Postal Regulatory
Commission, as some of us recall in Congress, created the
independent U.S. Postal Service in 1970, also creating a five-
member Postal Regulatory Commission to serve as the independent
regulator of the Postal Service and to ensure transparency, to
try to ensure accountability of postal operations.
The PRC has oversight authority of the postal rate setting
and mail delivery performance and issues. Regular reports come
to us, focused on the Postal Service activities, its finances,
its sustainability. Mr. Kubayanda, you have now been overseeing
that mission with PRC during your time as Chairman. I would
just ask, why is it important that the Commission have a full
slate of Senate-confirmed Commissioners?
Mr. Kubayanda. Thank you, Senator Carper, for that
question. It is critical that we have a full slate of confirmed
Commissioners. Prior to me joining the Commission we had an
empty slot for some time, and with really major rulemakings on
the table, including the 10-year review of the rate-making
system, which is absolutely critical for the financial
foundation of the entire postal system.
With the full slate, one of the things we are able to do is
quickly turn to that issue and accomplish that. I think it is
one of the biggest rulemakings in the 50-year history of the
Commission. I would also add that a full slate of the Governors
of the Postal Service is also critical.
I think it is absolutely a foundational issue that we have
all those slates full and are able to tackle a lot of the
critical issues facing the postal system.
Senator Carper. Thanks very much. My time is about to
expire so I thank you for your service on the Commission and
your willingness to continue to serve in this role.
The last thing I would say, I started off by mentioning how
some of these judicial vacancies in the District of Columbia
have existed 3, 4, or 5 years, which is abhorrent. We also are
in a situation where the District of Columbia I think has a AA-
plus credit rating, and here we are, and we have to approve
their budget. They should be approving ours. Here we are, weeks
and months into overtime in terms of actually producing our own
budget, and still struggling with the debt ceiling issue.
I think that is just one more reason why the idea of giving
the District of Columbia the kind of opportunities and
responsibilities that they should have in our legislation, my
legislation. One more reason why it should be considered.
Thank you. Again to our nominees, we are grateful that you
are here, particularly the judicial nominees. Very impressive
credentials. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Carper.
Senator Hassan, you are recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HASSAN
Senator Hassan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to
thank you and Senator Portman for holding this hearing and a
special thank you to all of our nominees and to your families
for being willing to take on these important positions.
Mr. Hooks, I want to start with a question to you. Our new
bipartisan infrastructure law includes a provision that I
developed to create a new State and local cybersecurity grant
program. FEMA will administer the program, drawing on subject
matter expertise from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency (CISA).
Mr. Hooks, if confirmed as Deputy Administrator what steps
will you take to ensure that this grant funding will quickly
and effectively get to entities that need it, including in my
State of New Hampshire?
Mr. Hooks. Thank you, Senator Hassan. Cybersecurity and our
critical infrastructure are extremely important as we face
challenges both domestically and internationally. If confirmed,
I look forward to working specifically within FEMA but also
external to FEMA, with our sister agency at CISA and with the
broader Department at DHS, along with our local and State
partners to fully implement the authorizations that are carried
forward.
I look forward to familiarizing myself particularly with
the particular nuances of it and understanding full
congressional intent. That would be one of the first things
that I always look to do in evaluating a program and how we
should roll it out and then seeing how I can execute on the
partnerships that are needed to address this--we cannot really
call it an emerging threat anymore. It has been with us. But
this persistent threat that is extremely important to the
safety of our Nation.
Senator Hassan. I appreciate that very much. Even in a
small State like New Hampshire we are seeing cyberattacks at
various levels, against various entities, and I really look
forward to working with you to strengthen our resources here
and really strengthen our cyber defenses.
Ms. Blatchford, the Federal Government's reliance on
outdated and obsolete technology harms our ability to deliver
services to the American people, threatens our cybersecurity,
and also drives wasteful spending. One way to curb wasteful
spending on these old systems is through better cooperation and
communication between agencies chief information officers (CIO)
and chief financial officers to ensure that there is a
coordinated process for determining technology needs and
acquisition processes.
How can the Office of Federal Financial Management, under
your leadership, work to improve cooperation and communication
between chief information officers and chief financial officers
to save taxpayer dollars?
Ms. Blatchford. Thank you, Senator. It is an important
question and I appreciate it. I have seen, in my time in
government and the nonprofit sector that that is really true.
Those legacy systems pose enormous risks to effective service
delivery, good customer experience, and, of course, to
security.
So as you know, OFFM plays a lead role in bringing together
the CFOs from different agencies, and so I would imagine
leaning into that role to really elevate this issue in
importance. It is my understanding, as well, that that
interagency role plays an important part of it is busting
silos, getting people to communicate, working through these
issues. Based on my experience doing that in the task force and
in other contexts, I would really want to lean in and do that.
I also think the partnership across OMB and across the
Executive Branch is going to be critical, because, as you said,
it is not just the CFOs. It is also the CIOs. That synergy and
that relationship is something I would work with the CFO
Council and other CFO colleagues to address, if confirmed.
Senator Hassan. That is great, and I would just add that I
think one of the things that the CFO community needs to work
with, with the chief information officers, is understanding the
length of time it can take to modernize technology this way,
and we really have to make sure that our financial systems are
working in a way that really can accommodate long-term planning
and change. I look forward to further working with you on that.
To Mr. Hooks, I want to go back to a different issue at
FEMA, because the agency has struggled with serious problems
relating to sexual harassment of its employees. A 2020 survey
conducted by the Rand Corporation found that approximately 20
percent of FEMA employees reported experiencing sexual
harassment at the agency.
If confirmed as Deputy, what steps would you take to combat
sexual harassment at FEMA?
Mr. Hooks. Thank you, Senator, for the question. As I
stated earlier, I believe that in order for any agency or
department to be successful you have to have great investment
in the individuals, where they can thrive in a culture of
excellence, so that they feel that they are a part of it, and
they have the opportunities. That translates very cleanly over
into addressing any issues of sexual harassment.
I am up to the challenge, if confirmed, to meet that issue
head-on. There is absolutely no place in any part of society
for anyone to be made to feel less than and moving forward when
they are trying to serve their country or carrying out any
other job.
I have a history, through my work both in the SBI and as
Secretary of ensuring that we have a workforce that is valued,
that women, in particular, have those opportunities, and then
as the Secretary of Public Safety, I had one of the most
incredible workforce dynamics in a field that is generally
dominated by male professionals, in that General Counsel and
Chief Deputy Secretaries were females, and it set the tone.
I would lead by example, and I have had a brief discussion
with Administrator Criswell. She and I are firmly on the same
ground of moving forward to ensure that everyone has an
opportunity to thrive and work in a culture of excellence at
FEMA and that sexual harassment will not be tolerated to any
degree.
Senator Hassan. Thank you for that commitment. I really
appreciate it.
Now I want to turn to Mr. Kubayanda, because, sir, in its
attempts to become more finally stable the U.S. Postal Service
proposed delaying delivery times for first-class packages,
commonly used by pharmacies and banks, for example, to send
lightweight products inexpensively. These delays would affect
roughly a third of first-class package volume and cause delays
on essential items that people in my State of New Hampshire
certainly rely on.
In September, the Postal Regulatory Commission issued an
advisory opinion on this proposed change and found that the
Postal Service's proposal to delay service would not
substantially affects its overall financial condition, contrary
to the stated goals of the proposal. What options or
alternatives do you think the Postal Service could instead
pursue to improve its financial condition without compromising
service?
Mr. Kubayanda. Thank you for the question, Senator. I think
that the Commission has issued two advisory opinions on
attempts to change service standards, and I think both reached
that conclusion, that the savings on offer were meager compared
to what the Postal Service hopes to achieve.
I think that the Postal Service has a number of steps they
can take. I think some of these steps to cut costs over time
might require some up-front investment, for example,
modernization of the vehicle fleet. They have an extremely old
vehicle fleet with poor quality, and they have been known to
catch on fire, and then also the efficiency is very low. I
think that is something where up-front investment, capital
investment, can lead to some savings down the line.
We just approved a new rate-making systems for the Postal
Service, and I think that it is an opportunity to kind of
stabilize postal finances, or at least move the ball forward
and improve postal finances. I think that is something they can
capitalize on.
I think, long-term, there are opportunities for efficiency
through information technology, reconsidering how to utilize
their extensive network of physical facilities to distribute
mail more efficiently. One of the things we are launching is a
data analytics group to look at issues within the postal
network, including whether it is aligned in the most efficient
manner and looking at possible bottlenecks and pinch points
within that network, where the Postal Service might stand to
improve.
I think there are opportunities for incremental
improvements over time.
Senator Hassan. Thank you very much. I realize we have gone
over time, Mr. Chair, so I appreciate the extra time. I look
forward to working with you on these issues. Thank you.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Hassan.
Senator Scott, you are recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SCOTT
Senator Scott. I want to thank Chairman Peters and Ranking
Member Portman for holding this hearing and congratulate each
of you for your nominations, and thank you for your willingness
to serve.
Mr. Hooks, thanks for the call we had. It is my
understanding that certain States are asking to be reimbursed
100 percent and retroactively for their COVID-19 costs. Are you
aware of this? Do you think States ought to be treated
differently with regard to their COVID expenses, and do you
think it is appropriate that the Federal Government take over
and pay 100 percent of costs in disasters?
Mr. Hooks. Sure. Thank you, Senator Scott, and thank you
for the opportunity to speak with you yesterday.
As a State Administrative Agent coming from a State it is
certainly natural for every State to want to receive additional
compensation or receive 100 percent cost share. It has to be a
balance.
FEMA programs are designed to have some cost share element
to them, and I understood that as a State Representative that
also advocated for my State. I certainly understand there has
to be a balance. Each catastrophe or disaster is unique. There
have been certainly 100 percent reimbursement on some items
that deal with COVID, and I do understand the need. But I do
understand the need for FEMA to have consistency in its
programs, but at the same time meet disaster survivors where
they are.
If confirmed, I look forward to working with you and your
State and any other State that has those concerns about whether
or not the 75 percent match, which is traditional, is being
addressed appropriately at FEMA and that those regulations are
being interpreted. I look forward to knowing what headway
Administrator Criswell has already made on this matter, because
I know it has been a concern to you.
Senator Scott. Do you think if States do not have any skin
in the game they are going to watch the money?
Mr. Hooks. I believe, sir, that we all have a role to play,
and that states, and in North Carolina we certainly had skin in
the game. It is also added with the complexity that a lot of
local communities may not have the financial wherewithal of
some other communities.
I think that with honest conversation and with never making
promises that you are certainly not able to keep and not
authorized by legislation to keep, that we can effectively move
forward and address those issues. But we have to encourage
States that they have to have some skin in the game.
Senator Scott. Over the last year, the Disaster Relief Fund
(DRF) has been redistributed to fund areas not related to
disaster emergency management. Do you think it is appropriate
that they use FEMA disaster relief funds for non-disaster
purposes? I mean, do you think that is ever appropriate?
Mr. Hooks. Thank you for the question, sir. I am not
specifically familiar with the reference that you make there.
However, I do believe that FEMA and any other organization has
an obligation to expend funds as they are authorized and are
permitted by law.
Senator Scott. I think we talked about what I watched in
the debris pickup, how if a local agency, or a local
municipality had a contract, it might be for $78.50 a cubic
yard, and if the Corps of Engineers picked it up it was the
same company, $72. Do you think that is ever appropriate?
Mr. Hooks. Sir, I think that each State and the Federal
Government has to encourage the use of advanced contracts,
particularly with debris pickup, so that you can have some
consistency and a level set what the cost management of that
should be. I think that goes a long way into people raising or
upticking prices as well. I think that there should always be
internal controls and limitations on what should be charged for
disaster recovery.
Senator Scott. We talked a little bit about the National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and what is fascinating to me
is that the Federal Government runs a program that is, like my
State, we are a four-to-one donor State since the program has
been implemented, and without doing surveys they raised the
flood insurance cost on many of our citizens in the last 10
years, and they appear to be doing it again. At the same time,
FEMA does not appear to be a partner to try to help us get more
private flood insurance, which would help Floridians save
money, so we are basically paying for flood insurance in other
States. Do you think that is appropriate?
Mr. Hooks. Senator, I certainly heard your concern
yesterday and that is certainly on my radar screen. Flood
insurance, in and of itself, is a tremendous tool, a frontline
tool to reduce the cost of individual recovery from disasters
such as flooding. If confirmed, I look forward to working with
you and your staff on any challenges that you see and whether
or not the appropriate balance is being struck in the
implementation of programs and whether or not this is an issue
of authorization or interpretation on anyone's part.
Senator Scott. Do you think it is important that FEMA work
with the private sector to allow the private sector to grow, so
FEMA does not have to have as big a program, with regard to
flood insurance?
Mr. Hooks. Sir, I believe that we all have a role to play,
both the private sector as well as government in disaster
mitigation and recovery efforts. Without being specific to the
scenario that you laid out, I believe that great communication
and great observance to what the congressional intent is for
programs, be adhered to, to move us forward.
Senator Scott. How are you going to deal with political
pressure from, whoever--it does not matter which party does
it--to tell you, ``Oh, in my State you have to give us a bigger
match than in another State?'' How are you going to deal with
political pressure in these? I mean, it is not a little bit of
money. We are talking about billions and billions of dollars.
Mr. Hooks. Yes, sir. Thank you for the question. I am not
uncaring or lack any empathy for the disaster that anyone
faces. However, I took my first oath of office over 30-
something years ago, and that oath bound me to follow the law
as it has been given. I will continue to do that in any program
that is rolled out with congressional approval.
I lean to my oath in those difficult times, and I
understand the pressures and the advocacy from individuals
concerning wanting to do what is best for their State or their
community.
Senator Scott. Thank you, Chairman Peters.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Scott.
Senator Padilla, you are now recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PADILLA
Senator Padilla. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Hooks, I
appreciated very much our opportunity to meet and chat
yesterday. As we discussed in my office, repetitive
catastrophic wildfires have unfortunately become the new
normal, not just across California but throughout the western
United States. While we are working to address this issue by
allocating an unprecedented amount of funding for mitigation
work through the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill that was signed
by the President this last Monday, and the soon to be completed
Build Back Better bill, the speed by which these funds are
typically distributed is simply too slow.
Mr. Chairman, I ask to enter into the record a recent
Washington Post article that highlighted the case of Grass
Valley, California.\1\
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\1\ The Washington Post article referenced by Senator Padilla
appears in the Appendix on page 272.
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Chairman Peters. Without objection.
Senator Padilla. Thank you. In this particular case
highlighted in the article, which I also shared with you, Mr.
Hooks, local officials near Mount Olive Road and the area
around it was at an extreme wildfire risk. In 2018, they
actually applied for a FEMA grant to clear dry brush, thin
trees, and mitigate that fire risk. Yet, by 2021, they were
still waiting on a decision when the River Fire ripped through
the Mount Olive Road area of Grass Valley and destroyed 140
structures.
Now according to the same Post article, and their research,
of the $11 billion that FEMA has allocated for mitigation over
the past decade, only $1.5 billion has actually been spent. The
research found that counties are made to wait an average of 7
years to complete their FEMA-funded projects, and during those
waits applicants for fire mitigation, specifically, experienced
an average of three more major wildfires. So they know it is
dangerous, they know the threat is coming, and they are
impacted while they are forced to wait.
And most disappointing of all, the research found that FEMA
is about half as likely to fund grants for rural areas, poorer
counties, and communities that are made up of predominantly
minority residents. They face longer delays in getting grants
approved. In California these are often exactly where the vast
majority of destructive wildfires take place and have
devastating impact.
I know that has been a long preamble but important for the
record. Mr. Hooks, my question is this. Obviously, these
delays, you would agree, are unacceptable. What steps will you
take, if confirmed, to shorten the time it takes for FEMA to
reach a decision on grant applications and move the money out
the door?
Mr. Hooks. Thank you, Senator Padilla. It was certainly a
pleasure to meet with you. From my own experiences I certainly
know that disaster relief never comes fast enough for the
people who are suffering, and people have been impacted by
wildfires in the western United States, and we have not had
that experience to the same degree that you have certainly
experienced in California.
If confirmed, I look forward to learning about what
challenges FEMA has had as far as moving individuals through
this program, approving and/or denying assistance, and one of
the things that I think that, I believe we always should do is
that as programs grow that you have to build the capacity and
the capability to deliver those programs. I look forward to
learning from Administrator Criswell and other senior leaders
in FEMA as to whether or not, as the money has increased to
address these and has been appropriated, have we built the
capacity to deliver on those.
FEMA has a goal of reducing the complexity of FEMA, and I
certainly, as a recipient of grant funding and navigating that
process, agree with that forward thinking. I look forward to
evaluating, along with the Administrator, and bringing a set of
fresh eyes as to whether or not how we have been successful.
Also I am very mindful, as you have stated here, is that
communities that often can afford it are most often impacted.
When we look at programs through the lens of equity, sometimes
the length of recovery negatively impacts that equity.
I look forward to working with you and your staff as well
as the FEMA staff to address those issues from that
perspective.
Senator Padilla. Thank you. We certainly look forward to
the follow-up. And on that point of equity that you just
mentioned, as I mentioned, in the takeaways from the Washington
Post article, how do you envision working with traditionally
disadvantaged communities to make sure that they are treated
more equitably, whether it is in the timeliness of their grant
applications, consideration of those grant applications,
approvals versus denials, et cetera?
Mr. Hooks. Again, thank you for the question, Senator. I
believe that the use of technical assistance, both at the
Federal level and encouraging that at the State level, where
you have that expertise, both at the Federal and the State
level, to go into those communities, States really have to
understand the communities within their jurisdiction. The
Federal Government, even though we are supporting the disaster
from a little bit further away, have to understand the needs of
those communities as well.
So again, effectively utilizing those broad partnerships,
being really intentional about those community impacts, and I
am certainly in tune with that. We have experienced that in
North Carolina, where communities, often minority communities,
recover less well because of the difficulty in navigating
processes to get the appropriate funding.
Senator Padilla. Thank you. My last question, quickly, Mr.
Chairman. My colleague, Senator Scott, asked how you might
respond to pressures from higher-ups in the administration,
regardless of political party--I am glad he pointed that out--
to maybe afford larger grants, rewards to some States versus
others. I would ask the same question, slightly differently.
How would you respond to any pressures from higher-ups in the
administration, regardless of party, if the agency seemed to be
pressured to not award grants that, from a technical
standpoint, seem to be justified?
Mr. Hooks. Sure. Thank you, Senator. I do not go into the
job with that being the expectation, but again----
Senator Padilla. Nobody should.
Mr. Hooks [continuing]. But I do lean toward, just as I
said before, lean toward my oath, the deep understanding of the
program and what the congressional intent on how to deliver
those programs, and also looking at whether or not those
programs are meeting the needs of the community. If there is a
gap in whether or not those programs, as authorized, are not
meeting the needs of the community I would be the first to work
with Administrator Criswell as well as with this Committee and
any other congressional body to make the appropriate
adjustments.
Pressure is natural because disasters certainly begin and
end locally. I understand the need for disaster survivors to
recover, and there is a lot of emotion attached to it. But we
have to have the appropriate authorities, both to award and to
appropriately consider those communities that have not
previously received awards.
Senator Padilla. California thanks you for that response
and I thank you for that response.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Padilla.
Senator Ossoff, you are recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR OSSOFF
Senator Ossoff. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to
our panel. Congratulations on your nominations.
My first question, please, is for you Mr. Hooks. I have
been consistently focused on necessary investments and
preparations to improve coastal resilience in coastal Georgia
to prepare, for example, communities in and around Savannah,
Georgia for the anticipated storm surge, coastal flooding, and
high wind events associated with more intense tropical storms.
Mr. Hooks, first, will you commit please, if confirmed, to
traveling to coastal Georgia, sitting down with Mayor Van
Johnson and other leaders in and around Savannah, Georgia, as
well as the rural communities, for example, across from and
around Cumberland Island, to discuss what can be done to
improve coordination between local governments and FEMA in
preparation for the next storm season?
Mr. Hooks. Thank you, Senator. Thank you for the question.
Storm surge and other issues that impact our coast are
certainly very problematic, both in Georgia as they were in
North Carolina, and I do commit to visiting wherever I can and
talking with you and community leaders as I can through this
process, to get a greater understanding of what challenges they
may have and to ensure that FEMA is meeting the needs of all
communities.
Senator Ossoff. Thank you so much. I would like also your
comments on what steps, in your view, FEMA can take to ensure
that low-income and minority communities, for example, the
Gullah-Geechee community in coastal Georgia, who typically bear
the brunt of natural disasters and severe storm events, are
better prepared and receive equal and fair treatment from
national disaster management authorities?
Mr. Hooks. Again, thank you for the question. I do believe
that mitigation is the appropriate way forward, and there has
been an increased focus on mitigation. In order for mitigation
to occur there has to be a deep understanding of not just the
topography and the weather patterns of a particular area but
the needs of that community.
I believe that all entities that are involved in disaster
response and recovery have a role to play. The community has to
come forward with what their challenges are. States have to
understand what those challenges are, and that partnership,
again, has to be relayed and executed with FEMA as a Federal
partner, to get a deep understanding.
In North Carolina, we benefited from having the FEMA
integration team, which was on the ground with our emergency
management, that could network and get a deeper understanding
of those communities and provide a great way forward to some of
those rural communities. But you have to be intentional and you
have to be willing to collaborate at all levels of government
and with local communities to positively impact those
communities.
Senator Ossoff. Thank you, Mr. Hooks. When you come down to
coastal Georgia I am looking forward to welcoming you. I hope,
as well, that you will consider meeting with community leaders,
for example, Dr. Mildred McLain of Harambee House and others
who are engaged daily in the business of helping prepare their
communities for events like major tropical storms. Are you open
to having those meetings during your visit, Mr. Hooks, with key
civil society leaders and local advocates, church leaders who
are helping communities prepare for natural disasters?
Mr. Hooks. Yes, sir. Thank you for the question. I am
certainly amenable to meet with individual leaders for
communities. That has been my history, to learn what the
challenges are and to meet folks where their need exists.
Senator Ossoff. Thank you.
Mr. Kubayanda, my final question for you, please. The level
of frustration among Georgians about the delays in postal
delivery are extremely high. The frustration is extremely high.
So what steps, if confirmed, will you take, please, sir, to
accelerate the delivery of mail and ensure the timely delivery
of mail and packages by USPS for the people of Georgia?
Mr. Kubayanda. Thank you, Senator, for the question. The
Commission has a really important role to play in the
traditional divide between the Postal Service as they handle
the direct operations and we handle oversight. That oversight
and compliance responsibility has certainly increased in
importance over the last couple of years with the increasing
delays in mail service.
As I mentioned earlier, we are implementing a number of
measures around the use of data to increase our focus on
service problems. This includes an open data effort that will
allow us to kind of harness all the information that we have on
the postal system, get it out in the hands of outside experts
and analysts in machine-readable formats which will, I think,
allow us to get better informed inputs about what is going on
in the postal system and improve our oversight. I think it will
allow us to incrementally nudge the system forward and create
some improved results.
We are also creating a small data analytics unit with
similar intent, to look at issues within the postal network,
see if we can get to drill down on the root causes of what is
causing the delays. This builds on prior work that the
Commission has done to identify pinch points in the network
that are slowing down mail. I think this is an effort that we
can scale up. There are some interesting developments in the
world of data analytics that I think we can take advantage of
to become more sophisticated in that, and as I said, get better
inputs from the public.
Another way that we are hoping to provide increased
transparency and accountability is I think simplification of
data and visualization of data. We are working on approach such
as dashboards, so your average consumer will be able to go to
our website, view what is going on in the postal network in an
easily understandable way, to improve transparency.
Senator Ossoff. With my remaining time, Mr. Kubayanda, I
have heard in particular from constituents in Columbus,
Georgia, in Macon, Georgia, and in Albany, Georgia, about mail
delays. Will you please commit to working with my office and
being available to communicate with local leaders in Columbus,
Macon, and Albany, to get to the bottom of those delays and
accelerate mail delivery, ensure timely mail delivery for folks
in Columbus, Macon, and Albany?
Mr. Kubayanda. Absolutely. I will commit to that, Senator.
Senator Ossoff. Thank you very much. I yield back, Mr.
Chairman.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Ossoff.
Senator Hawley, you are now recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HAWLEY
Senator Hawley. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and
congratulations to the nominees. Thank you for being here.
Mr. Hooks, I would like to start with you if I could, and I
want to start by raising an issue that I have been talking
about for 2 years now on this Committee as it relates to FEMA,
and that is the need for greater transparency in the FEMA
process, particularly after there has been a disaster in the
State when it comes to awarding individual assistance, when it
comes to working with local residents.
I am thinking, in particular, in my State, in the State of
Missouri, in 2019, we had historic flooding, as you probably
know about in the State--that was true of many Midwestern
States--historic flooding in my State. Unfortunately we had
many residents who were, of course, out of their homes. They
were out of their businesses, off their farms in this case--
this was in northern and central Missouri--and their experience
with FEMA was not a pleasant one. They could not figure out
what the rules were. They could not figure out who to talk to.
We had residents who were awarded assistance and then had it
retracted from them, while they are still out of their homes.
They said, ``You do qualify. Here is the assistance. Oh wait,
no, no. Give it back to us. You do not actually qualify.''
This is totally unacceptable, and at a minimum FEMA needs
to commit to being more transparent, needs to commit to doing a
better job on the ground in informing residents in disaster
areas what assistance is available, what FEMA can do to help
them, who the contacts are, and where they can get information.
Of course, to make sure that when assistance is needed it gets
to the people who need it and it has not been withdrawn. The
rug is not pulled out from under them.
So can you commit to me that you will work with me, if you
are confirmed, on these transparency issues, on these
informational issues, for my constituents in the State of
Missouri but, for that matter, for everybody who needs it,
everywhere FEMA serves?
Mr. Hooks. Yes, sir, Senator Hawley. Thank you for the
question and raising the concern. I certainly can commit, if
confirmed, to work with you and any other Senator on the
challenges that you face.
FEMA has, as a stated goal, to reduce the complexity of
FEMA, and I believe that as FEMA does that--and I look forward,
if confirmed, to get a greater understanding about what
progress they have made to do that, that we can ultimately
reduce any situation where we find ourselves having to call
back money, because after somebody has been victimized by a
storm and we have met them on their worst day, we do not want
to contribute to the angst that they already have.
Senator Hawley. Thanks for that answer. What steps do you
envision taking to make FEMA and the FEMA process, particularly
as it relates to assistance, less complex, more transparent,
more up-front for those who are desperately in need?
Mr. Hooks. Again thank you. One of the most overriding
things that comes to my mind right now is that--and I am sure
this process is ongoing already with Administrator Criswell
there in advance of me--is to review the programs. I think that
any program should not just stand in and of itself. There
should be a constant review and constant process of improvement
to both see whether or not we are meeting the congressional
intent and whether or not we are meeting the needs of those
individuals that it is designed to serve.
Then I would also, for me I would also lean in heavily to
look at what the capacity and capability FEMA has to be on the
ground, to ensure that there is a great understanding as to how
these programs are to be rolled out. That connection with the
State is extremely important. The State has an extremely
important role as far as understanding those local communities,
and FEMA has to understand the impact that storms and floods
have on those local members in that community so that we can
understand that they may not have documentation readily
available and that we can help them navigate through technical
assistance and perhaps FEMA integration teams to help them
navigate sometimes what is very complex issues.
Senator Hawley. Very good. Thank you for that. Let me ask
you this. Will you commit, if you are confirmed, to making sure
that you do everything within your power to see that FEMA's
resources and its aid is distributed strictly on the basis of
need, that it goes to those who need it, that it goes to those
who are in danger, who are out of their homes or otherwise
qualify for it, and that it is not distributed based on any
other factor? Can you commit to that?
Mr. Hooks. Sir, I certainly can commit to ensure that any
programs that I am responsible for or responsible for having
input to are addressed equitably and meet the congressional
intent. So yes, sir.
Senator Hawley. Good. I raise this issue because the Senate
has considered substantial legislation recently in which my
friends on the other side of the aisle have tried to impose
what they call equity requirements on the distribution of
government funds, sometimes on the basis of race or other
categories that, frankly, are treated, under Federal law, where
our Federal law and our Federal Constitution says you cannot
target aid on the basis of race. You cannot target aid on the
basis of gender. It is supposed to be done on the basis of
need. It is supposed to be done on the basis of race-neutral,
race gender terms.
That has been our constitutional law for many years, and I
am frankly worried about a situation in which we see FEMA
giving resources, pursuing some sort of social agenda when
people in my State, whatever their racial background, wherever
they are geographically in my State, whether they are in urban
areas or rural areas or the middle of the State or the north of
the State, I do not care where. But if they are in need, I want
to make sure FEMA is responsive to them, that FEMA is working
with them, and that FEMA is not distracted by some other agenda
that does not actually have something to do with helping people
who are in the midst of a disaster.
Can you commit to me that you will help FEMA keep focused
on its mission to help those, particularly in the midst of a
disaster, to get the aid that they need and to get the response
that they need, wherever they live, whatever their background
is, whatever their personal circumstances may be.
Mr. Hooks. Thank you, Senator. I can commit to work
tirelessly to ensure that all FEMA programs reach the intended
recipients as specified by law.
Senator Hawley. Very good. Mr. Kubayanda, let me turn to
you here, just briefly in the time that we have remaining. I
want to raise an issue that is important to me about postal
service in rural communities. My State has many, many rural
communities, the State of Missouri. I grew up in a rural
community. It is important to me that we make sure that the
Postal Service continues to fulfill its mission to deliver the
mail to those rural communities, to make sure that the lifeline
that the Postal Service represents to those rural communities--
and by the way, in my State that is north, south, east and
west. We have rural communities all over the State, in every
area of the State, and I want to make sure that the Postal
Service continues to provide the services that those
communities rely on.
Let me ask you specifically about what I think is an
important piece of legislation that I am proud to co-sponsor
with the Chairman, which is the Postal Service Reform Act. I
think it is important, and this act would help to make sure
that we secure 6-day service, protect rural delivery, and
ensure that every American, including those in rural
communities, have reliable and uninterrupted access to the
mail.
I wonder if you have had an opportunity to review this
legislation and if you support it.
Mr. Kubayanda. I am familiar with the legislation and I
think it would be a very positive step. It is long overdue,
frankly, and I think it would be a step forward.
I am a former resident of both Joplin and St. Louis, as a
child, and so I am familiar with a lot of those issues in rural
Missouri myself, and I think this legislation will help advance
the ball in terms of addressing those issues.
Senator Hawley. Good. Thank you very much for that. My time
has expired. I might have another question or two for you in
this vein, but I appreciate that. Thanks to all of you for
being here, and thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Hawley.
Senator Rosen, you are now recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ROSEN
Senator Rosen. Thank you, Chair Peters, Ranking Member
Portman, and for all the nominees here today your commitment to
serve your country. I am going to get right after it, building
upon some things that Senator Padilla and I know others have
spoken about, wildfires and FEMA assistance, because this year
we have seen over 49,000 wildfires burn over 6.5 million acres
of land, including several in Nevada like the Tamarack and
Caldor Fires.
FEMA has several programs to assist communities, both
before and after wildfires, particularly in the Fire Management
Assistance Grant (FMAG). That program has been vital for many
communities as they recovery.
However, I have been hearing from our State constituents
that the current criteria for FMAG is too restrictive for rural
communities. These areas may be smaller in population but they
rely heavily on the land for their livelihood, from mining to
ranching, outdoor recreation, and so without assistance from
FEMA it is much harder for these communities to quickly respond
and recover from a wildfire.
Mr. Hooks, if confirmed, will you work with me to re-
evaluate, possibly change the FMAG formula to make it more
accessible to rural communities like mine when we are facing,
of course, increasing threats due to wildfires and drought?
Mr. Hooks. Thank you for your question, Senator. If
confirmed, I do commit to work with you and your staff about
learning the challenges that you particularly face in Nevada
and any other State, as far as our programs and whether or not
it is a capacity or capability or whether or not there is some
additional reauthorization or some work that needs to be done.
I do commit to work with you on the concerns that you have
brought forward.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. I look forward to that, because
we need to find maybe some new ideas to assist our more remote,
frontier communities as well.
Now I would like to move on to something else that really
impacts Nevada, which is our Urban Area Security Initiative
(UASI) grants. I want to talk to you about our Urban Area
Security Initiative, which really protects the city of Las
Vegas and surrounding communities and the critical
infrastructure that supports our tourism economy.
Recently FEMA undertook what the agency, on its website,
calls the, and I am going to quote here, ``comprehensive,
coordinated, and collaborative review,'' end quote, of UASI
risk methodology including soliciting feedback from
stakeholders to develop modifications to the methodology.
I am really pleased to see this because we know the threats
continually change and we need to be adapting along with it. I
am pleased to see this, as Administrator Criswell committed to
me when we spoke earlier, that FEMA would be meaningfully
involved in examining UASI's methodology.
We have to be sure that for Nevada the purpose of UASI, to
enhance our preparedness, our capabilities in high-threat,
high-density areas like the city of Las Vegas and other cities
like that are really protected.
We were able to double the UASI grant when I was in the
House of Representatives, from $2.5 million to $5 million. The
funding has remained steady since. But it is not a lot of money
compared to what some of the larger coastal cities receive, and
Las Vegas depends on that money to keep residents safe and our
over 50 million tourists a year safe.
Mr. Hooks, if you are confirmed, will you ensure that
cities like Las Vegas can count on at least level funding for
UASI, either by using the fiscal year 2020 numbers? If we end
up using the--sorry, I got it wrong. We do not want to use the
2020 numbers. Las Vegas was shut down because of the pandemic.
We want to rely on the numbers from 2019, because the pandemic,
of course, was an anomaly, and we want to be sure that we have
level funding going forward.
Our security and safety should not suffer because of COVID-
19 closures, and so can you commit to me to work with us, all
of us who get UASI grants, on being sure that the numbers are
reflective of 2019 and not what happened in 2020, due to the
pandemic?
Mr. Hooks. Yes. Thank you, Senator. Thank you for the
question. I do have great experience working with the UASI
program as the State Administrative Agent and Homeland Security
Advisor of North Carolina. We also had a UASI in Charlotte,
North Carolina, as well. If confirmed, I look forward to seeing
how FEMA is evaluating that process, and again, I know that
Administrator Criswell is very much on top of this as she has
arrived in her position as the lead, ahead of me is coming
there as her Deputy, if confirmed, during this process.
I look very much forward to working with you on the
challenges that impact the UASI funding because they are
critical to maintaining the safety of our States and ultimately
our Nation.
Senator Rosen. I totally agree with you, and we do know, of
course, that the threats are ever-expanding, diversifying,
cyber threats and the like. How often do you think the metrics
should be reviewed and updated for the UASI grants? As we move
forward, looking at these formulas, how often should they be
reviewed, updated, and be sure that they are working for every
community that they will need to protect?
Mr. Hooks. Again, thank you for the question, Senator. As
far as formal updates, coming from external from FEMA I cannot
specifically say how often they should be updated, but I
believe that as threats emerge and different threats take place
that there should be a constant process of review, because we
have new threats that are emergent, both domestically and
internationally, and we also have additional infrastructure
being built every day. We have to constantly evaluate that, and
FEMA cannot do that alone. FEMA has to do that in conjunction
with our sister agency of CISA, has to do it with our sister
agency of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), and many other
partners, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and many
other intelligence agencies as well as the military to get a
firm grasp on what the threats are and to address, from an all-
hazards approach. So that process is always ongoing, even if
the formal evaluation does not regularly change, because you do
not want to change programs every other month or so. But it has
to be a dynamically changing review.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. I see my time has just about
expired so I am going to submit a question for the record about
extreme heat. Las Vegas is the fastest-warming city in the
country. That creates a lot of disaster issues, particularly
for our rural, low-income, underserved communities, and I would
like to have a conversation with you about the impacts of
extreme heat and how FEMA can help us there.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Rosen.
We had a question for Judge Scott and Mr. Tunnage. The D.C.
Superior Court handles, as you know, a very high volume of
cases, and vacancies on the bench have created a considerable
backlog of cases. I think Members of the Committee would like
to hear from each of you that if confirmed, how will you manage
your caseload efficiently while also ensuring that each person
that comes before you has a meaningful opportunity to be heard?
We can start with Judge Scott, if you could answer that
question first, and then Mr. Tunnage answer it, I would
appreciate it.
Judge Scott. Thank you, Chairman, for the question. As you
mentioned and as others have mentioned, the D.C. Superior Court
has quite a few vacancies. Currently there are approximately 15
vacancies on our court, and I suspect that more will come
because of the retirements of my colleagues.
Certainly, Chairman, the Committee scheduling these
hearings and the nominees being confirmed will certainly assist
with the backlog as the court will have more able bodies to
deal with the pending cases. Also, although the court has
continued to operate during the pandemic, hearings in our
division of the court were handled virtually and jury trials
were suspended. I am happy to report, Senator, that jury trials
in both our Civil and Criminal Divisions are being scheduled,
and in my perspective this will certainly address the current
backlog.
In terms of what I can do, it begins, quite frankly, in the
courtroom. What I can do, and should I have the honor of being
confirmed, is to hold attorneys and even those pro se litigants
who come before me accountable. That means setting deadlines
very early in my cases and holding the parties accountable to
those deadlines. I know that there is concern about requests
for continuances, and I can assure the Committee and my
colleagues on the court that I would set early deadlines. I
would require parties to request continuances well before the
hearing or the trial at issue, and be prepared to respond to
any questions that I may have regarding the continuances.
Last, Chairman, it is very important that I myself am
prepared. I can commit to do what I have been doing as a
magistrate judge, and that is to take the bench having read the
case, having read the procedural posture, and being very
familiar with the issues before me so that I am not the reason
for delaying.
Senator, I am confident that with these items that I
mentioned the court can address the backlog and I can assist
with decreasing the backlog. Thank you.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Judge Scott. Mr. Tunnage, your
answer please.
Mr. Tunnage. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to start
by saying I agree with Judge Scott. First, I think the primary
obligation--well, the first obligations is for me to be
prepared, and I think that also ties into the second part of
your question regarding litigants being fully heard.
Part of my preparation, if I am fortunate and granted
confirmation as an Associate Judge, would be to actually fully
hear all litigants, and part of fully hearing all litigants is
reviewing and reading and analyzing submission of all parties
without favor or bias.
I think the one thing that I could do to help any backlog
would be to hit the ground running. I think that my training
and my experience as a career attorney in the Justice
Department has brought exposure in Federal district courts
throughout the country where I have seen trial judges in quite
a few jurisdictions, and I have seen what works and what does
not. I have seen what works really well. I think I could bring
those experiences and those practice experiences to bear if I
were fortunate to be confirmed.
Finally, I do think that because of the national emergency
brought on by the COVID virus the Justice Department, and the
criminal justice system in general, had to adapt and actually
continue its services. I think there were procedures that were
implemented during that emergency that actually have increased
efficiency in the courts, and I would like to continue those if
I am confirmed as a judge, to help ease the backlog by moving
cases more quickly and some hearings more expeditiously.
Chairman Peters. Thank you. I would like to take an
opportunity to thank each of our nominees once again for being
here before the Committee, congratulate each of you on your
nominations and your willingness to take on these very tough
jobs. I also want to thank you for your thoughtful answers to
questions from Members of this Committee.
All five nominees have made financial disclosures\1\ and
provided the required responses to biographical\2\ and pre-
hearing questions\3\ submitted by this Committee. Without
objection, this information will be made part of the hearing
record,\4\ with the exception of the financial data,\5\ which
is on file and available for public inspection in the Committee
offices.
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\1\ The information for Mr. Hooks appear in the Appendix on page
43.
\2\ The information for Mr. Kubayanda appear in the Appendix on
page 106.
\3\ The information for Ms. Blatchford appear in the Appendix on
page 177.
\4\ The information for Judge Scott appear in the Appendix on page
225.
\5\ The information for Mr. Tunnage appear in the Appendix on page
249.
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The hearing record will remain open until 12 p.m. tomorrow,
November 19th, for the submission of Statements and questions
for the record.
This hearing is now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 12:11 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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