[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 111 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9741-S9743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRADITIONAL ROLE OF FEMA

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, my thoughts are with all of those from the 
Gulf Coast States affected by Hurricane Katrina as they mourn the loss 
of family and friends and neighbors. We wish them well.
  I know there are no words that can provide the needed comfort. I 
believe there must be an extensive examination of what went wrong with 
the Government's response to this natural disaster.
  As hundreds of thousands of Americans look toward rebuilding their 
lives, our first priority must be to ensure that all possible Federal 
resources are at their disposal. However, it is Congress's job to get 
to the bottom of what went wrong and to do whatever is necessary to 
ensure that it never happens again. I join those who say we must not 
engage in a blame game but, rather, we must come together to undertake 
responsible oversight.
  I say this from an interesting vantage point because throughout the 
debate over the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 
2002, I repeatedly expressed my strong concern that nonhomeland 
security functions of the Federal Government would be diminished if 
included in the new Department. I said that eliminating the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency's status as an independent agency to join 
this proposed Department could seriously affect FEMA's traditional role 
of responding to natural disasters.
  At Under Secretary Michael Brown's confirmation hearing to be Deputy 
Director of FEMA in June 2002, 5 months before the Homeland Security 
Act passed, I spoke about the perils of converting FEMA into a homeland 
security centric agency. At the time, I said:

       The President's proposal for a new Department of Homeland 
     Security will include the Federal Emergency Management 
     Agency. A key question is how will this new role for FEMA in 
     homeland security affect its traditional mission?
        . . . Many of the agencies impacted by this proposal, 
     including FEMA, have a number of core responsibilities 
     unrelated to their homeland security missions. Most of what 
     FEMA does every day, and what Americans

[[Page S9742]]

     expect from FEMA, does not fall under the category of 
     homeland security.

  Because of my strong belief that the nonhomeland security functions 
of FEMA, the Coast Guard, and other agencies that are now part of DHS 
would be diminished when merged into this massive agency, I 
successfully offered an amendment to the Governmental Affairs 
Committee's version of the Homeland Security Act, cosponsored by 
Senator Carper, that required all nonhomeland security functions of 
each of the 22 legacy agencies to be identified, along with the 
resources needed to preserve these functions.
  Unfortunately, the version of the bill passed by Congress failed to 
include my amendment, which is one of the reasons that I was one of 
eight Senators who voted against the creation of DHS.
  In a further effort to ensure constancy of the nonhomeland security 
functions of DHS, I introduced in April 2003 legislation that would 
have required the Department to identify annually the resources, 
personnel, and capabilities devoted to nonhomeland security functions. 
My measure would have required DHS to include this information in its 
annual performance report, as well as required the Government 
Accountability Office to evaluate the Department's performance of 
essential nonhomeland security missions.
  When introducing my bill, S. 910, the Nonhomeland Security Mission 
Performance Act of 2003, I said:

       The cost of creating a Department of Homeland Security 
     should not come at the expense of these essential missions. 
     Agencies should strike the proper balance between new 
     homeland security responsibilities and their critical 
     nonhomeland security missions. Enhancing traditional missions 
     also enhances domestic security which depends on sound 
     management strategies that ensure adequate resources and 
     personnel.

  S. 910 was reported favorably by the Governmental Affairs Committee 
but was, unfortunately, never considered by the full Senate.
  I stand before my colleagues today to ask that we look at the 
disaster that has befallen the people of the gulf coast as a reminder 
that preventing terrorism is not the only business of the Department of 
Homeland Security. My colleagues and I must carefully reexamine whether 
critical nonhomeland security missions have been compromised by their 
decisions in DHS.
  I ask unanimous consent that my statement from the Governmental 
Affairs Committee hearing for Michael Brown's confirmation to be Deputy 
Director of FEMA on June 19, 2002, and my statement on the introduction 
of S. 910, the Nonhomeland Security Mission Performance Act, on April 
11, 2003, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs


  Nomination hearing for Michael Brown to be Deputy Director of FEMA, 
                             June 19, 2002

       I wish to welcome our nominee to the Committee. Since you 
     and I met a month ago, it seems that the nature of the 
     position to which you have been nominated has changed 
     dramatically.
       The President's proposal for a new Department of Homeland 
     Security will include Federal Emergency Management Agency 
     (FEMA). A key question is how will this new role for FEMA in 
     Homeland Security affect its traditional mission?
       There is already a Federal Response Plan that does what the 
     President says the new Department will do, that is, ``the 
     Homeland Security Department will integrate the Federal 
     interagency emergency response plans into a single 
     comprehensive, government-wide plan.'' Since 1992, a Federal 
     Response Plan has managed the activities of 26 Federal 
     agencies and the Red Cross during all phases of a disaster, 
     including readiness, response, recovery, and mitigation. In 
     1999, FEMA published the second edition of the Federal 
     Response Plan Terrorism Incident Annex.
       When necessary, FEMA has made agreements with specific 
     government agencies to address terrorism. In January 2001, 
     FEMA and the Department of Justice released an Interagency 
     Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan (CONPLAN). FEMA 
     is currently working with the Catastrophic Disaster Response 
     Group (CDRG), made up of representatives of all federal 
     agencies, to update the Federal Response Plan in light of the 
     lessons learned from September 11th. These changes are to be 
     integrated with the national strategy for homeland security, 
     on which Governor Ridge has spent the past eight months 
     working.
       I hope the proposed department will build on all the 
     different plans and agreements already in place. We do not 
     need a brand new coordination plan. What we need is better 
     communication and implementation of the plans we have.
       The President and his staff compare this reorganization to 
     the creation of the Department of Defense after World War II. 
     However, there are many differences. The Departments of the 
     Navy and the Army shared the primary mission of defending the 
     United States. They were both military departments with 
     similar cultures and management priorities.
       In contrast, many of the agencies impacted by this 
     proposal, including FEMA, have a number of core 
     responsibilities unrelated to their homeland security 
     missions. Most of what FEMA does every day, and what 
     Americans expect from FEMA, does not fall under the 
     description of homeland security.
       Homeland security is strengthened through developing assets 
     that are built day-by-day and community-by-community. These 
     assets include well-trained firefighters and law-enforcement 
     officers, well-equipped medical personnel, and well-exercised 
     emergency response drills.
       An example is when FEMA partnered with local and state 
     agencies to help residents on the Island of Hawaii in the 
     wake of tropical storms and flooding last year. It is the 
     dedicated men and women who form the FEMA family who continue 
     to build on these relationships and provide federal 
     assistance to those most in need. Just this year, FEMA 
     assisted flood victims in West Virginia, Kentucky, and 
     Illinois and is working with communities devastated by 
     wildfires in Colorado and New Mexico.
       Every state in the Union, including Hawaii, works with FEMA 
     to include disaster mitigation when rebuilding after an 
     event. Cities and counties across the country are working 
     with FEMA to lessen the impact of future natural disasters 
     through mitigation programs.
       These efforts are all-hazard and will help communities 
     respond to floods and terrorist attacks. However, there are 
     those in the Administration who have criticized mitigation 
     efforts and have questioned their cost and benefit.
       FEMA's pre-disaster mitigation program was eliminated in 
     the President's 2002 budget because it was deemed ineffective 
     by the Office of Management and Budget. Congress disagreed 
     and saved the $25 million program only to see the 
     Administration's FY03 budget proposal seek to eliminate 
     FEMA's post-disaster mitigation program, which was also 
     judged ineffective by OMB.
       I believe that Mr. Brown and Director Allbaugh appreciate 
     the importance of disaster mitigation. Unfortunately, 
     traditional cost-benefit analysis is not appropriate for 
     mitigation and prevention programs, and OMB has not given 
     FEMA guidelines on what factors will be used in the future.
       I am concerned that these same problems will haunt the new 
     Homeland Security Department. What factors will OMB use to 
     determine the effectiveness of different homeland security 
     programs? I hope Governor Ridge will shed some light on this 
     when he appears before us tomorrow.
       The Deputy Director will be responsible to make sure that 
     core functions are not neglected. Over the past decade, FEMA 
     has regained the confidence of local and state emergency 
     managers. Individuals and families rely on FEMA when their 
     lives are torn apart by natural disasters. I believe 
     confidence and trust are among America's most important 
     assets in our struggle to make our communities safer and more 
     secure.
       FEMA has these assets because of it employees. The Deputy 
     Director also will be responsible for ensuring that these 
     dedicated federal workers have the resources, training, and 
     support necessary to do their jobs. Likewise, FEMA's core 
     missions are too important to take the best and most 
     experienced staff away from traditional disaster response and 
     mitigation to fill new homeland security activities.
       Mr. Brown, thank you again for your dedication and 
     willingness to serve your Nation. You have a tough road 
     ahead. If we are to use the parallel between this 
     reorganization and the creation of the Department of Defense 
     in 1947, we must remember that it took years, even decades, 
     to shape a truly integrated armed forces. Unfortunately, we 
     do not have years to reshape how our country prepares for 
     terrorism.
       We can, and should, pass legislation to create a homeland 
     security department. However, we must remember that the issue 
     is not a new federal department, but what is most effective 
     in protecting Americans.
                                  ____


 Non-Homeland Security Mission Performance Act of 2003, April 11, 2003

       Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
     preserve important non-homeland security missions in the 
     Department of Homeland Security. I am pleased to be joined by 
     the Senator from Delaware, Mr. Carper, and the Senator from 
     New Jersey, Mr. Lautenberg, in this effort to guarantee the 
     fulfillment of non-homeland security functions Americans rely 
     on daily.
       Many of these non-homeland security functions are 
     especially important to the state of Hawaii. The Coast Guard 
     provides essential search and rescue, fisheries enforcement, 
     and protection of our coastline. The Animal and Plant Health 
     Inspection Service protects the state's fragile ecosystem 
     from invasive species. The Federal Emergency Management 
     Agency assists municipalities in reducing the destructive 
     effects of natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, and 
     tidal waves.
       To preserve these vital functions, the ``Non-Homeland 
     Security Mission Performance Act of 2003'' would require the 
     Department of Homeland Security to identify and

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     report to Congress on the resources, personnel, and 
     capabilities used to perform non-homeland security functions, 
     as well as the management strategy needed to carry out these 
     missions.
       The measure would require the Department to include 
     information on the performance of these functions in its 
     annual performance report. Our legislation also calls for a 
     General Accounting Office (GAO) evaluation of the performance 
     of essential non-homeland security missions.
       The establishment of the Department of Homeland Security 
     created additional management challenges and has fueled 
     growing concerns that the performance of core, non-homeland 
     security functions will slip through the cracks. Just last 
     week, the GAO testified before the House Committee on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure that the Coast Guard has 
     experienced a substantial decline in the amount of time spent 
     on core missions. Moreover, GAO found that the Coast Guard 
     lacks the resources to reverse this trend. Coast Guard 
     Commandant Thomas H. Collins is quoted as saying that his 
     agency has more business than it has resources and is 
     challenged like never before to do all that America wants it 
     to do.
       These same concerns extend to the entire Department of 
     Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security's 
     Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration services provides 
     asylum for refugees and helps immigrants become American 
     citizens. The Customs Service protects and monitors foreign 
     trade so essential for a healthy American economy. And the 
     Secret Service protects and monitors against identity theft, 
     counterfeiting, and other financial crimes. In fact, the 
     General Accounting Office has added the transformation of and 
     implementation of the Department to the GAO High Risk list, 
     partially as the result of existing management challenges to 
     fulfill non-homeland security missions.
       The cost of creating a Department of Homeland Security 
     should not come at the expense of these essential missions. 
     Agencies should strike the proper balance between new 
     homeland security responsibilities and their critical non-
     homeland security missions. Enhancing traditional missions 
     also enhances domestic security which depends on sound 
     management strategies that ensure adequate resources and 
     personnel.
       I urge my colleagues to support the ``Non-Homeland Security 
     Mission Performance Act of 2003.'' Our bill takes important 
     steps to ensure that Americans will not see a decline in non-
     homeland security services as a result of the creation of the 
     Department of Homeland Security.
       Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the 
     bill be printed in the Record following this statement.

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I yield back my time.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Democratic leader.

                          ____________________