[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 116 (Thursday, September 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTING A BILL TO MAKE FEMA AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY HEADED BY A 
                           QUALIFIED DIRECTOR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 15, 2005

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I am today introducing a bill to 
reestablish the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an 
independent agency, and to require that its Director be someone with 
appropriate training and experience.
  The undeniable shortcomings of the federal response to the tragic 
effects of Hurricane Katrina have shown that FEMA' s most recent 
director, Michael Brown, was not qualified for the Job--in fact, he 
really was in over his head. Now that he has resigned, Congress should 
begin the process of strengthening FEMA and assuring Americans that 
Federal emergency management efforts will be handled by a capable and 
effective leader.
  As a first step, I think we should revisit and reverse our decision 
to fold FEMA--formerly an independent agency--into the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS).
  I was never completely comfortable with that decision. When the House 
considered the legislation to establish the new Department, I voted for 
an amendment (offered by the gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Oberstar) to 
keep FEMA independent. I did so because, as I said at the time, I 
feared FEMA's core mission and focus would be lost in the new 
bureaucracy.
  It was argued that FEMA--as the central agency in charge of disaster 
response and emergency management--should constitute the heart of the 
new DHS. But FEMA had been primarily engaged in and especially 
effective at responding to natural hazards, not terrorism. We should 
have left FEMA outside the new department, or at a minimum transferred 
its Office of National Preparedness to the new department, while 
leaving FEMA's Disaster Response and Recovery and Mitigation 
Directorates intact
  Although the independent-FEMA amendment failed, I voted for the 
overall bill while expressing the hope that ``the President will 
continue to work with the Congress to make sure the agencies moved to 
the new Department will be supported in their many other important 
duties even as they focus anew on their security roles.''
  Unfortunately, recent events have given horrific proof that I hoped 
in vain and that my fears were well-founded.
  Therefore, the bill I am introducing today will reestablish FEMA as a 
separate agency. It also will require that its Director be a person 
with appropriate formal training and at least two years of experience 
as the head of a disaster-management agency of either a State or a 
political entity--a city, county, or other area--smaller than a state 
but with a population of at least one million people.
  To provide continuity and insulation against politics, a director, 
once nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, would 
serve a 6-year term--although of course, as an Executive Branch 
official he or she would be subject to the direction and control of the 
President and thus could be removed by the President.
  Reorganizing FEMA is only part of the necessary actions to respond to 
the tragedy and devastation on the Gulf Coast. But I think it is a 
necessary part, and I think this bill would help us be better prepared 
for the next emergency.

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