[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 92 (Friday, July 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S7551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  FEMA

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, earlier this week, I voted with a 
bipartisan majority of Senators to strengthen FEMA while leaving it in 
the Department of Homeland Security. In the aftermath of Hurricane 
Katrina and the woeful response of the Federal Emergency Management 
Administration, I was prepared to remove FEMA from the Department of 
Homeland Security. At the time, it was clear that FEMA had been 
stripped of necessary resources and leadership, and that, as a result 
of these choices, it had failed the citizens of the gulf coast.
  I changed my mind and voted to strengthen FEMA for three important 
reasons. First, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
Committee conducted extensive hearings and oversight into the problems 
that led to the catastrophe of Katrina and how to fix this systemic 
failure. They conducted a 7-month investigation, including 23 hearings, 
heard testimony from 85 witnesses, interviewed 325 individuals, and 
reviewed 838,000 documents. They obviously did their homework.
  Second, as a result of this exhaustive research, they made 
substantive proposals to strengthen the role of FEMA within the 
Department of Homeland Security. These changes will provide new 
statutory protections to ensure that the Administrator had direct 
access to the President, that it restores authorities to work directly 
with State and local agencies, and that it strengthens regional 
authorities by creating teams to foster cooperation and joint training 
for local emergency managers and first responders.
  The final, and most important, reason that I decided to vote to 
strengthen FEMA as a component of the Department of Homeland Security 
is because of the position of local law enforcement and first 
responders. The bottom line is that I have spent my career working with 
the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, the 
National Association of Police Organizations, the National Troopers 
Coalition, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the 
International Association of Fire Fighters, the Major Cities Chief, and 
local first responders. I strongly value the opinions of these 
individuals, and if they believe that this is the right approach to 
help them in their efforts to save lives, I am willing to give it a 
shot.
  I hope that the changes voted for by the vast majority of Senators 
earlier this week will return FEMA to its vaunted status of the 1990s. 
The American people deserve no less.

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