[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2148-S2149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INHOFE:
  S. 412. A bill to establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
as an independent agency, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, today I am reintroducing a bill I had 
introduced with then-Senator Hillary Clinton on two previous occasions. 
It is interesting, because this bill didn't have a lot of opposition in 
the Senate. It did, however, have some opposition from the Bush 
administration. What we were attempting to do was to take the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency out from under where it was put, in the 
Department of Homeland Security, by the previous administration and 
give it independent status. This is something that has been talked 
about for a long period of time.
  We can draw from our experience in Oklahoma and the fact that we had 
a devastating tornado go through--as we did last night, although it was 
even worse--which killed many people. At that time, James Lee Witt was 
the FEMA Director. He was President Clinton's appointee. I will always 
remember when that happened. A matter of a

[[Page S2149]]

few short hours after it happened, I called Mr. Witt and he met me in 
Oklahoma, and we got it done. At that time, FEMA was under the 
Environment and Public Works Committee. It was under the Stafford Act 
and virtually had independent status at that time.
  Contrast that with only a few months ago when GEN Russel Honore, the 
general placed in charge of the military's relief efforts following 
Hurricane Katrina, said that FEMA and the Department of Homeland 
Security should be separate agencies. In an interview reported in 
Politico, General Honore said of FEMA:

       I just think we've had some experience that demonstrates 
     that the best thing to do is separate it and make it a 
     separate agency.

  Most importantly, President Obama said in remarks he delivered in New 
Orleans in February of last year:

       If catastrophe comes, the American people must be able to 
     call on a competent government . . . the Director of FEMA 
     will report to me . . . and as soon as we take office, my 
     FEMA director will work with emergency management officials 
     in all 50 States to create a National Response Plan. Because 
     we need to know--before disaster comes--who will be in 
     charge; and how the Federal, State and local governments will 
     work together to respond.

  I talked to the President a few minutes ago. He still has these same 
feelings. I think it is very appropriate now to bring up something we 
had talked about before. I know the Democratic platform, for example, 
has a provision which states that the FEMA Director will report 
directly to the President, and I couldn't agree more. I don't agree 
with a lot of things from the Democratic platform, but I do agree with 
that.
  Oklahoma has had more than its share of natural disasters. Only last 
night, three confirmed tornadoes touched down throughout Oklahoma, 
impacting the communities of Oklahoma City, Edmond, Pawnee, and a small 
community called Lone Grove. In Lone Grove, this very tiny community, 
eight people were killed. There are 35 still missing, so I think the 
death toll, unfortunately, could rise above that. I had occasion to 
talk to civic leaders there--Gary Hicks and city manager Marianne 
Elfert--this morning, and the number of Lone Grove residents who are 
missing right now is still not determined. So I think it is a real 
disaster.
  It wasn't that long ago that we had the Eagle Picher area of Oklahoma 
hit by a tornado, and that was a very similar thing there, with seven 
deaths in that case. On May 1 of last year, I surveyed other tornado 
damage up there with Secretary Chertoff and FEMA Director Paulison, 
Governor Henry, and Congressman Boren. As I said, seven people were 
killed, but that didn't go quite as smoothly as we would have hoped.
  FEMA's integration into the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 
added an extra layer of bureaucracy and removed much of the autonomy 
that once kept the agency operating efficiently. We learned in the 
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that the extra coordination required 
between the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency was at least partly responsible for the shortcomings 
of the Federal response. I visited the area right after Katrina, and I 
think they did a much better job than the press portrayed, but I still 
think that extra level of bureaucracy created a problem in getting 
things done immediately.
  My legislation takes the necessary steps in giving the Director of 
FEMA Cabinet level status in the event of a natural disaster and acts 
of terrorism and makes that person the principal adviser to the 
President, Homeland Security Council, and the Secretary of Homeland 
Security. So we are kind of reversing it, and he is going to be in a 
Cabinet-level position. Obviously, things can then be done a lot faster 
and a lot better. Perhaps most importantly, the legislation defines the 
primary mission and specific activities of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency and its Director, and places directly upon them the 
obligation to ensure FEMA's mission is carried out.
  Now, that is exactly what President Obama said while he was 
campaigning for President and what he reaffirmed to me today on the 
telephone.
  Let me explain some other events that originally led me to introduce 
this legislation. Oklahoma first encountered significant problems with 
FEMA when wildfires ravaged the State in 2005 and 2006. These 
devastating wildfires swept through the entire State, leading to 
declarations for public assistance, individual assistance, and hazard 
mitigation funding. In January of 2007, Oklahoma encountered severe 
winter storms with devastating results. These storms led to prolonged 
loss of power and extensive building damage for many of my 
constituents. One of my constituents happened to be my wife--we have 
been married 49 years--and she was without electricity for 9 days, so 
that does get your attention.
  Later this year, Oklahoma was hit by heavy rain, tornadoes, and 
flooding from May through September. The State made a number of 
disaster declarations during each of these periods, but each and every 
time, the process it took to obtain aid from FEMA became increasingly 
difficult, wrought with indecisiveness and an inability of Homeland 
Security to communicate with each other. Prior to the placement of FEMA 
under DHS, my State had not encountered nearly the same level of 
bureaucratic delays or communications as it has since that time.
  Oklahoma has also struggled with FEMA regarding the determination of 
dates of incident periods, which is why I put language in my bill to 
give deference to the State's documentation regarding the dates of such 
incidents. Now, some of you guys are not from States where you have the 
number of disasters we have had, so it is something you are not as 
familiar with. But we certainly are. I see the junior Senator from 
Oklahoma on the floor here, and he knows too that we live through these 
things on a regular basis. We have had tornadoes, ice storms, 
windstorms, and other things people haven't had.
  I think Senator Clinton and I were right when we introduced this the 
first time, and I believe it is consistent with what President Obama 
has reaffirmed to me as recently as today. It will be a better 
arrangement and I will be looking for supporters.
  We have introduced the bill. It is S. 412. Again, this bill takes 
FEMA out from under DHS and gives it more of an independent status so 
it can respond in a more rapid way as it did prior to 2003.
                                 ______