United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2008-06-11 monographic deposited born digital 21 p. GA 1.13:GAO-08-868T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-868T P0b002ee18039c42c f:d08868t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-868T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-868T GAO-08-868T Disaster planning Emergency management Emergency preparedness Emergency preparedness programs Emergency response plans Federal/state relations Homeland security Hurricane Katrina National policies Natural disasters Performance measures Policy evaluation Presidential transition Program evaluation Program management Risk assessment Risk management Standards Strategic planning Terrorism program goals or objectives National Response Framework National Response Plan Testimony A82324

The Homeland Security Act was enacted in November 2002, creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to improve homeland security following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. The act centralized the leadership of many homeland security activities under a single federal department and, accordingly, DHS has the dominant role in implementing this national strategy. This testimony discusses the status of DHS's actions in fulfilling its responsibilities to (1) establish policies to define roles and responsibilities for national emergency preparedness efforts and prepare for the transition between presidential administrations, and (2) develop operational plans and performance metrics to implement these roles and responsibilities and coordinate federal resources for disaster planning and response. This testimony is based on prior GAO work performed from September 2006 to June 2008 focusing on DHS's efforts to address problems identified in the many post-Katrina reviews. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-868T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-868T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-868T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-868T.pdf GAO-08-868T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-868T Testimony GAO-08-868T; Emergency Management: Observations on DHS's Preparedness for Catastrophic Disasters; Disaster planning Emergency management Emergency preparedness Emergency preparedness programs Emergency response plans Federal/state relations Homeland security Hurricane Katrina National policies Natural disasters Performance measures Policy evaluation Presidential transition Program evaluation Program management Risk assessment Risk management Standards Strategic planning Terrorism program goals or objectives National Response Framework National Response Plan Title 6 Section 313(b)(1) 6 U.S.C. 313(b)(1) Volume 118 Page 3638 118 Stat. 3638 Volume 120 Page 1355 120 Stat. 1355 Public Law 108-458 Public Law 109-295