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WASHINGTON, DC – In the wake of the federal government’s inadequate emergency response to Hurricane Katrina, U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO) and John Dingell (D-MI) today introduced legislation to restore the independence of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by removing it from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“FEMA is our nation’s primary emergency response agency. How quickly and well it responds to a disaster can mean the difference between life and death for Americans. As an independent agency in the 1990s, FEMA was a model for disaster relief and assistance,” said Rep. DeGette. “Now, as part of DHS, it is mired in bureaucracy and a backwater for political appointees. We can start addressing the failures of our government’s response to Hurricane Katrina by restoring FEMA’s independence.”
The proposal would follow the plan that made FEMA a successful agency under the leadership of Director James Lee Witt by establishing FEMA as an independent agency, whose director reports directly to the President, allowing the director to better coordinate emergency response with other agencies and departments and to establish clear lines of accountability. In addition, it would require the director of the agency to be an emergency management professional.
“While we cannot prevent natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, we can avoid man-made disasters like the slow and inept response by the federal government,” said Rep. DeGette. “Restoring the independence of our emergency response agency is a critical step in this direction.”
Rep. DeGette’s committee will also hold hearings tomorrow, September 7, at 11AM in Washington, DC to investigate the impact of Hurricane Katrina on gas prices.
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