Congress moves to raise FEMA’s profile
Agency chief would assume an advisory role with the White House under language in an appropriations bill passed late Friday.
Spending legislation approved late last week would elevate the Federal Emergency Management Agency's status within the Homeland Security Department and give it a stronger connection to the White House, but would decrease the agency's funding slightly.
The conference version of the fiscal 2007 Homeland Security Department appropriations bill (H.R. 5441), which the House and Senate passed late Friday, would direct nearly $35 billion to the department, of which $2.5 billion would go to FEMA. The FEMA funding would mark a small decrease -- $120 million -- from the actual amount granted for fiscal 2006.
But over the next three years, FEMA's funding is authorized to increase by 10 percent, said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, in a statement. Actual funding levels still will be subject to the appropriations process, however.
The spending bill, which now awaits President Bush's signature, would leave FEMA within DHS but strengthen it. FEMA would take over some of the Emergency Preparedness directorate's work. That directorate's offices of the Chief Medical Officer and Infrastructure Protection, as well as the National Communications System and Cybersecurity Division, would remain outside of FEMA.
The measure would make the FEMA "administrator" the chief presidential adviser for emergency management. One source with FEMA pointed out that this would be a title change for the head of the agency, meaning the current director, R. David Paulison, could face a second confirmation process if he is selected to remain in the top position.
The DHS spending bill also includes language that would create an Office of Emergency Communications to help FEMA officials coordinate with emergency responders during a disaster. In addition, the measure would allow more flexibility for what housing the agency can provide disaster evacuees on short notice and would provide additional funding and resources for FEMA's regional field offices.
Leo Bosner, president of the American Federation of Government Employees' Local 4060, which represents FEMA employees in Washington, said that the three-year authorized funding increase "should help" the agency, but "we have so many quality control problems at FEMA" that still need to be addressed.