FederalDaily - February 2, 2006
Senators Criticize Federal Hurricane Evacuation Efforts
“The initial evacuation from New Orleans in advance of the storm went
relatively well,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, at a hearing this
week. “Then, so to speak, the wheels came off.” Collins and Sen.
Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, respectively, held a hearing
on New Orleans evacuations. Lieberman said that “many of the city’s
most vulnerable populations—the poor, the sick and the aged—were
left behind.” He added that the federal government had the authority
to assist in the event of a catastrophic event, but instead “stood on
the sidelines” as the hurricane approached. “No meaningful actions
to facilitate evacuation were taken by [the Federal Emergency Management Agency]
FEMA before the storm,” Lieberman stated. FEMA officials have denied
the agency has any responsibility for pre-storm evacuation. But Lieberman said
the Stafford Act, the Department of Homeland Security’s National Response
Plan, and the Homeland Security Act all assign FEMA a broad support and coordinating
role in catastrophic events.
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Military Health System Successful
Improvements to battlefield medical care have reduced fatalities and improved
quality of care for wounded soldiers, Department of Defense officials said
Monday. Wounded soldiers are transported to medical facilities at much faster
rates, reducing the fatality rate. David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense
for personnel and readiness addressed the Military Health System 2006 Annual
Conference, saying, “You have produced the lowest loss among wounded
that this country has ever seen.” Improved care has not only decreased
the number of deaths, but also helped more servicemembers return to combat.
Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs,
added that improvements are the result of improved resources and medical unit
equipment on the front lines, and high quality care provided to military personnel
en route to medical facilities.
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OPM Seeks Hispanic Interns
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Linda Springer has signed a
new contract with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
to help recruit interns for OPM’s Center for Human Capital Management
Services. The contract calls for HACU to provide recruitment and screening
services for referrals of interns for assignments under the National Internship
Program. Specifically, OPM said the program is designed to give educational
and training opportunities for interns in the fields of accounting, management,
statistics, actuarial sciences, information systems, human capital and policy.
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AF Looks to Transform Itself
The Air Force (AF) lacks the necessary management and progress evaluation
for implementing force transformation initiatives, the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) said in a report to Congress on Monday. The AF developed a process
to gather input for its future structuring plan, incorporating representatives
from active duty, reserve and National Guard components. While AF Air Staff
officials felt the process was fair and open, National Guard representatives
were concerned with their ability to influence decisions, GAO found. Also,
seven out of the 10 adjutants general GAO surveyed did not believe they had
significant influence. The Department of Defense concurred with the report
and began implementing changes, according to GAO. The full report can be found
at www.gao.gov/new.items/d06232.pdf.
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