FederalDaily - September 20, 2006

House, Senate Agree on FEMA Compromise

House and Senate negotiators agreed on a compromise over the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), restoring some of its independence while keeping it within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The FEMA director, currently David Paulison, would have direct access to the president in a crisis, but the agency would remain under the DHS umbrella. The compromise, announced Sept. 18 by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Ranking Member Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., will be included in a budget bill Congress is scheduled to vote on later this month. The plan includes stricter requirements for who could serve as FEMA director—who also would double as the president's chief adviser for emergency management. FEMA would become a “distinct entity” at DHS, protecting it from future reorganizations. FEMA would operate out of a national operations center with expanded regional offices to deal with some of the shortcomings exposed by the agency’s failings in response to Hurricane Katrina. To see a summary of the compromise, go to: http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail
&Affiliation=R&PressRelease_id=1328&Month=9&Year=2006

:: Back to Top ::

National Guard U.S. Equipment Levels Low, Chief Says

The chief of the National Guard Bureau said that although the guard is enjoying its best year of recruiting in more than three decades, more must be done to improve its domestic equipment levels for it to remain effective. Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, speaking over the weekend at the National Guard Association of the U.S. (NGAUS) General Conference in Albuquerque, N.M., said recruiters had defied expectations and the guard was having its best year of recruiting in 35 years. While recruiting and retention must remain an absolute priority, Blum said, equipment for those stationed within the United States is not as available as it should be. “We are superbly equipped overseas,” Blum said. “We are now in a dangerously low resource level for missions back here at home, and that must be seriously addressed.” The Nation Guard Bureau oversees the actions of all state and territorial National Guard units. NGAUS includes about 45,000 current and former officers and was created in 1878 to provide representation in Washington with the goal of obtaining better equipment and training.
To see more, go to: www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=9589

:: Back to Top ::

GAO Grades Coast Guard Performance Reporting

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) gave a passing grade to the Coast Guard for the performance measures and data the service uses to explain how well its programs are performing. While some opportunities for improvement exist, the GAO report said, the primary measures for the Coast Guard's six non-homeland security programs are generally sound, and the data used to calculate those measures are generally reliable. The GAO suggested the Coast Guard make some minor tweaks in the way the data are collected and reported, and should implement a policy to review external data provided by third parties that is used in calculating performance. The Coast Guard has more than 46,000 full-time positions—about 39,000 military and 7,000 civilians. In addition, the agency had about 8,100 reservists supporting national military strategy. To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-06-816.

:: Back to Top ::