EMPOWERING STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS

THROUGH ENHANCED FEMA REGIONAL OFFICES

JOINT HEARING
BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON MANAGEMENT,
INVESTIGATIONS, AND OVERSIGHT,
WITH THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY
COMMUNICATIONS, PREPAREDNESS,
AND RESPONSE
OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
JUNE 4, 2007

Serial No. 11043

Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON

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Congress.#13

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi, Chairman
LORETTA SANCHEZ, California,
PETER T. KING, New York
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
LAMAR SMITH, Texas
NORMAN D. DICKS, Washington
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut
JANE HARMAN, California
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana
PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon
TOM DAVIS, Virginia
NITA M. LOWEY, New York
DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of
MIKE ROGERS, Alabama
Columbia
BOBBY JINDAL, Louisiana
ZOE LOFGREN, California
DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas
MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas
CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania
DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN, U.S. Virgin
GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida
Islands
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
BOB ETHERIDGE, North Carolina
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island
DAVID DAVIS, Tennessee
HENRY CUELLAR, Texas
CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY, Pennsylvania
YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York
AL GREEN, Texas
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado
VACANCY
JESSICA HERRA-FLANIGAN, Staff Director & General Counsel
ROSALINE COHEN, Chief Counsel
MICHAEL TWINCHEK, Chief Clerk
ROBERT OCONNOR, Minority Staff Director

SUBCOMMITTEE ON MANAGEMENT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND OVERSIGHT

CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY, Pennsylvania, Chairman
PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon
MIKE ROGERS, Alabama
YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York
TOM DAVIS, Virginia
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado
MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas
PETER T. KING, New York (Ex Officio)
VACANCY
BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (Ex
Officio)
JEFF GREENE, Director & Counsel
BRIAN TURBYFILL, Clerk
MICHAEL RUSSELL, Senior Counsel

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SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, PREPAREDNESS,

AND RESPONSE
HENRY CUELLAR, Texas, Chairman
LORETTA SANCHEZ, California
CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania
NORMAN D. DICKS, Washington
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana
NITA M. LOWEY, New York
MIKE ROGERS, Alabama
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of
BOBBY JINDAL, Louisiana
Columbia
DAVID DAVIS, Tennessee
DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN, U.S. Virgin
PETER T. KING, New York (Ex Officio)
Islands
BOB ETHERIDGE, North Carolina
BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (Ex
Officio)
CRAIG SHARMAN, Director
NICHOLE FRANCIS, Counsel
BRIAN TURBYFILL, Clerk
HEATHER HOGG, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member

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CONTENTS
Page

STATEMENTS
The Honorable Christopher P. Carney, a Representative in Congress From
the State of Pennsylvania, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Management,
Investigations, and Oversight .............................................................................
The Honorable Rogers, a Representative in Congress From the State of
Alabama, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight .............................................................................................
The Honorable Henry Cuellar, a Representative in Congress From the State
of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Emergency Communications,
Preparedness, and Response:
Oral Statement .....................................................................................................
Prepared Statement .............................................................................................
The Honorable Charles W. Dent, a Representative in Congress From the
State of Pennsylvania, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Emergency
Communications, Preparedness, and Response
Oral Statement .....................................................................................................
Prepared Statement .............................................................................................
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress From
the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security ..
The Honorable Ed Perlmutter, a Representative in Congress From the State
of Colorado ............................................................................................................
The Honorable Loretta Sanchez, a Representative in Congress From the
State of California ................................................................................................
The Honorable Gene Taylor, a Representative in Congress From the State
of Mississippi ........................................................................................................

1
2

4
4

5
5
6
36
34
38

WITNESSES
Mr. Bruce Baughman, Director, Alabama Emergency Management Agency:
Oral Statement .....................................................................................................
Prepared Statement .............................................................................................
Mr. Steve Delahousey, National Vice President, Emergency Preparedness,
Emergency Preparedness, Emergency Medical Services Corporation:
Oral Statement .....................................................................................................
Prepared Statement .............................................................................................
Major Phil May, Regional Administrator, FEMA Region IV:
Oral Statement .....................................................................................................
Prepared Statement .............................................................................................
Mr. Brien C. Ruiz, President, St. Bernard Parish Fire Fighters Association
(IAFF Local 1468):
Oral Statement .....................................................................................................
Prepared Statement .............................................................................................
FOR

THE

13
16
17
19
7
9
21
23

RECORD

The Honorable Bobby Jindal, a Representative in Congress From the State

of Louisiana, Prepared Statement ......................................................................

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EMPOWERING STATE AND LOCAL

OFFICIALS THROUGH ENHANCED
FEMA REGIONAL OFFICES
Monday, June 4, 2007

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON MANAGEMENT, INVESTIGATIONS,
AND OVERSIGHT,
WITH THE

SUBCOMMITTEE

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS,
PREPAREDNESS, AND RESPONSE,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 2:00 p.m., 228 South
Beach Boulevard, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Hon. Christopher P.
Carney [chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Carney, Dent, Rogers, Cuellar, Thompson, Sanchez, and Perlmutter.
Also Present: Representative Taylor.
Mr. CARNEY. The subcommittee will come to order. The subcommittees are meeting today to receive testimony on the Empowering State and Local Officials Through Enhanced FEMA Regional
Offices.
I welcome Mr. Taylor and ask unanimous consent that he join us
today. Hearing no objections so ordered.
I now recognize myself for an opening statement. First I would
like to thank the City and the people for being so kind as to host
us here today. I know youve been through a lot and I hope hosting
this hearing hasnt been too much of a burden.
I would also like to take a second to thank Mr. Taylor for joining
us. Every time I see him in the halls at the capital or on the floor
of the house Im reminded of the catastrophe you all endured, not
that Genes a catastrophe by any stretch, he has represented you
very, very well.
Finally, I would like to thank the mayors who took us on an
amazing tour this afternoon. He chauffeured us around to visit this
morning, and he shared many of the stories with us. Theyre very
touching, but they didnt really paint the picture of what has happened down here and how far youve come and how far you really
need to go.
This is my first trip down here since the storm. I spent time in
the gulf region, navy training at Pensacola, and I spent time in
Houston as an educator.
ON

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But today were hoping to have some candid conversations, and
were here today to access how well FEMA has been working with
state and local officials in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
I ran for congress because I was frustrated with what I saw was
a lack of good government. FEMAs poor responses to major disasters such as flooding in northeast Pennsylvania where Im from,
and Hurricane Katrina are prime examples.
I understand the severe devastating impact a flood can have on
a community. Pennsylvania has seen several of its 100 year floods
in the last few years, which has destroyed lives and towns and
houses. This was about the significant winds of your hurricane, so
I have some small empathy for what you have gone through.
But our flooding season in Pennsylvania is coming up and June
is the official time when it begins. And we are not rest assured unfortunately that FEMA will be able to respond. We need accountability for FEMA so that we can better prepare ourselves for the
future. I think were all interested in hearing how, if at all, cooperation between local and state entities has improved with
FEMA since congress enacted FEMA reform. So, please speak freely. We are here to listen. I thank you and I look forward to your
thoughts.
I now recognize the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee of
Management Investigations and Oversight, the gentleman from
Alabama, Mr. Rogers, for an opening statement.
Mr. ROGERS. Thank you Mr. Chairman. Im proud to be back in
the south and here in our neighboring state of Mississippi, and I
want to thank all the witnesses for being here. I particularly want
to take note of Bruce Baughman from the Alabama Department of
Emergency Management. We are very fortunate to have him. Mr.
Baughman was one of the highest ranking officials at FEMA before
he left and came to Alabama, and hes also a past president of the
National Emergency Management Association and a real pro.
The folks in Alabama and Mississippi are lucky to have strong
leadership for emergency management, and like Governor Riley
and the folks in Alabama impacted by Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi has shown great resolve in leadership to build back. Under
the strong leadership of Governor Barbour new programs have
been rolled out that have allowed the folks in Mississippi to get
back on their feet and begin rebuilding their state. As the Governor
said, Mississippi will rebuild bigger and better than ever.
One aspect of the Mississippi experience we will explore today is
the interaction between state and FEMA regional offices. In the
wake of hurricane Katrina Congress passed sweeping legislation to
reform FEMA last year, and on January 18, of 1907 Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff announced the reorganization plan for
FEMA, which took effect March 31st.
This is our committees first field hearing after the reorganization of FEMA to hear firsthand from those involved in the process
at the state and local levels. We will examine today how things
have improved, if theyve improved, in FEMAs regional structure,
and whether additional steps may need to be taken to ensure
states have the support they need from FEMA when disaster
strikes.

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One of the first needs thats being faced after a disaster is to restore electrical power and key facilities such as water plants and
secure drinking water for the residents. Therefore, one area we will
explore is the extent to which FEMA has pre-positioned bottled
supplies, specifically water and generators, in states such as Mississippi and Alabama that are in the direct path of Gulf Coast
storms.
Another area we will explore is the extent to which FEMA works
with states and localities to support prenegotiation of contracts for
emergency goods and services. The ability of state and local agencies to negotiate contracts before disaster strikes is important to
ensure emergency goods and services will be available when needed
and to ensure localities are not victims of price gouging. To help
states and localities in this area Congress included a provision in
the FEMA reform legislation that provides for advanced contracting.
Specifically, this provision requires FEMA to establish a process
to ensure Federal prenegotiated contracts are coordinated with
state and local governments. The provision also requires FEMA to
encourage state and local governments to negotiate contracts for
goods and services before a natural disaster or terrorist strike. This
approach increases the safety of local residents while safeguarding
taxpayer dollars in the future.
We look forward to hearing from our witnesses about the extent
to which this approach has been implemented and what can be
done to encourage more prenegotiation of these contracts.
And, Mr. Chairman, before I yield back I would like to note that
Representative Bobby Jindal could not be here today, so I would
ask that his statement be included in the record.
Mr. CARNEY. Without objection, so ordered.
[The information follows:]
FOR

THE

RECORD

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE BOBBY JINDAL, A REPRESENTATIVE

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF LOUISIANA

IN

On May 22, 2007, the National Hurricane Center predicted a very active hurricane season, with 1317 named storms, 710 hurricanes, and 35 major hurricanes. The prediction signifies an expected increase in storm activity in comparison
to last years hurricane season.
As we enter this years hurricane season, it is critical for all levels of government
to have an established posture of hurricane preparedness. This should entail a unified partnership of operational capability too provide effective response and recovery.
Federal and State governments were overwhelmed on the onset in the aftermath
of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Over 90,000 square miles of Gulf Coast land was
devastated by Hurricane Katrina, 650,000 people were displaced, 275,000 homes
were completely destroyed. In Louisiana alone, a quarter of a million jobs were lost
and 20,000 businesses were destroyed. Over $590 million in agriculture damages occurred in Louisiana resulting from Hurricane Rita devastation.
Last years Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 included
provisions to provide grants to State and local governments to develop mass evacuation plans and to help stockpile commodities and shelters. The Act also required
FEMA to enhance its regional offices through stronger coordination between federal,
state, local, and private sector emergency response principals.
Better planning at a regional level should not just consist of forward leaning coordination between the different levels of government, but an integrated partnership
fostering clear communication through a defined point of contact for the Department

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4
of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and other states for joint contingency planning and response.
When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, the response
was uncoordinated and unorganized. The White House issued its assessment of the
response in The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned, identifying critical flaws in national preparedness, including an absence of regional planning and coordination. According to the report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not maintain the needed personnel or resources in its regional offices.
This led to reduced communications and understanding of on-sit needs, further delaying an effective response.
The report recommended an increase in regional response capabilities. It specifically called on DHS to build its regional structures to integrate state and local strategies with response capabilities and to encourage and facilitate regional partnerships. In the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Congress mandated that DHS set up
a regional structure. In an April 18, 2005 letter, four months prior to Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita striking the Gulf Coast, I called on Secretary Chertoff to follow
through with a regional framework in which Louisiana would have been equipped
to facilitate a regional response.
In a May 15, 2007 statement before the House Committee on Homeland Security,
FEMA Administrator David Paulison recognized Louisianas fragile state of recovery
by indicating that FEMA is collaboratively assessing the states capabilities and potential need for further federal assistance. By June 1, 2007, data were scheduled
to have been compiled and reviewed for Louisiana to help local officials understand
potential disaster response gaps in critical areas of debris removal, evacuation, sheltering, interim housing, healthcare facilities, commodity distribution, communications, and fuel. We are now four days into the hurricane season, and this analysis
has not yet been completed.
We need to build upon lessons learned and correct mistakes at all levels of government, ensuring that response authorities have the necessary resources and capabilities to provide a unified response. A DHS regional office structure should be implemented to strengthen state and local preparedness capabilities, facilitate regional
cooperation among governments and the private sector, and plan and exercise with
first responder entities that support regional disaster response.
The regional structure should maximize the strengths of a region and work in
partnership in identifying critical gaps in preparedness and infrastructure protection. Through a unified commend structure, proper training, and open communication, we all can be better prepared for the hurricane season.

Mr. ROGERS. Thank you.

Mr. CARNEY. The Chair now recognizes the chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Communication Preparedness to response, the gentleman form Texas, Mr. Henry Cuellar, for any
opening statement.
Mr. CUELLAR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for allowing us to be here. Again, I apologize, trying to get from Lorados
small airport to here, and I apologize, but for the sake of time I
would like to go ahead and submit my written statement, the opening statement, so we can go ahead and continue and hear from our
witnesses.
So, again, we are very interested in finding out the status of the
FEMA reforms and see how thats being done at a regional, so I
will submit my written testimony.
[The statement of Mr. Cuellar follows:]
PREPARED OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE HENRY CUELLAR, CHAIRMAN,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, PREPAREDNESS, AND RESPONSE
Good afternoon. First, I would like to welcome our panel. Were glad that youre
here to discuss the status of FEMA reforms at the regional level.
Hurricane Katrina exposed significant flaws in our governments ability to prepare for, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from catastrophic events. It is
our duty to ensure that this never happens again.
The Members of our Committee just finished touring damage along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and I think we can all agree there is much work left to be done
to bring the coast back to where it was before Katrina.

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Last October, the Post Katrina emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 was
signed into law. The bill made substantial changes to FEMA and the Department
of Homeland security, including making the Administrator of FEMA responsible for
all phases of emergency management.
It created new leadership positions with clear requirements, new missions and
restored some responsibilities that had been removed.
Additionally, it called for the enhancement of FEMAs regional office to allow
more decisions during emergencies to be made by those on the ground and not in
Washington.
Efficient, timely and effective implementation of the Act is critical to homeland
security and is a high priority for our Committee.
While progress is being made by FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security in reforming their emergency management capabilities, enormous challenges
still remain.
I am specifically interested in hearing from the witnesses whether they think
we are making significant progress in the following areas: 1) evacuation planning;
2) mass care and housing; 3) emergency communications; and 4) assisting individuals with special needs.
I also want to discuss how FEMA and the Federal government can better address the unique challenges local first responders face when their community is devastated by a catastrophic disaster.
These brave men and women are forced to juggle their sense of duty with the
need to ensure the safety of their families.
I believe we need to better acknowledge their sacrifices during future disasters
and provide expedited assistance to them.
I want to thank the witnesses again for being here today and I look forward
to their testimony.

Mr. CARNEY. Thank you. The Chair now recognizes the Ranking
Member on the Subcommittee of Emergency Communications Preparedness and Response, the gentleman from Pennsylvania Mr.
Charles Dent for an opening statement.
Mr. DENT. Thanks, Mr. Chairman, Chairman Carney, and Chairman Thompson, and also I want to thank our friend Gene Taylor
too for all the hospitality that youve shown here and to all the people. Ive only been here a couple of hours, its my first trip to southern Mississippi, but Im just so amazed by the spirit of the people
Ive met. Ive only met a few, but the spirit is remarkable, and obviously theres a tremendous sense of pride about this community,
and a certain toughness too that I think a lot of us would love to
emulate.
Just like Chairman Cuellar, I too will submit my opening remarks for the record so we can get on with the hearing and hear
from our distinguished panel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE CHARLES DENT, RANKING MEMBER,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, PREPAREDNESS, AND RESPONSE
I am pleased were here today to discuss reforms to the Federal Emergency Management Agencys (FEMA) Regional offices.
This hearing offers a good opportunity to discuss how State and local officials
working with the Federal governmentare building a more robust capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters or terrorist attacks.
This hearing will help review the progress thats been made in improving preparedness while also allowing us to assess the challenges that remain.
Last year, this Committee was instrumental in the enactment of the Post-Katrina
Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006. This legislation addresses the lessons
learned from Hurricane Katrina and requires a number of structural and operational changes.
For instance, the legislation seeks to ensure that a national system of preparedness is put in place and the Federal resources are more efficiently and effectivley
deployed to assist State and local officials during catastrophic events like Hurricane
Katrina.

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I look forward to discussing today how the reforms mandated by last years legislation, as well as steps being taken at FEMAs initiative, are helping build and support strong partnerships for emergency preparedness and response.
For instance, I understand that through the regional offices, FEMA is working
with the 18 hurricaneimpact States to conduct an analysis of specific
vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are then being used to develop focused hurricane plans.
Another effort underway is the development of a regional Gulf Coast Evacuation
Plan. I am particularly interested in discussing this effort, including its coordination
and leadership, and the agencies and organizations involved.
And finally, I look forward to discussing with our witnesses the steps they are
taking this year to better prepare their respective agencies and their local communities for this years hurricane season.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. CARNEY. Thank you, Mr. Dent. The Chair now recognizes the
Chairman of the full committee the gentleman from Mississippi
Mr. Bennie Thompson for an opening statement.
Mr. THOMPSON. Thank you very much, Chairman Carney, Chairman Cuellar, and other members. I welcome you here to Gene Taylors District, but I also welcome you here to my home state.
This morning the committee had an opportunity, as well as this
afternoon, to see the devastation of what happened with Hurricane
Katrina.
Theres no question that we have been adversely impacted.
Theres no question that FEMA was not up to the task when
Katrina came, but we want to make sure if another Katrina type
event would occur that with the changes that have gone on things
will be better. Lets talk about a couple of things.
First of all, are insurances companies going to treat people any
better in this community if another hurricane comes, or are they
going to be jacked around like they were before. If thats the case
thats a problem.
Secondly, whether or not FEMA has produced a written hurricane preparedness plan for this hurricane season. I came to ask
specifically of our Regional Administrator if he has the plan. We
had a hearing two weeks ago, we did not have the plan for the beginning of this hurricane season. I want to make sure that we have
the plan. If not I want to know how can we fix anything without
a written plan.
In addition to that, the local first responders who have done a
wonderful job, but Im still hearing that there are a lot of problems
that were not getting cooperation with. For instance, theres an
issue with formaldehyde in trailers and whether or not that is
being investigated. Congressman Taylors office has been intricately involved in that, as well as my office. Ive gotten two answers to the same question. I will ask the formaldehyde question
again today to see if I get a third answer, or at least will I get one
of the two answers that Ive gotten before.
And lastly, let me compliment the committee chairpersons for
coming here. The people in the audience have probably seen as
many congress people as they need. I think what theyre looking for
now is how do we fix it to make sure that if something bad happens, will in fact the cavalry come on time, can we bring the resources, or whether or not the resources are available.
We had a hearing, Mr. Carney week before last, we found out
that our guard and reservist most of the equipment is not here. So,

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how are we going to get the equipment here if in fact we have a
major problem.
So there are a lot of issues associated with FEMA that I think
are really important, and thats why as Chairman of the Committee I supported the effort of our two subcommittee chairpersons
to come here, and I look forward to the witnesses testimony and
look forward to the questions after. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. CARNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Other members of the
subcommittees are reminded that under committee rules opening
statements may be submitted for the record. I want to welcome the
witnesses.
Our first witness is Major Phil May, the FEMA Regional Director
from Region 4, which covers Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Our second witness is Bruce Baughman, Director of Alabama
Emergency Management Agency.
Our third witness is Steve Delahousey, Vice President of Emergency Preparedness for American Medical Response.
Our fourth witness is Brian Ruiz, President of the Saint Bernard
Parish of the Firefighters Association.
Mr. CARNEY. Without objection the witnesses full statements will
be inserted in the record. I now ask each witness to summarize his
statement for five minutes beginning with Major May.
STATEMENT
OF
MAJOR
PHIL
MAY,
ADMINISTRATOR,
FEMA
REGIONAL
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

REGION
4
DIRECTOR,

Major May. Thank you so much. Thank you, Chairman Carney

and Chairman Thompson, Mr. Taylor. Thank you so much for inviting me to be here today.
My name is Major Phil May and I am privileged to serve as the
FEMA Regional Administrator for the Department of Homeland
Security FEMA. I oversee FEMAs all hazards efforts to the southeast.
I am pleased to appear before the committee today to discuss
how Dave Paulisons vision for the new FEMA is being implemented at the regional level.
As Regional Administrator my goal is to help build a new FEMA,
one that will be a nations preeminent emergency management preparedness organization by ensuring that FEMA Region 4 has a robust infrastructure, and all the appropriate resources in terms of
people, operational systems, planning assessment tools, training,
exercises and equipment.
I know that Administrator Paulison has appeared before this
committee and discussed how FEMA is strengthening its regions
through improved leadership and enhanced regional coordination.
As Administrator Paulison told you at a hearing back on May 15th,
I am but one of 10 full-time administrators currently in place. This
is the first time in recent memory that this has been achieved.
FEMA learned a number of important lessons from Hurricane
Katrina. One that I believe is most relevant for this hearing is the
importance of close coordination with our partners before a disaster
strikes every level of government. One of the lessons that Administrator Paulison has repeatedly emphasized is the breakdown in

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communications. Not just in a technical sense, but in the procedural sense. At every level of government officials were not talking
to one another or not being heard.
That is why one of the hallmarks of the new FEMA is improved
regional coordination. FEMAs Regional Administrators have been
charged to be more active in engaged states than weve ever been
before. Were working to improve the regional communications performing GAP analysis with each state undertaking the multi state
evacuation planning effort and supporting regional exercises.
Over the past two years weve taken major steps to make sure
the breakdown in communications that you saw in Katrina do not
happen again. In 2006 we completed the upgrades and renovations
that were needed to create a state of the art national response coordination center in Washington.
In addition, were complimenting assets assessments and upgrading our regional response coordination centers, which are regionally
based multi agency coordination centers that perform complementary roles to the RCC in Washington.
Operating in each of the 10 FEMA regions the RRCC provides
situational awareness information, identifying and coordinating response recommendations, to perform capability analysis and report
on the status of Federal disaster response operations.
In addition, each regional administrator will have a regional
emergency communications working group comprised of representatives from all levels of government, whose primary objective is to
advise the regional leadership on matters pertaining to emergency
communications.
FEMA is employing the GAP Analysis Tool, which is serving as
the basis for the better understanding of the vulnerabilities in a
more consistent manner. This is an initiative that is a joint effort
between the state and FEMA. The analysis consists of a series of
structured discussions with local jurisdictions to better understand
the potential disaster response asset gaps in critical areas of debris
removal, evacuation, sheltering, interim housing, healthcare facilities, commodity distribution, communications and fuel. Were confident that through these structured discussions we will be better
prepared.
FEMA is helping Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama develop a
Gulf Coast Evacuation Plan that extends to adjacent states which
potentially may host Gulf Coast evacuees. The purpose of a synchronized separate state evacuation plan is to create a more jointly
organized effort. Teams are engaging with each state, identifying
requirements and capabilities, and then will develop a plan to integrate shelter planning and transportation planning. The result will
be a timelier better organized coordinated evacuation by those with
their own transportation and for those who may need assistance to
evacuate either by bus or air.
To further strengthen our partnership FEMA is actively engaging state governments in joint exercises as we prepare for the 2007
hurricane season. During the first week of May FEMA tested the
national incident management system and its response operations
during an exercise called Ardent SentryNorthern Edge, which depicted a Category 3 hurricane that struck Newport, Rhode Island.

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This is just the first of what we will do nationwide through these
exercises testing a variety of scenarios, which will eventually take
place in all the FEMA regions in close cooperation with all partners.
In conclusion, I believe weve made real progress in strengthening FEMAs regions as we embark on the new journey and in a
new direction, one that reflects a broader mission challenge, a
wider set of partners, a greater depth of mission perspective.
The new FEMA will require new skill sets, a greater investment
in our people, new tools to ensure more effective emergency management at the national and regional level. And ultimately the new
FEMA were creating will keep the American people safer than
theyve ever been before, and make our services more accessible by
having more regional staff and resources available in the field.
Thank you for your time. I look forward to your questions.
Mr. CARNEY. Thank you for your testimony, Mr. May.
[The statement of Major May follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT

FOR THE

RECORD

OF

MAJOR PHIL MAY

Chairman Thompson, Chairman Carney, Chairman Cuellar, and Members of the

Committee, thank you for inviting me to appear before you today in Mississippi.
My name is Major Phil May and I am privileged to serve as the Region IV Administrator for the Department of Homeland Securitys Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In this role, I oversee FEMAs all hazards efforts in Alabama,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. As the primary FEMA representative and coordinator to a disaster prone
region, I oversee the development, implementation and execution of all FEMA Region IV programs and initiatives, and have planning and operational oversight of
special projects related to building a strong, capable, and responsive Region. My
goal is to help Administrator Paulison build a new FEMA that will be the Nations
preeminent emergency management and preparedness organization by ensuring
FEMA Region IV has a robust infrastructure and all the appropriate resources, in
terms of people, operational systems, planning and assessment tools, training, exercises, and equipment. In addition, I work to foster the necessary relationships before
disasters strike across the full spectrum of emergency management on all levels of
government, the private sector, nonprofit, and non-governmental entities.
In keeping with the guiding principle of the new FEMA, we are leaning further
forward to deliver more effective disaster assistance to individuals and communities
impacted by a disaster. We call it engaged partnership. That is the FEMA you saw
in the tornadoes that struck Florida in January and Georgia and Alabama in March
tornadoes, as well as the Noreaster that flooded areas of the New England States
and last month in Kansas where the community of Greensburg was devastated by
a tornado.
In those disasters you witnessed a FEMA that became an engaged partner with
the State within minutes of the disaster, rapidly deploying operational and technical
experts to the disaster site. You also witnessed a proactive FEMA that led the
charge by ensuring an effective Unified Command with other Federal agencies, and
State and local officials, working together to help a devastated community.
These actions were taken by a well-led, motivated, and professional FEMA workforce that has embraced and enhanced the vision and reality of a new FEMA.
As many of you are aware, on May 22nd, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center released its 2007 Atlantic
Hurricane Season Outlook. NOAA scientists projected a 75 percent chance that the
Atlantic hurricane season will be above normal. This prediction includes 13 to 17
named storms with 7 to 10 becoming hurricanes, of which 3 to 5 could become major
hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher. NOAAs prediction is in line with the
Colorado State University prediction, which predicted 17 named storms, including
9 hurricanes, of which 5 are expected to be major hurricanes.
Accordingly, FEMA is leaning forward as we prepare for an active 2007 hurricane
season. Engaging our tribal, local, State and Federal partners in more thorough and
informed hurricane planning; building FEMAs operational capabilities for a more
effective response and recovery; and amplifying our stance on hurricane readiness
will put FEMA in good standing to meet whatever challenges unfold.

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BACKGROUND
FEMA has learned much from the 2005 hurricane season and the damage that
was inflicted on the communities and families of the Gulf Coast. Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita have served as a catalyst for major changes in federal policy, approaches,
and the relationship between DHSFEMA, the private sector and at all levels of
government.
The Department appreciates the tools given to us in the Post-Katrina Emergency
Management Reform Act (PKEMRA). PKEMRA codifies and expands FEMAs regional office structure and strengthens our all-hazards operational framework and
coordination capabilities. The ten Regional Administrators provided for in the Act
report directly to the FEMA Administrator. The statute also provides for the creation of Regional Advisory Councils and new regional incident management assistance teams.
The Regional Advisory Councils will provide valuable advice and recommendations to each
Regional Administrator on regional emergency management issues and identify
weaknesses or deficiencies in preparedness, protection, operations, assistance, and
mitigation for State, local and tribal governments based on their specialized knowledge of the region. We hope to make selections for the Regional Advisory Councils
later this year. Additionally, the Act calls for the establishment of regional emergency communications working groups, which would report to Regional Administrators and advise them of emergency communications concerns and issues. This new
structure will help to facilitate and further enhance our national and regional based
evacuation and catastrophic planning efforts.
STRONG REGIONAL LEADERSHIP
As Administrator Paulison previously testified before your Committee, FEMA has
staffed each Region with an Administrator who possesses an extensive background
in emergency management. Collectively, all ten Regional Administrators possess
over 300 years of experience in preparing for and responding to disasters. Three of
the ten Administrators, including me, are career senior executives. Having career
staff in three of the Regions will ensure continuity of best-practices from administration to administration. I am pleased to report that all 10 Regional Administrators
are on board and prepared to meet the needs of their respective regions.
ENHANCED REGIONAL COORDINATION
Regional Advisory Council
FEMA has worked diligently to fine tune the appropriate framework to establish
the Regional Advisory Councils. The charter for the councils is presently under final
review by the FEMA Administrator. These councils will advise the Regional Administrators on all aspects of emergency management and will comprise representatives
from State, territorial, local and tribal governments. The councils will also identify
any geographic, demographic, or other characteristics specific to any State, territorial, local, or tribal government within the Region that might make preparedness,
protection, response, or mitigation more challenging. Finally, the councils will advise the Regional Administrators on any weaknesses or deficiencies in preparedness,
protection, response, recovery, and mitigation within the regional area of responsibility that should be addressed. These Regional Advisory Councils will significantly
improve communication between the multiple levels of government and give Regional Administrators the critical insights to address the needs of the communities
in which they serve.
Defense Coordinating Officers
FEMA and the Department of Defense (DOD) have taken major strides to ensure
that federal and military response is coordinated and seamless, especially at the regional level. DOD has assigned Regional Defense Coordinating Officers (DCO), supported by Defense Coordinating Elements (DCE), in each of FEMAs Regions to ensure military coordination at the Regional level. Currently, all 10 FEMA Regions
are staffed by a DCO and support DCE.
Regional Communications
Among the lessons learned after the 2005 hurricane season, none has been taken
more seriously than the breakdown of interagency and intra-agency communications. Communication between the Federal government and our partners at the
State and local levels is an integral part of emergency management. Over the past
two years we have taken major steps to make sure this breakdown does not happen
again.
In 2006, we completed the upgrades and renovations needed to create a state of
the art National Response Coordination Center (NRCC). The NRCC is a central location where Federal agencies meet during a disaster to coordinate national re-

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sponse under the National Response Plan (NRP). In addition, we are completing assessments and upgrading our Regional Response Coordination Centers (RRCC),
which are the regionally-based multi-agency coordination centers that perform a
complementary role to the NRCC. Operating in each of the ten FEMA Regions, the
RRCC provides situational awareness information, identifies and coordinates response requirements, performs capabilities analysis, and reports on the status of
Federal disaster response operations.
During Katrina, we had a failure in our communications with people in the field
key element which needed for us to have situational awareness of what was happening on the groundcoupled with substandard coordination with our partners
across the Federal government. Both the NRCC and RRCC have a seat at the table
for each of the 26 agencies that have roles under the NRP, as well as secure links
to key offices around the country and the capability to bring State and local officials
into the conversation.
One of the key lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was the need
for a state-of-theart national warning system. In 2006, FEMAs Office of National
Security Coordination (now the Office of National Continuity Programs) focused on
the multi-year task of building an Integrated Public Alert and Warning System
(IPAWS).Last year, we successfully completed the Digital Emergency Alert System
pilot and worked with the Association of Public Television Stations deploying the
system to all PBS affiliates around the country. In addition, FEMA helped in establishing two new Emergency Alert System Primary Entry Point radio stationsone
located here in Mississippi and the other in Alabamaand 15 hurricane region stations were provided with satellite links to improve their communications during disasters. When this project is completed over the next five years, it will greatly enhance our nations emergency communications capabilities.
Administrator Paulison has made communications and outreach to tribal, State
and local officials a high priority for the Regional Administrators. Our expanded role
in the regions will help us to build strong ties on the ground before disasters strike,
so that we are not exchanging business cards in the emergency operations center.
DHS has provided true leadership for FEMA to lay the groundwork to build a
more robust national communication capability. In January 2007, DHS issued the
Tactical Interoperable Communication Scorecards. These scorecards assessed the
maturity of tactical interoperable communications capabilities in 75 urban/metropolitan areas. They were developed by subject matter expert panels that reviewed
documentation on current communications plans, exercises, and a self-assessment to
arrive at consensus findings and recommendations for each region on how to best
improve that regions communications capabilities.
Moreover, by November 1, 2007, each State and Territory must submit a Statewide Communication Interoperability Plan to DHS. The goal of this plan is to provide a strategic vision for how each State and Territory will achieve and further invest in statewide interoperability and communications.
In addition, DHS, in conjunction with the Department of Commerce National
Telecommunications and Information Administration in consultation with DHS will
make nearly $1 billion available to states and localities later this fiscal year through
a Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant Program, authorized by the
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and amended by the Call Home Act of 2006. Through
FEMAs disaster relief fund, an additional $1.3 million has been made available for
Mississippi for emergency communications equipment in Pike, Pearl River, Stone,
Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson Counties. The money will be spent to install interoperability equipment, including repeaters on six South Mississippi communications
towers.
Finally, each Regional Administrator has been provided a workgroup comprising
representatives from all levels of government, whose primary objective is to advise
the regional leadership on matters pertaining to emergency communications. The
Regional Emergency Communications Working Group, referred to as an RECC
Working Group reports to the Regional Administrator and advises him or her on
all aspects of emergency communications. The Regional Managers, in turn, will
share this advice on emergency communications with State and Local emergency
managers within the Region.
HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS
I know that Administrator Paulison has briefed you on FEMAs readiness for the
Hurricane season from the National perspective; however, please allow me to expand upon a few of its components and talk briefly about what we are doing here
in Region IV to prepare.
Enhanced Response Teams

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To further enhance disaster response capabilities and ultimately provide for the
three national-level response teams and regional-level emergency response strike
teams required in the Post-Katrina Act, FEMA is developing the next generation of
rapidly deployable interagency emergency response teams, tentatively identified as
Incident Management Assistance Teams, or IMATs. IMATs are designed to provide a forward Federal presence to facilitate managing the national response to catastrophic incidents. The primary mission of a FEMA IMAT will be to rapidly deploy
to an incident or incident-threatened venue, provide leadership in the identification
and provision of Federal assistance, and coordinate and integrate inter-jurisdictional
response in support of the affected State(s) or U.S. Territory(s). The IMATs will support efforts to meet the emergent needs of State and local jurisdictions; possess the
capability to provide initial situational awareness for Federal decision-makers; and
support the initial establishment of a unified command.
The teams are still being designed and decisions on team assets, equipment, and
expected capabilities have not yet been finalized. When not deployed, the teams will
train with Federal partners and provide a training capability to elevate state and
local emergency management capabilities. The teams will also engage in consistent
and coordinated operational planning and relationship-building with State, local,
tribal, and other stakeholders.
Initially, our goal is to establish interim Regional and National teams utilizing
existing personnel within FEMA. The teams will subsume the existing mission and
capabilities of the Federal Incident Response Support Teams (or FIRSTs) and
Emergency Response Teams (or ERTs).
The mission and capabilities will incorporate similar leadership, emergency management doctrine, and operational communications concepts. The national-level and
regional-level teams will eventually be staffed with a core of full-time employees,
unlike the ERTs, which are staffed on a collateral duty basis; will be fully compliant
with NIMS and ICS; and will train and exercise as a unit.
Gap Analysis
FEMA is employing a Gap Analysis Tool, which is serving as the basis for better
understanding vulnerabilities in a more consistent manner. The Gap Analysis Tool
was developed in coordination with the State of New York Emergency Management
Office and the New York City Office of Emergency Management, and has been implemented to provide FEMA and its State and local partners in the hurricane prone
regions of the country with a snapshot of asset gaps at the local, State, and National
levels.
This initiative is a joint effort between State Emergency Management representatives and FEMA Regional representatives. The analysis consists of a series of structured discussions with local jurisdictions to better understand potential disaster response asset gaps in the critical areas of debris removal, evacuation, sheltering, interim housing, healthcare facilities, commodity distribution, communications, and
fuel. The discussions provide an opportunity for local jurisdictions to ask specific
questions of Federal and State officials and identify issues of critical concern to help
long-term preparedness programs. We are confident that through these structured
discussions, we will all be better prepared.
Specific gaps are determined by identifying a series of requirements in each critical area within each location and then subtracting the corresponding capabilities
for meeting those requirements for each location. Although our initial use of this
concept is being applied for the upcoming hurricane season, this process is applicable to all hazards and the goal is to build upon lessons learned and apply the tool
to all locations for all hazards on an ongoing basis.
The new FEMA has made a conscious effort to focus broadly on all 18 hurricaneprone States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Territories to prepare for the
2007 Hurricane Season. Today, FEMA is working closely with each of the 18 state
emergency management communities in hurricane prone states using a consistent
set of measures and tools to evaluate strengths and vulnerabilities. We have people
on the ground at this moment conducting these analyses with state emergency managers.
Modeling is also an essential element of FEMAs planning efforts for different circumstances and data sets. FEMA is coordinating with the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate to adapt modeling tools for the specific circumstances of
large metropolitan areas. As the use of the Hurricane Gap Analysis Tool matures,
FEMA plans to incorporate additional modeling capabilities to validate the data received and forecast needs based on different variables.
Evacuation Planning Initiative and Coordination
FEMA is helping Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama develop a Gulf Coast Evacuation Plan that extends to adjacent States which host Gulf Coast evacuees. The

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purpose is to synchronize separate State evacuation plans to create a more jointly
organized effort. Teams are engaging with each State, identifying requirements and
capabilities, and then will develop a plan that integrates shelter planning with
transportation planning. The result will be a timelier, better organized and coordinated evacuation by those with their own transportation and those who need assistance to evacuate by bus or air.
Catastrophic Disaster Planning Initiatives
Using the Catastrophic Planning funding appropriated in fiscal year 06, Region
IV, along with our sister Regions of V, VI, and VII, is developing scenario-driven
workshops with each of the eight New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) States. The
Workshop Execution Plan uses a bottom-up approach, where the states will take the
lead and FEMA will provide guidance. The states clearly have taken ownership and
are committed to working with each other, the FEMA regional offices, other Federal
agencies, the private sector, and other stakeholders to create, as one state director
noted, the most comprehensive catastrophic response and recovery plan in our nations history.
Over the next 12 months each state will conduct its own state-wide catastrophic
planning workshop, tailored for its individual catastrophic planning goals and objectives, using a template provided by Innovative Emergency Management (IEM), our
contracting firm. The Mississippi Emergency Management Planning Staff and the
full-time FEMA-funded contractor are collaborating on developing a Workshop Execution Plan which will culminate in a Federal, State and local exercise during the
second quarter of fiscal year 2008.
We are also working with 13 southeastern Louisiana parishes (including the City
of New Orleans), which were selected as the initial geographic focus area for
FEMAs Catastrophic Planning initiative, because of their vulnerability to hurricane disasters. Substantial planning activity for the 2007 Hurricane Season continues with the State of Louisiana and its parishes.
In addition, FEMA is using scenario-driven workshops to enhance the State of
Floridas capability to respond to a Category 5 Hurricane making landfall in southern Florida. This is a two-phase project. Phase one focuses on developing regional
response and recovery annexes, including evacuation planning, for the counties and
communities surrounding Lake Okeechobee (in the event of a Herbert Hoover Dike
failure) and will soon be completed. Phase two will address the effects of a Category
5 hurricane striking south Florida. The end product for phase two will be to standardize comprehensive catastrophic Category 5 hurricane disaster functional response and recovery plans for the State of Florida and responding Federal agencies.
Phase two will be completed by September 30, 2008. These plans will also be used
as planning templates for other large urban areas.
Regional Exercises and Training
To further strengthen our partnerships, FEMA is actively engaged with State governments in joint exercises to prepare for the 2007 Hurricane Season. During the
first week in May, FEMA tested the national incident management system (NIMS)
and its response operations during an exercise called Ardent SentryNorthern
Edge, which depicted a Category 3 hurricane that struck Newport, R.I.
CONCLUSION
I believe we have made real progress in strengthening FEMAs Regions as we embark on a new journey and in a new direction; one that reflects a broader mission
challenge, a wider set of partners, and a greater depth of mission perspective. The
new FEMA will require new skills, a greater investment in our people, and new
tools to ensure more effective emergency management at the national and regional
level. Ultimately, the new FEMA we are creating will keep the American people
safer than they were before and make our services more accessible by having more
Regional staff and resources available in the field.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to answering your questions.

Mr. CARNEY. I now recognize Mr. Baughman. Five minutes.

STATEMENT BRUCE BAUGHMAN, DIRECTOR, ALABAMA
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Mr. BAUGHMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, Im

Bruce Baughman Director of the Alabama Emergency Management
Agency. I have got about 36 years experience in emergency management. At the state level, four at the State of Mississippi, four
for the State of Alabama, and 28 years with FEMA.

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Im here to talk about FEMA, how FEMAs worked with the
State of Alabama to enhance our capabilities to respond to disasters, both in our recent tornadoes and in preparation for hurricanes.
Recently after the passage of the first Katrina Emergency Reform Act FEMA launched what they called the new FEMA. They
recommitted themselves to establishing stronger regions and more
customer focused organization with regards to working with the
states. I feel that theyve done that. In a recent hurricane after
March the 1st a tornado struck at 12:30, and at 3:00 I was on the
phone with Director May and he was asking what type of assistance we need.
Within hours the Transition Recovery Director from the Alabama
Transition Recovery Office was in my office where we coordinated
our activities. The next day the Federal Coordinating Officer was
there, and the next day we had Presidential Disaster Declaration.
Couldnt have asked for any better response than that.
So, to us the new FEMA slogan its just a slogan its an actual
commitment to the people of our state.
In preparation for hurricane season weve been working very
closely with FEMA region and FEMA headquarters to preposition
those commodities that we feel were going to need in front of a
hurricane, water, ice, cots, pillows, blankets, hygiene kits, tarps
and personal comfort kits. Weve worked with FEMA to establish
what we project our first 72-hour consumption rate is for those
commodities. Those have been either pre-positioned or are in the
process of being pre-positioned in our state.
Were currently in the process of negotiating with FEMA for a
100,000 square foot warehouse to be located in Montgomery to
store these items.
More importantly is exercising. On April the 16th Governor Bob
Riley, myself and other members of the Cabinet, along with members of private industries in our counties, and FEMA and their
counterparts met in Montgomery to walk through a disaster scenario.
In that scenario we established our operation priorities, what we
would be looking for from the Federal Government, and basically
turned over that list of requirements that we would need in a hurricane to them, which is not a large list in our particular case because we feel that we have done the planning required to get ourselves prepared for a major hurricane. That doesnt mean weve addressed everything or we would not need Federal financial assistance.
Other things that weve done is were working as Phil mentioned
in conjunction with FEMA headquarters and regions with a gulf
state planning initiative. This planning initiative was designed to
identify gaps that we might have in our evacuation plans and to
look at ways we can enhance that. One of the things that were
doing right now in the State of Alabama since we have excess shelter capacity is to provide additional shelter space to the State of
Louisiana.
On May 17th, as I mentioned, we did in fact do a lot of exercises.
We activated our emergency operations center, brought all the
state and Federal responders together and walked through a dis-

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aster scenario so that people actually engaged in a disaster operation and had some hands-on experience in working together.
What we do in responding to disaster is we choreograph it, so at
96 hours out we activate our emergency operations center, we are
on the phone twice a day with FEMA and the hurricane center and
with the adjacent states looking at what their requirements are.
We begin a volunteer evacuation at that time. We also understand
the importance that the media plays in this in getting the word out
to the public, so twice a day we are holding briefings with our Federal counterparts and with the various state agencies.
We start opening shelters at 96 hours. Were making sure that
the shelters have emergency power. If we cannot provide it,
FEMAs working with us to provide that emergency power.
We also have used Homeland Security dollars to create the Alabama Mutual Aid System. That system has 54 search and rescue
teams, emergency medical teams and law enforcement teams to
communities response. 5,200 members of that system responded to
both Louisiana and Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. These
teams can help in search and rescue, traffic control, debris movement and other emergency response issues.
At 72 hours out we have FEMA emergency response teams in
our emergency operations center. We are doing a unified command
at that time so that they are looking at our operational priorities
and filling in the requirements that were relying on for additional
supplemental assistance.
At 48 hours out the Governor issues an emergency proclamation,
FEMAs hopefully moving in additional pre-positioned commodities.
We are doing a mandatory evacuation at that time in Mobile and
Baldwin Counties, and at that time the Governor would ask for an
emergency declaration from the President.
And at 24 hours out our evacuations are complete. Over 130 shelters should have been opened housing more than 44,000 evacuees.
Let me in conclusion, I want to make some specific recommendations. One, I think that FEMAs regional role in preparedness
needs to be strengthened. Thats one of the things we tried to work
on in the FEMA format. I think that needs to happen. They need
to work closer with the state day in and day out. Prior to this the
only time we saw FEMA was when a disaster occurred. Now were
working with Phil May and his staff day in and day out to make
sure our emergency preparedness requirements are met.
In addition to that, the regions need additional staff. Right now
the regions are woefully understaffed to carry out the missions of
preparedness response and recovery. The regional staff needs to be
bumped up.
And in addition to that additional funds need to be provided for
training. But if were ever going to get any better and FEMA is
going to be able to carry out its mission, additionally states have
got to have additional dollars to prepare themselves because they
are the first line responders along with local government in any
disasters out there. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. CARNEY. I thank you, Mr. Baughman.
[The statement of Mr. Baughman follows:]

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PREPARED STATEMENT

OF

BRUCE BAUGHMAN

Good Morning Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member King. I am the

Director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, I have over 36 years
experience in Emergency Management over four in my current job, twenty-nine with
FEMA and the federal government and four with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. I am here to talk to you today about how FEMA has worked with
Alabama during both recent declared disasters and in the preparation of the upcoming hurricane season. Earlier this year as a result of the Post Katrina Emergency
Management Reform Act FEMA launched what they are calling new FEMA, and
they re-committed to establishing stronger regions and a more customer-focused organization in regards to working with states impacted by disasters. I feel they have
upheld their commitment. My staff and the people of Alabama saw it first hand immediately following the March 1st tornadoes. The first tornado struck at 12:30pm
and by 3:00pm that same day, FEMA Region IV Administrator Phil May was on
the phone asking what type assistance we might need. Administrator May has a
Southern Linc radio provided to him by our office to make sure we are in constant
contact, and not just during times of disasters, but on a day to day basis. Transitional Recovery Officer Robert Ives was also dispatched to our EOC just hours after
the storm devastated Alabama. I also worked with Alabamas Federal Coordinating
Officer, Gracia Szczech in the recovery phase, and she and her staff vowed to stay
in our state until the survivors of the devastating storm got the assistance they
needed. FEMAs quick response proves the term new FEMA isnt a slogan, but an
actual commitment to the people in our state.
Alabama/ FEMA Preparation for Hurricane Season
Based on Colorado State University hurricane predictions there is a 74% chance
a hurricane will make landfall on the U.S coastline and a 49% chance a major hurricane will make landfall on the Gulf Coast. Governor Riley asked FEMA Administrator David Paulison to preposition much needed emergency commodities in our
state such as water, food, ice, cots, blankets, pillows, hygiene kits, tarps and personal comfort kits. We worked with FEMA to establish our projected 72 hour consumption rate for the above mentioned commodities. Not only did FEMA listen to
our request, but they responded by making sure we have what we need in Alabama,
or either committing to getting it here in a timely manner, as its needed. FEMA
is currently in the process of negotiating a 100,000sq foot warehouse in Montgomery
that will store some of the pre-positioned items. On April 16, 2007, Alabama Governor Bob Riley, his cabinet members and private industry representatives participated in Governors annual Hurricane Workshop. FEMA Region IV Administrator
Phil May along with predesignated EMA response and recovery staff also attended
to see what the state has established as our operational priorities for a landfall
event. This was our opportunity to discuss the operational requirements of a major
hurricane prior to and after it makes landfall, as well as the preparation that takes
place throughout the year at our agency. We are also working with FEMA Region
IV on identifying gaps in our evacuation plans. We have had a series of meetings
between FEMA, state, and local agencies to pre-identify what the locals will need
from the state and in turn what the state will in need in the way of support from
FEMA to successfully evacuate the citizens of the coast of Alabama and other impacted states. We are also working in conjunction with FEMA Region IV to identify
other operational gaps that might exist such as communications and emergency
power. We are a participating state in FEMAs Gulf Coast Mass Evacuation planning initative. This is an initiative to better coordinate a mass multi state evacuation. Alabama continues to work closely with FEMA Region IV in preparing for the
2007 hurricane season.
AEMA Preparedness and Hurricane Timeline
On May 17, 2007 we conducted a working level Hurricane exercise in our EOC,
where we bring all the state agency representatives and run through emergency actions related to a major hurricane. This simulated event gives us an opportunity to
make sure every agency is aware of their role during and prior to a disaster. My
agency also conducts regional exercises with our coastal region to ensure that preparedness measures are being met. The state has pre-determined operational priorities for both post and pre landfall. These priorities are also shared with FEMA. We
are conducting local elected officials briefings throughout the state to ensure proper
interface with local governments during emergencies.
Our current procedures and priorities begin at 96 hours out from a potentially
dangerous storm in the Gulf, the EOC activates at level 3. At that time we are activating resource contracts for food, water and ice. Also at this activation level we are
beginning our twice-daily situation updates. FEMA, the National Hurricane Center

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and the states are updating one another on the latest trace of the storm and what
actions are being taken. At this time the counties begin voluntary evacuation. We
understand the important role the media plays in conveying whats going on to the
public, so at this time we hold twice daily media briefings. We start opening shelters
and making sure there are generators at those facilities. The Alabama Mutual Aid
System is now on alert, and this system consists of 54 teams throughout the state.
About 5,200 members of the mutual aid system responded to Louisiana, Mississippi
and the coast of Alabama during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Recently we
dispatched four of these teams and 350 state personnel to assist the stricken communities following our recent outbreak of tornadoes. They assisted in search and
rescue, traffic control, debris removal and other emergency measures.
At 72 hours out, the EOC is activated at level 2 and we receive our FEMA Emergency Response Team, and establish a unified command and begin joint action planning. County liaisons are deployed and back-up communications are on stand-by
and ready to be deployed as needed.
At 48 hours from the hurricanes anticipated landfall, the EOC is fully activated
and staffed. The Governor will issue an Emergency Proclamation, pre-positioned
commodities are also being moved, and our mandatory evacuation plan is implemented, which includes four zones in Mobile County and Baldwin Counties. 24
hours from land fall the evacuation should be complete. More than 130 shelters
have been identified with a capacity of more than 44, 000. That number includes
23 two-year community colleges identified throughout the state.
The Conclusion
In closing, I understand the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA reorganized as a way to better serve the communities not only in Alabama, but across the
United States, but I feel that FEMA must strengthen its regions and equip them
with the tools to do the job. What I have found in all my years in emergency management, its not so much how you organize but, its the people you have in your
organization, and FEMA has good people; and that makes the difference if you are
successful in the time of a disaster.

Mr. CARNEY. I now recognize Mr. Delahousey for 5 minutes.

STATEMENT OF STEVEN DELAHOUSEY, VICE PRESIDENT,
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FOR AMERICAN MEDICAL
SERVICES CORPORATION

Mr. DELAHOUSEY. Thank you. Thank you for inviting me to testify at this hearing. My name is Steve Delahousey, Im a registered
nurse and registered paramedic. Im currently National Vice President of Emergency Preparedness or Emergency Medical Services
Corporation, which through its operating subsidiaries, American
Medical Response and EmCare serves approximately 10 million patients each year. AMR is a leading provider of emergency and nonemergency ambulance service in the Nation with operations in 36
states and the District of Columbia.
EmCare is a leading provider of outsourced emergency department staffing and related management services contracting with
more than 350 hospitals nationwide.
My testimony today to primarily related to my experiences and
observations as the AMR Medical Disaster Officer during Hurricane Katrina.
Todays topic, Empowering State and Local Officials Through Enhanced FEMA Regional Offices, is timely and appropriate given the
prediction for a very active 1907 hurricane season.
In August of 2005, prior to Katrina, there were approximately
5,000 patients in healthcare facilities, and another 45,000 noninstitutionalized individuals with severe disabilities in the three
Mississippi coastal counties. Many of them required assistance
with evacuation. Katrina made landfall in Mississippi on Monday,
August 29th. We began requesting state and Federal assistance for

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medical evacuation two days prior to landfall. State agencies responded promptly, but their limited resources were quickly depleted. There was no Federal ambulance evacuation plan in place
at the time. We therefore had to rely upon our internal resources
within the private sector. Private ambulances from nearby states
were deployed to south Mississippi to complete the evacuation prior
to Katrinas landfall.
We are pleased to say that there were no deaths or no significant
untoward effects that resulted from this massive medical evacuation effort in Mississippi.
26 days after Katrina wreaked havoc in Mississippi, Louisiana
and Alabama hurricane Rita set its sights on Texas and Louisiana.
This time the Federal Government was ready. FEMA authorized
hundreds of Federal contracted ambulances to be deployed to Houston, Texas to assist with the medical evacuation there.
We are thankful to congress for passing the post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, which reorganizes the Department
of Homeland Security by reconfiguring FEMA and including national preparedness functions. We agree with FEMAs Administrators policies when he said that the new FEMA reflects the expanded scope of FEMAs responsibility that supports a more nimble, flexible use of resources. It will deliver enhanced capabilities
to partners at the state and local level with emergency management and preparedness organizations and to engage the capabilities of the private sector.
The post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act expands
FEMAs regional office structure. It provides for the creation of Regional Advisory Councils to give advice and recommendations to
the Regional Administrators on emergency management issues. We
totally agree with Secretary Chertoff when he stated, one of the
greatest lessons from Katrina that we learned is you just cant
show up and introduce yourself when the emergency is underway.
Mississippi is often recognized for its efficient post Katrina recovery efforts. There are many reasons for this success, but I believe
these to be the most significant:
We utilized a unified command structure here in Mississippi.
We had strong leadership from the Governors office.
We had a competent state emergency management agency.
Some of FEMAs best response personnel were sent to Mississippi.
And lastly, the resilience of Mississippians.
I have witnessed firsthand what a positive difference experienced
leaders can make during disasters. FEMA appointed James Russo
as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Mississippi post Katrina to
work hand in hand with the Governor and senior leaders at the
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Hopefully, empowering FEMA regional offices will allow experienced field commanders like Mr. Russo to carry out their job even more efficiently.
The creation of the Office of Health Affairs, led by Chief Medical
Officer Dr. Jeff Runge, has also had a positive impact and we look
forward to working with Dr. Runge and his team of experts.
Finally, Id like to comment on the need for additional DHS funding for EMS providers. Along with fire and police, EMS providers
are one of three primary first responder groups. The vast majority

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19
of EMS providers, however, lack sufficient access to Federal funding and are therefore under equipped and need additional training
to effectively respond to a terrorist attack or natural disaster.
Chairman Thompson, you may recall in 2003 Congress asked the
DHS Office of Domestic Preparedness to clarify whether ambulance
providers are eligible for grant funds awarded the states. ODP provided a written opinion which states, in recognition that in many
communities private EMS providers are the sole providers of EMS,
ODP determined that both public and private EMS providers are
eligible for funding under the State Homeland Security Grant Program as long as it is consistent with the states Homeland Security
strategy, and the private EMS providers are components of the
local or state response plans.
Despite this opinion, in fiscal year 04 and fiscal year 05, DHS reported that less than 4 percent of first responder grant money was
awarded to EMS providers. EMS providers, however, represent a
full one third of the first responder work force, and are the primary
first responders for medical assistance as evidenced by the response during Hurricane Katrina.
For the past two years Congress has included conference report
language to Homeland Security Appropriations Bills noting their
concern over the lack of funding for EMS providers. You recommended a minimum of 10 percent of Homeland Security funding
for EMS providers in the House Report for both of those years. We
urge you to act on those recommendations.
It would also appear that perhaps an amendment to the Stafford
Act is needed to resolve EMS funding inequities. Currently the
Stafford Act makes no mention of funding eligibility for EMS providers or ambulance services. This explicit omission creates confusion to Federal, state and local government officials resulting in
disparity for EMS providers to receive DHS or FEMA grant funds
and reimbursement for services rendered during times of disasters.
Your assistance in passing a simple amendment to the Stafford Act
recognizing EMS as emergency work, and EMS providers as public
safety personnel along with fire and police is requested. Thank you
for your time and I look forward to answering your questions.
Mr. CARNEY. Thank you, Mr. Delahousey.
[The statement of Mr. Delahousey follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT

FOR THE

RECORD

OF

STEVEN J. DELAHOUSEY

Chairman Thompson, Chairman Cuellar, Chairman Carney and Members of the

Subcommittees:
Thank you for inviting me to testify at this hearing. My name is Steven J.
Delahousey. I am a registered nurse and a registered paramedic. I am currently the
National Vice President of Emergency Preparedness for Emergency Medical Services
Corporation (EMSC) which through its operating subsidiaries, American Medical
Response, Inc. (AMR) and EmCare, Inc. (EmCare), serves approximately ten million
patients each year.. AMR is a leading provider of emergency and nonemergency ambulance service in the nation with operations in thirty-six (36) states and the District of Columbia. EmCare is a leading provider of outsourced emergency department staffing and related management services, contracting with more than 350
hospitals nationwide.
My testimony today is primarily related to my experiences and observations as
the AMR Medical Disaster Officer in Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. Todays
topic, Empowering State and Local Officials Through Enhanced FEMA Regional
Offices, is timely and appropriate given the predictions for a very active 2007 hurricane season.

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20
In August of 2005, prior to Katrina, there were approximately 5,000 patients in
health care facilities and another 45,000 non-institutionalized individuals with severe disabilities in the three Mississippi coastal counties. Many of them required assistance with evacuation. Katrina made landfall in Mississippi on Monday, August
29. We began requesting state and federal assistance for medical evacuation two (2)
days prior to landfall. State agencies were quick to respond but their limited resources were quickly depleted. There was no federal ambulance evacuation plan in
place at the time. We therefore had to rely upon our internal resources within the
private sector. Private ambulances from nearby states were deployed to south Mississippi to complete the evacuation prior to Katrinas landfall. We are pleased to say
there were no deaths or significant untoward effects that resulted from this massive
medical evacuation effort.
Twenty-six (26) days after Katrina wreaked havoc on Mississippi, Louisiana and
Alabama, Hurricane Rita set its sights on Texas and Louisiana. This time the federal government was ready. FEMA authorized hundreds of federally-contracted ambulances to be deployed to Houston, Texas to assist with the medical evacuation.
We are thankful to Congress for passing the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act which reorganizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
by reconfiguring FEMA and including national preparedness functions. We agree
with FEMA Administrator Paulison when he said that the new FEMA reflects the
expanded scope of FEMAs responsibilities. It supports a more nimble, flexible use
of resources. And it will deliver enhanced capabilities to partners at the state and
local level with emergency management and preparedness organizations and to engage the capabilities of the private sector. The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act expands FEMAs regional office structure. It provides for the creation of Regional Advisory Councils to give advice and recommendations to the Regional Administrators on emergency management issues. We totally agree with Secretary Chertoff when he stated . . .one of the greatest lessons from Katrina that
we learned is, you cant just show up and introduce yourself when the emergency
is underway.
Mississippi is often recognized for its efficient post-Katrina recovery efforts. There
are many reasons for this success but I believe these to be the most significant:
We utilized the Unified Command structure
Strong leadership from the Governors office
A competent state Emergency Management Agency
Some of FEMAs best response personnel were sent to Mississippi
And lastly, the resilience of Mississippians
I have witnessed first hand what a positive difference experienced leaders can
make during disasters. FEMA appointed James Russo as the Federal Coordinating
Officer for Mississippi post-Katrina. He worked hand-in-hand with the Governor
and senior leaders at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Hopefully,
empowering FEMA regional offices will allow experienced field commanders like Mr.
Russo to carry out their jobs even more efficiently.
The creation of the Office of Health Affairs, led by Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jeff
Runge, has also had a positive impact and we look forward to working with Dr.
Runge and his team of experts.
Finally, I would like to comment on the need for additional DHS funding for
emergency medical service (EMS) providers. Along with fire and police, EMS providers are one of three (3) primary first responder groups. The vast majority of EMS
providers, however, lack sufficient access to federal funding and are, therefore,
under-equipped and need additional training to effectively respond to a terrorist attack or natural disaster. Chairman Thompson, you may recall that in 2003 Congress
asked the DHS Office of Domestic Preparedness (ODP) to clarify whether ambulance
providers are eligible for grant funds awarded to states. ODP provided a written
opinion which states . . .in recognition that in many communities private EMS
providers are the sole providers of emergency medical services, ODP determined
that both public and private EMS providers are eligible for funding under the {State
Homeland Security Grant Program}, as long as this is consistent with the states
homeland security strategy, and the private EMS providers are components of the
local or state response plans. Despite this opinion, in fiscal year 04 and fiscal year
05, DHS reported that less than four percent (4%) of first responder grant funding
was awarded to EMS providers. EMS providers, however, represent one-third (1/3)
of the first responder workforce and are the primary first responders for medical assistance as evidenced by the response to Hurricane Katrina. For the past two (2)
years, Congress has included conference report language to the Homeland Security
Appropriations Bills noting their concern over the lack of funding for EMS providers. They recommended a minimum of 10% of Homeland Security funding for

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21
EMS providers in the House Report for both of those years. We urge you to act on
those recommendations.
It would also appear that perhaps an amendment to the Stafford Act is needed
to resolve EMS funding inequities. Currently, the Stafford Act makes no mention
of funding eligibility for EMS providers or ambulance services. This explicit omission creates confusion for federal, state and local government officials resulting in
disparity for EMS providers to receive DHS or FEMA grant funds and reimbursement for services rendered during times of disasters. Your assistance in passing a
simple amendment to the Stafford Act recognizing emergency medical services as
emergency work and ambulance providers as public safety personnel (along with
fire and police) is requested.
Thank you for your time today and I look forward to answering your questions.

Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Ruiz for 5 minutes.

STATEMENT OF BRIEN RUIZ, PRESIDENT, SAINT BERNARD
PARISH FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION

Mr. RUIZ. Thank you, Chairman Carney, Chairman Cuellar and

Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Dent and Ranking Member
Mr. Rogers, and distinguished members of the committee for the
opportunity to testify before you today. My name is Brien Ruiz, I
serve as President of the Saint Bernard Firefighters Association. I
am pleased to appear before you today to discuss the response and
recovery experiences of the St. Bernard Parish Fire Department in
aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Although Hurricane Katrina ravaged the whole Gulf Coast, it absolutely devastated St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Overnight a
community of 70,000 individuals and 20,000 homes were completely covered by three to fourteen foot of water. The fire fighters
across the Gulf Coast, like the local fire fighters of St. Bernard
were the first to respond, performing search and rescue, providing
emergency service. Even after their families and neighbors fled the
communities our personnel stayed behind to do their jobs.
In the ensuing days and weeks the St. Bernard firefighters
worked around the clock with no contact, and no assistance from
FEMA.
We did receive support from our brothers and sisters in Louisiana and from the Urban Search and Rescue teams dispatched
from Ohio, New Jersey, Georgia and Canada. Additionally, the
International Association of Firefighters provided medical care and
counseling to our responders. However, apart from these sources of
support, for which I am personally grateful, we were largely left to
fend for ourselves. Left without a steady supply of fuel, we filled
our emergency response vehicles from local refineries. Left without
needed supplies, we broke into hardware stores and grocery stores
and obtained supplies. And post Katrina, FEMA went back on its
promise to pay up-front for the 14 new apparatus to replace our destroyed vehicles, requiring the Parish to purchase $4.3 million
worth of equipment and resubmit paperwork so they could get reimbursed.
The Federal Government also has a vital role to play in supporting local emergency response. FEMA should have been an important resource for the St. Bernard fire fighters to do their job,
but FEMA failed the fire fighters and the citizens of St. Bernard
Parish miserably.
Of the 70,000 persons who once called St. Bernard home, only 10
to 15,000 have returned. Our friends and neighbors are now scat-

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22
tered across the country. Our fire department struggles to protect
whats left of our community, and our local government lacks sufficient funding to even begin the recovery.
Our workload has actually increased since Katrina. Today we respond to more fires, fed by a large number of abandoned homes
and huge quantities of garbage. The widespread arson that occurs
when some realize that setting abandoned property and garbage
gets rid of the eyesore quicker than the legal channels.
Almost two years have passed since the disaster of St. Bernard
Parish there has, in essence, been no recovery from Hurricane
Katrina.
I realize I paint a poor picture, but the picture I paint is reflective of my perspective as a Katrina responder and an active fire
fighter of St. Bernard Parish today.
I understand that Congress has been studying failures in the
Federal response to Hurricane Katrina and taken concrete steps to
improve the response to potential future disasters. Although I have
yet to experience the impact of reform, I am encouraged that they
will aid in the recovery of our community and help provide a more
effective Federal response to future disasters.
One of the most important FEMA reforms implemented by Congress was reestablishing and improving the FEMA Regional Offices. These offices have the potential to help to ensure better coordination between FEMA, state and local governments. It is my
understanding that others in my department have spoken to FEMA
officials to identify current needs, but much of this communication
has proved to be too little too late.
Relationships built through the Regional Office will give FEMA
an intimate understanding of particular community needs prior to
any disaster and help ensure a cooperative relationship between
the Agency and local responders, providing more efficient and effective response.
I am also appreciative of legislation passed by the Congress and
signed into law authorizing the President to establish medical monitoring programs following disasters. Although we lack comprehensive health monitoring programs for individuals who responded to
Hurricane Katrina, I personally know several responders who developed unusual medical conditions in the wake of the initial response. Future monitoring programs will permit for the treatment
of potential diseases and other health conditions in responders that
might not otherwise be detected.
Perhaps most importantly, I am extremely grateful the provision
included in the recently enacted supplemental funding bill waiving
the FEMA required 10 percent local match of disaster assistance
funds to rebuild our communitys infrastructure. Since the storm,
fire fighters have been working from trailers and working in conditions that would be considered substandard in any community.
Although 10 percent match of funds seems small by Federal
standards, setting aside this amount has been impossible given the
scope of the disaster. Although vital, the needs of our community
far exceed rebuilding fire houses. You can understand why this
waive is so critical to our rebuilding process. This waiver will, in
large part, make our recovery possible, and for that, I thank you.

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Such efforts notwithstanding, there remain a number of additional reforms that I believe would further St. Bernards recovery
and assist in future disasters.
As the Committee well knows, St. Bernard Parish, like many
communities across America, has traditionally struggled to balance
the needs for fire service with the various other needs of the community.
Although we were lucky in many ways, even pre-Katrina, we
were often forced to do with less. Hurricane Katrina, local fire
fighters were immediately expected to be running calls and performing search and rescue functions, a difficult task when your fire
house is not constructed to withstand a Category 5 Hurricane.
In todays post-911 world, the Federal Government relies ever
more on local fire fighters to respond to both natural and manmade disasters in a way local departments were never intended to
function. As the Federal Government relies more and more on local
first responders, it should also take the responsibility to ensure
that in a disaster local responders have the tools, resources and
means to fully function.
second, I would urge the government to establish a health monitoring and treatment program for those first responders who responded to Katrina and Rita. Similar monitoring programs established for 9/11 responders have detected respiratory and other
health problems among fire fighters that would not have been otherwise detected. The benefits of early detection and treatment have
been well demonstrated though the 9/11 health programs. Individuals impacted by the response to Katrina would similarly benefit
from the establishment of a comprehensive monitoring and treatment program.
Lastly, I urge the Congress to consider reforms to lessen the burdens of the Federal bureaucracy on devastated communities. I understand that the money is not limitless, and I understand that the
Nation and its citizens have many conflicting needs. But when a
community is completely destroyed, as St. Bernard was, the last
thing local officials should need to worry about is red tape and bureaucracy.
[The statement of Mr. Ruiz follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT

OF

BRIEN RUIZ

Thank you Chairman Cuellar, Chairman Carney, Ranking Member Dent, Ranking
Member Rogers, and distinguished members of the Committee for the opportunity
to testify before you today. My name is Brien Ruiz and I serve as President of the
St. Bernard Parish Fire Fighters Association. I am pleased to appear before you
today to discuss the response and recovery experiences of the St. Bernard Parish
Fire Department in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Although Hurricane Katrina ravaged the whole of the Gulf Coast, it absolutely
devastated St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Overnight, a community of 70,000 individuals and 29,000 homes was completely covered by three to fourteen feet of water.
Like fire fighters across the Gulf Coast, the local fire fighters of St. Bernard Parish
were the first to respond, performing search and rescue, providing emergency medical services, and putting out fires. Even as their families and neighbors fled the
community, the vast majority of our personnel stayed behind to do their jobs.
In the ensuing days and weeks, St. Bernard fire fighters worked around the clock
with no contact, and no assistance, from FEMA.
We did receive support from our brothers and sisters in Louisiana and from
Urban Search and Rescue Teams dispatched from Ohio, New Jersey, Georgia, and
Canada. Additionally, the International Association of Fire Fighters provided medical care and counseling to responders, and housing for our families. However, apart

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from these sources of support, for which I am personally grateful, we were largely
left to fend for ourselves. Left without viable fire houses, we commandeered residences to serve as command centers. Left without a steady supply of fuel, we filled
our emergency response vehicles from local refineries. Left without needed supplies,
we broke into hardware stores to obtain PVC pipe and generators. And postKatrina, FEMA went back on a promise to pay up-front for 14 new apparatus to
replace our destroyed vehicles, requiring the Parish to purchase $4.3 million worth
of equipment and submit paperwork to the Agency for reimbursement.
Although the initial response to Katrina, like any disaster, was properly at the
local level, during the response to a catastrophic disaster, the federal government
absolutely has a vital role to play in supporting local emergency response efforts.
FEMA should have been an important resource for St. Bernard fire fighters to do
their jobs, but FEMA failed the fire fighters and citizens of St. Bernard Parish miserably.
It is difficult for me to speak about the recovery of St. Bernard Parish, because
although in some ways we have begun to rebuild our lives, our community as a
whole has not been able to rebuild in any significant way. Of the 70,000 persons
who once called St. Bernard home, only ten to fifteen thousand have returned. Our
former neighbors are now scattered across the country, our fire department struggles to protect what is left of our community, and our local government lacks sufficient funding to even begin the recovery process.
Before the storm, the St. Bernard Parish fire department employed 118 fire fighters at ten fire houses. Today, we are fortunate to have 90 personnel on staff. While
this may seem sufficient for a community with less than a quarter of its original
population, our workload has actually increased since Katrina.
Today, we respond to more fires than ever before, fed by the large number of
abandoned homes and huge quantities of garbage. This difficult job is significantly
complicated by the widespread arson that occurs when some realize that setting
abandoned properties and garbage ablaze alleviates the eyesore much more quickly
than could any legal channels.
Additionally, St. Bernard boasts thirteen refineries, all of which present a significant fire and hazardous materials danger, and all thirteen of which remain in operation today.
Almost two years have passed since the disaster. But for St. Bernard Parish,
there has, in essence, been no recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
I realize I paint a dour picture, but the picture I paint is reflective of my perspective as a Katrina responder and an active fire fighter in St. Bernard today.
I understand that the Congress has been studying failures in the federal response
to Hurricane Katrina and taken concrete steps to improve the response to potential
future disasters. Although I have yet to experience the impact of recent reforms, I
am encouraged that they will aid in the recovery of our community and help provide
a more effective federal response to future disasters.
One of the most important FEMA reforms implemented by the Congress was reestablishing and improving the FEMA Regional Offices. These offices have the potential to help ensure better coordination between FEMA, state and local governments
and local emergency responders. To this day, I have yet to personally encounter anyone from FEMA in St. Bernard Parish. It is my understanding that others in my
Department have spoken to FEMA officials to identify current needs, but much of
this communication proved to be too little too late.
Relationships built through the Regional Offices will give FEMA an intimate understanding of a particular communitys needs prior to any disaster and help ensure
a cooperative relationship between the Agency and local responders, providing a
more efficient and effective response.
I am also appreciative of legislation passed by the Congress and signed into law
authorizing the President to establish medical monitoring programs following disasters. Although we lacked a comprehensive health monitoring program for individuals who responded to Hurricane Katrina, I personally know several responders who
developed unusual medical conditions in the wake of the initial response. Future
monitoring programs will permit for the treatment of potential diseases and other
health conditions in responders that might not otherwise be detected.
Perhaps most importantly, I am extremely grateful for the provision included in
the recently-enacted supplemental funding bill waiving the FEMA-required ten-percent local match of disaster assistance funds to rebuild our communitys infrastructure. Since the storm, fire fighters have been working from trailers, purchasing our
own supplies and working in conditions that would be considered substandard in
any community.
Although a ten-percent match may seem small by federal standards, setting aside
even this amount has been impossible given the scope of the disaster. Although

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vital, the needs of our community far exceed rebuilding fire houses. Much of our
vital infrastructure remains unrepaired. For example, it would cost $52 million to
rebuild each of our three sewer plants. Given that this years budget for the entirety
of St. Bernard Parish is $38 million, you can understand why this waiver is so critical to our rebuilding process. This waiver will, in large part, make our recovery possible. And for that, I thank you.
Such efforts notwithstanding, there remain a number of additional reforms that
I believe would further St. Bernards recovery and assist in future disaster responses.
As the Committee well knows, St. Bernard Parish, like many communities across
America, has traditionally struggled to balance the needs of the fire service with the
various other needs of the community. And although we were lucky in many ways,
even pre-Katrina, we were too often forced to do more with less. For example, preKatrina, our Departments fire houses were tin, ground level buildings. Now most
people would realize that, in a zone often hit by hurricanes, a ground level structure
made of tin could not withstand extended periods of high wind and heavy rain. In
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, local fire fighters were immediately expected
to be running calls and performing search and rescue functionsa difficult task
when your fire house is not constructed to withstand a Category 5 Hurricane.
In todays post- 9/11 world, the federal government relies ever more on local fire
fighters to respond to both natural and man-made disasters in a way local departments were never intended to function. As the federal government relies more and
more on local first responders, it should also take the responsibility to ensure that,
in a disaster, local responders have the tools, resources and the means to fully function.
Secondly, I would urge the federal government to establish a health monitoring
and treatment program for those responders who responded to Katrina. Similar
monitoring programs established for 9/11 responders have detected respiratory and
other health problems among fire fighters that would not have been otherwise detected. As I mentioned previously, a number of Katrina responders have unusual
or unexplained symptoms in the aftermath of the response. The benefits of early detection and treatment have been well-demonstrated through the 9/11 health programs. Individuals impacted by the response to Katrina would similarly benefit
from the establishment of a comprehensive monitoring and treatment program.
Lastly, I urge the Congress to consider reforms to lessen the burdens of the federal bureaucracy on devastated communities. I understand that money is not limitless, and I understand that the nation and its citizens have many conflicting needs.
But when a community is completely destroyed, as was St. Bernard, the last thing
local officials should need to worry is red tape and bureaucracy.
Whenever disaster strikes, no matter its scope, the professional fire fighters of St.
Bernard Parish work tirelessly to do the jobs for which we were hired: to save lives
and protect the public safety. Whether responding to a house fire or protecting a
community of 70,000 in the wake of natural disaster, we have always made due
with whatever scarce resources were available. But we cannot, and no fire fighters
anywhere should be expected to do it alone.
The federal government can do so much more to help the fire service respond
more effectively to future disasters. Weve made some very good initial steps and
I look forward to partnering with the members of this committee and this panel to
build upon recent reforms and continue improving the manner by which our nation
responds to large-scale emergencies.
This concludes my testimony. Thank you for your interest and attention. I am,
of course, happy to answer any questions you may have.

Mr. CARNEY. Thank you, Mr. Ruiz. I thank all the witnesses for
their testimony, and I will remind each member that he or she will
have 5 minutes to question the panel, and Ill recognize myself for
five minutes.
But first Id like to remind everyone in the room to please put
your cell phones or your PDAs on vibrate or silence, please. Thank
you very much.
Now, I know the national response plan is in the process of being
rewritten and released, and its release has been delayed. Major
May, what is your involvement in the re-write?
Major May. Pretty extensive. The re-write process is really probably the largest, collaborative effort I think weve seen in the coun-

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try where we actually pushed down to the local level and asked
and solicited information from state and local and other partners,
and globaled those requests and requirements and suggestions
back up to headquarters for their consideration in incorporating it
in the national plan.
Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Baughman, did you or any other state emergency managers have input in the process.
MR. Mr. Baughman. As a matter of fact I sat on the steering
committee for the National Response Plan. I had to get off because
of other commitments, but I was on the committee initially. And
it has gone outI was the representative for the National Emergency Management Association, so it was my job to make sure that
all the other state agencies got latest information on the plan.
Mr. CARNEY. Are you satisfied with how its coming out with the
process? If not, why; if so, why?
Mr. BAUGHMAN. The jury is still out. I think that Director
Paulison has made a good faith effort to include all the stakeholders. Im not sure that all the decisions on what is going to be
in the plan is in his hands. Ill just leave it at that.
Mr. CARNEY. What do you think should be in there?
Mr. BAUGHMAN. I think that there ought to be more focus on
theif youre going to have a National Response Plan its got to be
more than the Federal role. It has got to show what state and local
governments role is. Thats the reason it was changed from a Federal response plan to a National Response Plan, because state and
local governments have a role in carrying out emergency response.
And I think that those roles need to be better reflected in that
plan.
Mr. CARNEY. Thank you. Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Delahousey, if the worst
were to happen again and the coast was struck by another major
hurricane do you think FEMA is better prepared to assist local governments now.
Mr. RUIZ. I do not. I havent seenthe first time I spoke to any
FEMA personnel was today. In my department Ive seen FEMA
around just looking at our fire stations, but I dont think so.
Mr. DELAHOUSEY. A couple of months ago this committee had
Mr. Paulison testifying in DC, I was there. At that time Mr.
Paulison indicated that there would be the revisions to the National Response Plan and a Federal ambulance response plan
would be in place by the beginning of hurricane season. That was
last Friday. There was no plan in place. There was supposed to be
and RFP issued on April 30th; that did not happen, it was delayed.
However, I am pleased to say at the close of business on Friday
we were contacted by FEMA and asked if we would accompany, because we have vast resources, would be available until a formal
plan could be in place. And we, of course, said, yes indeed, we
would provide those types of resources.
So there are things in the works now, and we were very pleased
to hear that some of the experienced FEMA leaders that assisted
us after Katrina will be here again in Mississippi for this hurricane
season.
Mr. CARNEY. Thank you very much. I now recognize the Ranking
Member from the subcommittee, the gentleman from Alabama Mr.
Roger for five minutes.

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Mr. ROGERS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to go first to Mr.
Baughman and Mr. May. You heard me talk about the concern for
getting water out after one of these disasters, particularly in Alabama. Do we have enough generators for these rural water systems
assuming the electricity goes out.
Mr. BAUGHMAN. What weve done is weve done an assessment of
all of those rural water wells. We are in the process of purchasing
generators using our Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, monies
from FEMA to put generators at those wells. Do we have all the
requirements met, no, sir, we do not.
Mr. ROGERS. Well, thats what brought it to my attention. I understand that Georgia has adequate supply of these rural generators because the regional office is there. Mississippi now has them
because of Katrina and Rita, but Alabama, particularly down on
the coast, has an inadequate ratio. So I would ask you to work with
the rural water association to make sure that those associations
have these mobile generators that you can provide them.
Mr. BAUGHMAN. I just met with them last Monday. They have 35
generators they can bring there to assist us. I think most of the
rural water wells by here in the next couple of weeks will be met.
The generators in Atlanta though are FEMA generators, and until
an assessment has been done, we have put our request in for 100
generators, 250 were called, so that is part of what they will forward and deploy.
Mr. ROGERS. Excellent. And I talked a little bit about this with
Mr. May on the bus, Im interested in canine assets. I saw post
Katrina we had a real problem with search and rescue and cadaver
dogs. Recently with Enterprise where FEMA performed exceptionally well, we still didnt have these canine assets come in for search
and rescue. The local rescue squads were using personal dogs for
searching for cadavers. Tell me, what else do yall use, who do you
draw on? FEMA doesnt have these dogs as I understand it.
Major May. Bruce may want to comment because he set up the
search and rescue program nationally and has more information.
Mr. ROGERS. Well, whoever.
Major May. Let me just say, I dont know that we actually employed the national search and rescue team at Enterprise because
the local and state came.
Mr. BAUGHMAN. As a matter of fact what we did is we used several search and rescue teams. One from Dothan, one from Mobile,
along with the state mortuary assistance team out of Cullman. But
there is a shortage of cadaver dogs.
When I was with FEMA we actually used the search and rescue
system to locate those dogs. We dont have those in the national
system. What weve done though, if we needed additional cadaver
dogs, those are available through the Emergency National Assistance contact, but that takes hours. So in a tornado situation you
cant get them fast enough. Now, for a hurricane situation you can
ask for those ahead of time and get those pre-positioned.
Mr. ROGERS. That leads me to my next question, and this is more
for Mr. Baughman. When I was in the last go down down the Gulf
Coast with, at that time Speaker Hastert and Ms. Pelosi, we met
with Governor Riley, and one of the things he emphasized that we
need is the ability for these local mayors and county commissioners

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to prenegotiate contracts for debris removal and other services so
that were not getting robbed like we were in this situation. Have
you seen a difference now, is FEMA working with you to allow local
governments to do these kind of predisaster negotiations?
Mr. BAUGHMAN. Well, its not FEMA, but we are working to put
prenegotiated contracts in place for the southern third of the state.
Mr. ROGERS. Will FEMA pay for those.
Mr. BAUGHMAN. If those contracts are activated at the time of
the disaster and theyre prenegotiated, yes, FEMA will reimburse
those contracts.
Mr. ROGERS. And the last thing I have to talk about is, and I
cant remember which one of yall brought it up, but its a shortage
of regional staffing. This is something weve been finding throughout Homeland Security, particularly FEMA, there is a problem
with recruitment and retention. What is your regional staffing and
at what level is that compared to what it should be.
Major May. Currently its about 120 PFTs. We also have a number of PADs and what you call core employees. That puts our numbers up to around 150 as far as people actually working. And, you
know, we have a tremendous heavy workload. I think that
Mr. ROGERS. What should it be? Youve got 150, what should it
be; whats the number?
Major May. I think the department and the agency is talking
about increasing over the next three years by 30 percent.
Mr. ROGERS. Three years, is that fast enough?
Major May. Sir, it takes some while to absorb that many people,
and also you have people that leave, so filling vacancies is sometimes a difficult thing.
Mr. ROGERS. Well, retention, is that a problem?
Major May. It can be. Weve got a lot of senior staff.
Mr. ROGERS. Thank you.
Mr. CARNEY. Thank you, gentlemen. The Chair now recognizes
the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications
Preparedness and Response, the gentleman from Texas Mr. Henry
Cuellar for five minutes.
Mr. CUELLAR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This question is to
Major May. In the April 26th testimony before congress Deputy
FEMA Director Johnson said that evacuations, mass shelters, temporary housing were a priority focus for FEMA. How will this recent change, that is making FEMA better than the Red Cross as
the lead agency for mass care and housing affect the capacity to
provide mass care and the shelter for disaster evacuees?
Major May. Well, I think that what he meant to say that were
incorporating that working very much with the Red Cross on the
whole shelter issue to make sure theyre in lockstep with us. We
are working with, as a matter of fact, the mass evacuation with the
Gulf Coast right now with the partner states of Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, and also close states like Kentucky,
Tennessee and Arkansas and Oklahoma to putting a plan in place
so that we can find shelter space outside of those affected areas.
So were involved with the transportation of those individuals,
evacuating those individuals and also providing shelter for them.
Were working very closely on this now with HUD for the long-term

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HUD housing issue. Those are much longer than just the shelter
operations. But the focus is still to be involved with the Red Cross.
Mr. CUELLAR. All right. Let me just follow up on something.
When you look at FEMA and the Red Cross and other shelter providers in the gulf states are they prepared to meet the needs of the
special needs population such as those who need medications and
oxygen.
Major May. Thats a real challenge and thats why the relationship with this gentleman down the street here, I mean down the
desk here, is awfully important for us formulating that because we
may have to move people some distance to be able to provide that.
But were working with the states, the states are working with the
locals to identify those gaps in medical, special medical needs shelter capability.
Alabama has identified some special shelter capabilities in some
of the junior colleges because you can wrap around additional services other than just a gym floor to provide that. And so were working very hard to identify that population, find out who needs to be
transported and provide facilities for them and wrap staff around
them when they get there.
Mr. BAUGHMAN. I would like to touch on that because thats not
really a Red Cross issue, its a health and medical issue, which in
our state it falls under the State Health Directors purview, because
we have medical staff nurses. We have 15 shelters in our state
with capacity of about 2000. The most weve had in shelters from
our three evacuations during Opal, Dennis and Katrina was 300.
So right now we have enough capacity, but as additional evacuees
come in from Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida to our state we
may not. So we continue to build capacity, and I think every state
continues to build capacity.
Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Delahousey youre next.
Mr. DELAHOUSEY. Well, the answer as to whether or not there
is adequate facilities to prepare for special needs patients I can tell
you, no, there are not. We dont know how many special needs patients there are out there. There is no comprehensive national registry. Here in south Mississippi we estimate 45,000. There are not
45,000 places that we can relocate those people to in this state, so
its a problem.
And the Red Cross does not provide medical care at shelters. The
Red Cross does not man special needs shelters, its left up to the
state. Its a problem thats been ignored for years. We saw it surface in Hurricane Katrina. There is a greater awareness now, but
weve got a long was to go before its rectified.
Mr. CUELLAR. So, Major, what do you think we ought to be doing.
Major May. Well, were moving, were identifying, were working
very hard to identify that population and then try to find solutions.
Were not there yet.
Mr. CUELLAR. On a scope of one to ten where are you, halfway.
Major May. As far as identifyingmeeting the needs that have
been identified to us, about halfway there.
Mr. CUELLAR. OK. Identifying one part.
Major May. Were asking the workers in the states to identify
their population for us, and when they present that to us we try

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to help them provide solutions. Theyre not always successful in
identifying the real population exactly so.
Mr. CUELLAR. So on the first part, which is the identification,
youre saying that youre about halfway. On the preparation, and
I see
Major May. Im talking about numbers, not individual names,
but estimates on what numbers would be like.
Mr. CUELLAR. Well, I see you shaking your head.
Mr. BAUGHMAN. Its because as was mentioned, there is no registry. We dont know what the universe is of people with special
needs requires. Until thats done we dont know whether were 10
percent, 40 percent, 80 percent towards meeting those requirements. In Alabama, what were doing is were simply basing it
upon three evacuations in an 11 month period of time and the
number of people that showed up at shelters. But again, we dont
think that thats a hundred percent of the special needs shelters in
the state. So thats the reason we continue to build capacity.
Major May. And that is historical data and thats what were actually working off of now.
Mr. CUELLAR. OK. Let me justwell actually Ill go ahead and
let the other gentlemen as questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Mr. CARNEY. Thank you, Mr. Cuellar. The Chair now recognizes
the Ranking Member of Subcommittee of Emergency Communications Preparedness and Response, the gentleman from Pennsylvania Mr. Charles Dent for questions.
Mr. DENT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon. For Major
May, my question deals with evacuation plans and the process that
youve employed there. Could you discuss your role in the development of the Gulf Coast evacuation plan?
Major May. My role in the Gulf Coast evacuation plan.
Mr. DENT. Yes, in developing of the Gulf Coast evacuation plan.
Major May. Yes, I co-chaired that responsibility with Mr. Peterson out of Denton, Texas, and Im working very hard to provide the
framework to gather the information to put that plan in place.
Mr. DENT. Now, obviously, many of the gulf states have their
own evacuation plans, and how do these, their evacuation plans,
dovetail with this new regional plan that builds on your efforts?
Major May. Yes. We have teams that have been meeting with
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and theyre in the host
states this week meeting with Oklahoma and Kentucky and Arkansas and Tennessee. And theyre gathering GAP information, kind
of like a GAP for us to determine what capabilities they have at
the local level to transport people, populations, and trying to determine what Federal assets maybe be brought to the table to assist
that capability being put in place.
Mr. DENT. And which Federal, State, and local agencies are currently involved with this evacuation plan process?
Major May. Well, all of the state agencies assume that the state
director brings to a table are involved, and that would probably require the state director, Mr. Baughman, can tell you specific to Alabama.
But in the case of the Federal folks that are involved, the Corp
of Engineers are involved, DHS is involved, DOT is involved. Those

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are the primary ones that are involved, and also DMV has some
visibility in it.
Mr. DENT. And when do you expect this plan to be completed?
Major May. We hope to have that in place and operational by the
first of July. Im sorry, middle of July.
Mr. DENT. Have you engaged with various potential host communities as you develop this plan?
Major May. Yes, were doing that as we speak today. And I have
also been on the phone to the various governors talking with them
about participating in this.
Mr. DENT. I represent an area of eastern Pennsylvania. I worry
about evacuations of New City and Philadelphia, and its a constant concern considering them.
And, Mr. Baughman, I know your office has also been involved
in developing the regional evacuation plan for the Gulf Coast.
Whats your assessment of this plans development, and do you believe that sufficient progress has been made up to this point?
Mr. BAUGHMAN. Yes. Basically what were trying to do is to make
sure that when there is a multi state evacuation that when people
cross state lines from Mississippifor example, when an evacuation from Louisiana occurs many people go up Interstate 10 over
to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. They pick up personnel. If the
storms moving further to the east we pick up traffic along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and they end up going up north on I65. So
were going to be sheltering those personnel.
Well, what we need to know is when are they doing a mandatory
evacuation, are they reverse lane, how many people are potentially
coming our way because we have limited shelter capability.
So, yes, it is helping us because we have the capability to shelter
with instate personnel 44,000. Now, we have the capacity to go up
to 90,000 if, in fact, additional personnel are brought in through
FEMA to help staff that additional shelter capacity. So, yes, we are
working very closely with them on it.
Were working to identify what our emergency transportation requirements are, what our emergency communication requirements
are.
For example, are we doing an evacuation with school buses. Do
we have communication on those school buses so that we can get
a check as to where that bus is in progress to a particular shelter.
And just for your interest maybe, the states of North Carolina,
South Carolina, which are closer to Pennsylvania have indicated as
we do this evaluation that they can shelter their populations in
place in the state.
Mr. DENT. Thank you. Mr. Delahousey, on page 3 of your testimony you mentioned Mississippi is recognized for its efficient postKatrina recovery efforts. You identified a few reasons for that successin particular, that you a unified command structure, strong
leadership from the Governors office, and a competent State emergency management agency. Do you believe that those three attributes were lacking in Louisiana and that this might have contributed to some of the difficulties we had in responding there?
Mr. DELAHOUSEY. There are a lot of things different statistically
between Mississippi and Louisiana, and Im hesitant to be critical
of the emergency response there. I can say that from where we sat,

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the emergency operation center, the local government officials cooperated with the county officials, cooperated with the state officials, cooperated with the Federal officials. And I think that contributed gravely to the cohesive approach that we had to the disaster management.
Mr. DENT. And I guess my final question would be, do you believe that all levels of government are prepared to respond to a category 3 or stronger hurricane if one were to hit the Gulf Coast region this year?
Mr. DELAHOUSEY. Well, were better prepared than we were in
2005 I can tell you. And, now, one of the things that I have to comment on for the 1906 hurricane season there was a Federal plan
in place to evacuate the 12 parishes in south Louisiana. It was not
communicated, I dont think, to the people that live there, but my
company was under contract to provide 300 ambulances should this
same thing occur so that the people next time could get out. And
those type of plans are ongoing.
And the government doesnt own ambulances, neither does
MDMS, and they recognize that and theyre trying to get a plan in
place. Its a slow process, but its improving.
Mr. DENT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all for your
service.
Mr. CARNEY. Thank you, Mr. Dent. The Chair now recognizes the
chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Mississippi,
Mr. Bennie Thompson for questions.
Mr. THOMPSON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I guess I
need to kind of go down the line. The question is, if we have an
existing plan, or a plan thats about to be rewritten, but were not
sharing the responsibilities of the plan with the stakeholders we
have a problem. Mr. May, can you share with the committee what
your expectations of the present plan in place, and how that is to
be communicated with all the stakeholders?
Major May. I think generally speaking the stakeholders at stake,
most of them, understand whats in the National Response Plan.
And whats holding up the publication of the National Response
Plan are really not items that would over all keep us from responding adequately, I think, to an event. By using the instant command
system and using MEMS the national, I mean, national instant
management system and that framework we understand responsibilities of the various levels of government under our unified command, and we would be, I think, prepared to respond to those
needs at the state level. And I dont think thats an impediment at
this time.
There are various client ops specifically that deal with hurricane
preparedness that have been put together.
But the National Response Plan is an all hazards plan that deals
with all hazards not just hurricane preparedness.
Mr. THOMPSON. I understand. But for the sake of the discussion
well talk about hurricanes.
Major May. OK.
Mr. THOMPSON. So, how would a local county or parish official
know about this plan? How would you expect that plan to be communicated all the way down to all the stakeholders.

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Major May. It would be the responsibility of the state government to transmit that plan down to state and local governments.
Mr. THOMPSON. Do you require any sign off by any individual
certifying that that plan has in effect been provided to those individuals.
Major May. The states have to certify that their MEMS is compliant. That they are, and part of that I think would be the transmittal of a planning document or understanding that the planning
process down to the local level.
Mr. THOMPSON. Yes or no.
Major May. Would I expect the states to provide that.
Mr. THOMPSON. Well, I think there is some question as to whether or not the stakeholders who are responsible for carrying out certain aspects of this plan may or may not have knowledge of it. And
Im saying are you
Major May. Theres no
Mr. THOMPSON. Excuse me. Are you requiring them to certify
that they have received the plan.
Major May. No, sir.
Mr. THOMPSON. Well, I think that would be something that
would help facilitate some of the conflicts. Mr. Baughman made
reference to some generators that are housed in Georgia. For the
sake of the record, how many generators do you have in Georgia?
Major May. There are not very many. Theyre in a stockpile.
Most of the generator capacity the agency had is actually in Forth
Worth, Texas. And I think they probably have 100 generators in
Atlanta. But thats part of the national stockpile. And the generators in Texas could be brought to any place they are needed in the
southeast. It just happens to be where they are today.
Mr. THOMPSON. Part of the FEMA response deals with the travel
trailers immediately after a hurricane. Now that youve heard some
questions about formaldehyde in trailers, do you plan to have
somebody look at that before any additional travel trailers are put
into an area, or just go ahead and you decide it from your standpoint.
Major May. My understanding that this is what theyre doing.
Thats not under my responsibility, but I understand the agency
has identified the fact they have the problem. Theyve made recommendations to individuals that are in those trailers, what they
can do to ventilate formaldehyde from those trailers. Theyve got a
monitoring system in place working with EPA, and in the construction or ordering of new trailers theyre working with the manufactures to make sure those formaldehyde numbers are way down, acceptable levels.
Mr. THOMPSON. So in other words, anyone thats in one has been
told that you need to either vent them or we will vent them or we
will provide a monitor.
Major May. Thats my understanding.
Mr. THOMPSON. So has that been an official FEMA directive, or
where did that come from.
Major May. I will have to get back to you on that.
Mr. THOMPSON. All right. Can you get it back to the committee
in writing on that.
Major May. Yes, sir.

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Mr. THOMPSON. This Gulf Coast evacuation plan, and I think Mr.
Dent talked about, and I have to apologize I cant hear from that
side of the table for some reason; is that plan already approved and
in writing.
Major May. No, sir, its in process. Were working now with the
host states that would be receiving evacuees from outside of the
area, the affected area to make sure they can shelter those people.
Mr. THOMPSON. So whats the plan now if something were to
happen tomorrow.
Major May. Well, the plan would be to identify the states. The
city of New Orleans has some evacuation capabilities, the state of
Louisiana has some capability, and well be working with them to
make sure if they needed to shelter those populations outside the
state that we can provide assistance in them doing that. Contracts
are being put in place as we speak.
Mr. THOMPSON. So theres no plan.
Major May. There is not a plan that I can tell you specifically
where were going to be taking certain individuals from, say Louisiana to a location somewhere outside of the state of Louisiana.
The state of Louisiana has plans to evacuate their on populations
to shelters within the state, and other states also. Alabama has an
agreement with them.
Mr. THOMPSON. OK. Thank you very much.
Mr. CARNEY. I thank the Chairman. The Chair now recognizes
other members with questions that they may wish to ask the witnesses. Ill begin with Ms. Sanchez, Loretta Sanchez from California.
Ms. SANCHEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you gentlemen for being before us. I really wanted to ask some questions with
respect to insurance. I dont know if you all would really be the
right witnesses to ask with respect to that. Youre all shaking your
heads no.
OK, let me ask an easy one to begin with then. Could you give
me some indication, any of you, or all of you, about the work that
the faith based groups did when they came in, what they did, how
they set up, if they had contact with you or if they did it on their
own? And Im going back to the fact that I have a fire fighter, we
had many fire fighters come from California to help in the Katrina
situation, and one of them that talked to me at length about his
stay here, which was many, many months, said he was just amazed
at the faith based organizations and everything that they got done.
And unfortunately he also mentioned that one of faith based organization I think was the Latter Day Saints sent a whole bunch of
bags or packages all packed up and everything, then had in there,
you know, courtesy of the Latter Day Saints, and they were asked
to take those out and put the Red Crosss paraphernalia in there.
So, can you discuss a little bit about the faith based organizations
and how they handled, and what they did.
Mr. BAUGHMAN. Sure, I can touch on it. There is several organizations. There is the National Organization of Voluntary Agencies
active in a disaster. Each state has a chapter of that, which contain
most of your faith based organizations.
Ours are coordinated by the Governors Office of Faith Based Initiatives, which is part of our plan. And so any voluntary agency

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coming into the state working on a disaster is coordinated by that
office, which they work with those organizations day in and day
out.
But there is national organization that takes a look at how can
we maximize the utilization of those faith based organizations in
a disaster? That way you dont have a Red Cross and a Salvation
Army Emergency Response vehicle setting up next to one another,
theyre not competing, theyre complimenting one another, and
were utilizing all of their assets, not just one organization. So,
thats what weve done.
Mr. DELAHOUSEY. I can tell you from ESFA, which is the medical
section of the disaster plan, a man that, Dr. Robert Travnicek from
the local health department, and we had a lot of faith based groups
that came into the area and did a lot of good work. Unfortunately
they were not coordinated when they came, they did not check in;
some of them did not check in through the local emergency operations center, so we had no idea where they were. We could have
deployed them to probably more strategic locations had that happened. But they served a very valuable purpose.
And it is a problem also when your local health medical community is trying to get back on its feet, and local doctors are trying
to see patients again. What can you do? Do you ask the for free
faith based groups to leave the area so that the doctors begin practicing medicine again. There was a lot of criticism after Katrina for
that, and it was a very difficult situation, but they did tremendous
work in south Mississippi. The coordination of those could have
been better.
Mr. RUIZ. We had three or four groups that came intoI can
only speak about St. Bernard Parish, you know, the rest of the
state I really cant speak of. But they came in and we took the initiative, we coordinated them, the fire department with Mericarp,
and they came in, we coordinated them and they gutted houses,
and theyre rebuilding houses today. Weve still got some groups,
Catholic Charities, the Billy Graham group, the Baptists, they are
down there building houses for individuals today. You know, thank
God that they came down there and helped the citizens of St. Bernard.
Ms. SANCHEZ. My last question is to you, Mr. Ruiz, its about
when help is the first responders of the fire fighters and some of
the others. Can you elaborate a little on what youve seen, and
what you personally have, of course you havent seen the whole
school of it, but is this a large percentage we need to worry about.
Mr. RUIZ. Well, I think it could be a large percentage, Maam. In
my department I have five guys that came down with some types
of diseases that it took forever to find out what it was. One individual, I brought him with me to our state conventions and they
had a doctor from John Hopkins came in, and he was describing
his problems that he had. He told that they was having the same
type of symptoms in post 911 up there. You know, I first started
getting involved with this was because of medical reasons. I wanted to setup some type of, uh, to draw more positive, to do more research to monitor us because our Parish cannot afford it. If we use
our health insurance our health insurance will sky rocket. So we
hope the government will step in and start to monitor us just like

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were doing for 911. You know, four or five years down the road
what type of diseases are we going to have.
You got to understand, me personally, I worked in five foot, probably four and half foot of water for the first six days of the storm;
human waste, animal waste, the refinery spills, you know, so what
have I absorbed working in this water for that length of time thats
not going to effect me until years down the lone.
Ms. SANCHEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. CARNEY. Thank you. I now recognize Mr. Perlmutter, Ed
Perlmutter from Colorado, for five minutes.
Mr. PERLMUTTER. Thanks, Mr. Chairman, and, Mr. May, I will
start with you since you and I were having this conversation at
lunch. But I really want to talk, because it was something that
came up while we were on our tour, about actions that were taken
locally by the school districts, by the cities, by the parishes, where
they had to act because there wasnt anybody else around to act,
and they did the best they could to make something good out of a
terrible situation. How can we in the Federal arena assist them
now that theyre making claims to get repaid for some of the things
they did, yet theyve got to go through all sorts of appeal processes
when they acted in, and you used I think the words good faith, and
I thought that was right on the mark. And if you could just say
a few things about that.
Major May. Well, one of things we need to do a better job on, and
we have been working with the states, is to do training with them
as an applicant and whats eligible and not eligible for reimbursement. And I know the states in many cases, or Alabama does a
good job, of taking this very training down to the local level and
trainingthis is training that takes place prior to the event. So,
weve got to do a better job of that, making sure that people at the
mayors level and school board level knows the kinds of things that
are eligible for reimbursement. These prenegotiated, precontracts is
good example of having something in place that increases your
ability to be reimbursed in a timely and accurate way.
There are going to be cases and situations, and Ive been involved
with them, and I have seen other people, because youre in a hurry
up, hurry up mode, and then you say the auditors come in, and a
lot of times FEMA may be actually saying, yeah, this was done in
an emergency situation. You need to really take a look at this. But
when the auditors come in and the dust is settled and they look
at it by the book, and you dont have the flexibility in a lot of cases
to do that.
We do have an appeal process in place. It does give the director,
and gives me, the Regional Administrator, myself and the director
some leeway to maybe look at some situations and have a chance
to make sure thats not over burdensome as far as the appeal process is concerned.
Mr. PERLMUTTER. I guess what, and it may be that weve got to
change the law, but from the organization standpoint, especially if
its a governmental entity, a school district or a city, a town, a
county, that they get a presumption in their favor, you know, of
good faith, and not that they have to continuallyI mean, the ordinary citizen is having a tough enough time out there. We heard
from Martha Murphy as we were coming over here about her belief

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that just citizens taking the bull by the horns and acting, you
know, save this town from much more misery than it was going to
have, than it could have had. So, I guess Im just asking on, you
know, as the Administrator for your region, Im saying as a panel
we need to take a look at presumption of good faith in terms of
these appeal processes so that the folks here can get on with the
rest of their lives.
Major May. I agree with you. And I always look at things, did
it serve a governmental purpose, did it save lives and property, is
there something that if they had not takendid it take the burden
off the Federal Government by them doing this action? So I kind
of look at it from both standpoints and try to push the regulations,
but when the IG is there sometimes they dont see it that way.
Mr. PERLMUTTER. Changing the subject a little bit, something we
havent really talked much about; but again, on the trip over here
I asked some questions about the response of the National Guard
to Katrina. And what I was advised is that much of the Mississippi
Guard had been deployed to Iraq at the time, all of their equipment
had been basically had been deployed to Iraq at the time, and that
it was difficult for them to get themselves into place when they
were stretched in terms of their men and women in the service, but
also their equipment. What, if anything, has been done to remedy
that situation? And maybe Mr. Baughman you want to take that.
Mr. BAUGHMAN. Normally FEMA is not responsible for deployment of the Guard. Thats normally done by the Governor. And if
the Governor needs additional help from the Guard, they do that
under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
What weve done in our state is our Adjutant General has setup
three joint task forces. He knows what the equipment requirement
and the personnel requirement are for each one of those. If the
equipment is overseas, hes now made arrangements during hurricane season to get that from other states under that compact
agreement.
Mr. PERLMUTTER. But see, I think what we have is just sort of
a domino effect here, because we did hear from the National Guard
two weeks ago, we had a hearing. And I think I understand that
under this EMAC there is a kind of a pooling process.
Mr. BAUGHMAN. Yes.
Mr. PERLMUTTER. And we did, we heard testimony that the
Guard as a whole was at about 38 to 40 percent of their equipment
needs. We also heard that, you know, especially as this escalation
in troops is taking place in Iraq, more of the Guard is being redeployed, you know, for the second and third time back to Iraq, and
my question to you is, if you have another Katrina come through
here and you get a Katrina/Rita, how are you going to deal with
that.
Mr. BAUGHMAN. Guard assets are a problem. But again, the way
weve dealt with it, and I can only talk specifically for Alabama, is
our Adjutant General has made arrangements with adjacent Adjutant Generals to bring those equipments that their Guard pools,
from that pool which you were talking about, to our state to preposition there ahead of time.
Mr. PERLMUTTER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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Mr. CARNEY. Thank you, Mr. Perlmutter. The Chair now welcomes and recognizes Mr. Taylor from Mississippi for questions.
Mr. TAYLOR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, I want to thank
all of my colleagues for coming here today. I would also like to note
the presence of Mayor Favre of Bay St. Louis, Mayor Longo of
Waveland, Mayor Skellie of Long Beach, and Mayor McDermott of
Pass Christian. And with your permission, since were not allowed
to testify, I would hope the Committee would give them the normal
five legislative days to submit their thoughts towards this process.
Mr. CARNEY. No objection. So ordered.
Mr. TAYLOR. I would like to point out also to the Committee and
account for the heroes, one of them is over there behind that camera. His name is Al Shows, he was with Channel 13 and he was
one who was there with the first responders as I was telling you
as they kept retreating inland, and ended up at the Third Emergency Operations Center. Somewhere between the first and third
they actually marked, they wrote on their sleeves with Marks-ALots in case they died. I think he was number 35.
Mr. SHOWS. 34.
Mr. TAYLOR. 34, OK. But we appreciate you being here. And
again, I know I keep saying this a lot, but to give you an idea of
the magnitude of what happened here, if you look overhead and see
the rust stains, thats from the salt water spray. The water was
about four feet deep in here and the salt water spray is what
caused that. Its just the unthinkable happened, and thats what I
want to keep emphasizing to the FEMA folks is, OK, the unthinkable has happened once.
Im told on the Armed Services Committee by the Generals and
the Admirals that we are due for a weapon of mass destruction attack on the United States. We know that about half of all Americans live in a coastal community, and when the unthinkable happened here our bridge going east, our bridges going west were destroyed. We were down to one lane of traffic going north and south
for about the next 150 miles, and we saw how hard it was to get
fuel in here for the few vehicles that could run. The local police,
as I have told yall, actually broke into the car dealerships and
stole vehicles because all of their vehicles had gone underwater.
One of the things that I have repeatedly asked FEMA is for a
water borne strategy for getting fuel in here. As desperate as we
were for fuel here, I would guarantee you a steak dinner that sitting in the harbor of Pensacola were barge loads of diesel fuel, and
that with the right contacts and the right calls within 20 hours we
could have had a barge load of fuel here at the Port of Bay St.
Louis. We could have another one in Pass Christian and another
one in Gulfport. And so instead of draining shrimp boats and draining fuel out of vehicles that had been under water as we desperately were looking for fuel.
So the question is, what has FEMA done between then and now
to develop a water borne strategy for response?
The second thing I want to point out is because of the good work
of CMO, Admiral Mullen, I was able to get in touch with him the
day after the storm, he had the hospital ship, Im sorry, the USS
Baton off shore. They flew radios into all the hospitals that had
gone under water. They told them if it gets beyond what you can

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handle you call us, we will send a helicopter in to get your patient
and we will take them out to the hospital and well take care of
them.
But additionally the Navy sent the hospital ship Comfort over to
Pascagoula, Mississippi. It was at the dock. I would like Mr.
Delahousey to tell me as the head of American Medical Response,
what were his orders from the State Department of Health as far
as taking people to that ship, but I think you will find that very
interesting.
The third thing is the total lack of communications. Major May,
you know, we were down to one satellite phone in this county for
four days, and if it wasnt for the National Guard we wouldnt have
had that. What has changed since then?
And then lastly, since I still have 20,000 families in this district
living in FEMA trailers, and 7,000 are from Purvis, Mississippi,
and I just had a town meeting up there where a lot of the neighbors adjoining that were pretty upset. Why is it that two years
after the storm, were still renting property to house those 7,000
trailers when the Nation owns 100,000 acres within 10 miles of
there at Camp Shelby. And why are we paying to rent property
through FEMA when we could be sticking those trailersand I
have brought this to you superiors attention, and I have not been
satisfied with the answer. So Im going to ask the question again,
and Im going to keep asking the question, why are you wasting
money?
Lastly, I would like to note that we heard from Mr. Mike Lipski
from Congressman Pickerings office with us. And we have Mr.
Scott Walker from Senator Lotts office with us, and I want to
thank them for being here.
But those are the questions, in any particular order. Mr.
Delahousey, why dont you start after seeing the trouble of bringing
in the hospital ship Comfort to a place that had lost its hospital,
what were your instructions as far as bringing people to that hospital that needed medical care?
Mr. DELAHOUSEY. Weve never had a level one trauma center in
south Mississippi. We may never, in my lifetime anyway. We did
for about a month period after Katrina, and it was in the form of
the USS Comfort docked at Pascagoula. We were so pleased to hear
that that resource was there, and I was shocked to receive a phone
call indicating that we should not take patients to the USS Comfort, and I questioned why and I was told because it was not a
state approved resource. That did not come from MEMA, but from
the Department of Health, said it was not a state approved resource. And I said, well, I think there is a higher authority that
authorized it to come here. You know, perhaps the Commander in
Chief or somebody, but we could not take advantage of it. And they
were relegated to giving tetanus shots and doing other things. They
sent their crews out to man the hospitals. The hospitals wanted to
decompress and put their patients on board so they could get a
break, and they stayed here for several weeks and then weighed
anchor and went to New Orleans instead.
Mr. TAYLOR. So again, the point Im trying to make is, the sort
of thing that we ought to be doing during good times is having
agreements in place between FEMA, between the United States

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welfare, between the states to where that doesnt happen again. I
mean, seeing them literally turn that ship around, brought it up
to Mississippi on very short notice, and that resource was not used.
The doctors on the ship, and the medics on the ship were so frustrated with the situation that they literally grabbed their medical
packs and walked into town. Again, they didnt have any vehicles
with them, and just set up shop.
Major May, again, if you look behind you about a quarter of mile
you will see a jetty, and at the end of that jetty are some large
posts, and up until the opening of that bridge our Nation was good
enough to provide ferry service to make up for the fact that the
bridge was gone. I have asked the city and the county and the region, which is traditionally owners of that property, if they would
allow that to remain rather than being torn up like in the original
contract. And the reason for that is Im convinced its going to happen again, and we need a place where they can either bring in
LKAs, amphibious, from the ships, or for more importantly fuel. I
have got to tell you people were taking it out of their shrimp boats,
they were taking it out of vehicles that had been under water.
What is the plan now? I mean, do you have a list of the fleeting
operations, and have agreements with those people, because we always know its the east side of the storm that gets clobbered; its
the west side of the storm that traditionally is OK. And so there
is always going to be an east side and a west side along the Gulf
Coast. Do you have agreements in place, now that its two years
after the storm, to bring in fuel by barge so that we dont have to
fight 180 miles of downed power lines and downed trees next time?
Major May. Im going to have to get back with you on specifics,
but that contract with FEMA does have a fuel contract in place.
Whether or not it has a sea facet to that I do not know, but Ill
get that to you in writing.
Mr. TAYLOR. OK.
Major May. Second, you mentioned the housing issues, clearly
FEMAs soft under belly, long term housing really has never been
something FEMA had the depth of experience to be able to do.
FEMA now is partnering with HUD to get them involved to look
at some long term solutions.
FEMA also lead a housing initiative with the states, various
states, Katrina states. Mississippi competed for that and there is
some money available to put some Katrina type cottages, we call
them, together, and the state is working to establish those sites for
those.
But I dont have any good information to give you about how we
can do this quickly. Its going to take some time.
Mr. TAYLOR. Again, I want to ask specifically the question, why
are we renting land in Purvis, 10 miles from where the Nation
owns Camp Shelby. That just strikes me as insane. I could see having to do things on the fly right after the storm. That was 21
months ago, and I think youre wasting my Nations money, and I
will continue to write Mr. Chertoff about this, Mr. Paulison about
this, and Im going to keep raising the question until this gets corrected.
The last thing is, I told some of the members of the Committee,
but Mike and Charlie came a little bit late. I really want to com-

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mend Mayor Favre and Mayor Longo. I didnt get down to Bay St.
Louis until the day after the storm. By the time I did so from the
at application EOC that I pointed out to you, and they had allowed
police sanctioned looting of the Wal-Mart, of the Winn Dixie and
the Sav-A-Center. They actually found a stove in the street and the
guy was clever enough to hook it up to a propane tank and was
cooking for the emergency responders, and thats how we fed the
City for the first three or four days.
Now, Mr. May, I just complimented my Mayor on some heads up
responses to a tragedy that no one could have imagined. But I do
want to remind you that when Michael Brown came before the
Homeland Security Committee last year he made a statement that
really got my ire. He said, You are supposed to have three days
worth of food. We ought to have at least three days of food. Well,
as you have seen if you drive up and down the street, there are
a lot of people that had a weeks worth of food in their freezer. The
only problem is they dont have the foggiest idea where their freezer is the next day because their house is gone. And we as a Nation
have to be in a position to respond to situations like that. Now,
these guys made a heads up call. In a community where everybody
knows each other and therefore was kind of self policing, but thats
not going to happen in New York City. Thats not going to happen
in Los Angeles. So, I would really encourage you as a Nation, weve
got to be able to respond quicker than three days.
The other point I want to make is youve now seen this is a fairly
large, not very sparsely populated county. 30 miles, we are out
there about 30 miles. Your local FEMA guy insisted on one point
of delivery for food in a county that 90 percent of it had gone under
water. So no one has got a vehicle. The ones that do have vehicles
dont have fuel. And his answer for that, his excuse for that was,
well, until the National Guard shows up Im not going to do it because there will be riots.
Number one, he wasnt aware that the Mississippi Guard was in
Iraq. I had to walk him through that.
But the second part is, he was just totally insensitive to the fact
that there were neither vehicles nor fuel. And we ended up
razooking a couple of vehicles from the National Guard delivering
fuel. But thats got to be a part of your plan, because the worst is
going to happen, and whether its Los Angeles, New York City, because of man made terror or a natural disaster somewhere in
coastal America. Your game plan has got to be better because its
life and death. And what happened with Katrina is water under
the bridge. Dont you know theres an expression in the country,
the dog bites me the first time its the dogs fault. That same dog
bites me the second time, its my fault.
I sure hope your agency has learned from some of these challenges, and learned from some of the mistakes, and I would love
to hear your response to that, because those were things that I saw
with my eyes that if these local guys had not made such good,
quick, by the seat of their pants calls, a lot of people would have
died.
Major May. The last the thing you mentioned, which is the distribution of commodities, were working, well be working with the
state, or worked with the state, on points of distribution, and they

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will be working with the counties to determine where those points
of distribution should be in the county so you could get those commodities out and we will be responding to where those points of
distribution have been identified by county and state officials.
Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, thank all of you again for coming to
south Mississippi.
Mr. CARNEY. I thank Mr. Taylor for his invitation and for the
witnesss testimony. I want to thank the audience for being attentive and paying attention, it helps us.
Members of the Subcommittees may have additional questions
for the witnesses, and we will submit them in writing and we
would expect an expedient response.
Hearing no further business, the subcommittees stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, the subcommittee was adjourned.]

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