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Two key senators said Tuesday it would be a terrible mistake for Congress to take up legislation again that would remove the Federal Emergency Management Agency from the Homeland Security Department, saying reforms passed into law last year are showing improvements in the government's ability to deal with disasters.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, were unified during a hearing in their opposition to another major overhaul of FEMA.

Lieberman said he "personally would do everything" he could to fight any legislative attempt to do so.

"While some still call for FEMA to be taken out of DHS, I believe that would be a serious mistake," he said. "I am confident that FEMA today, within DHS, is much stronger than it was on 9/11 and much stronger still than it was ... when Katrina struck the Gulf Coast [in 2005]."

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., introduced legislation May 18 that would restore FEMA to an independent, Cabinet-level agency, with an administrator who would report directly to the president and have authority to take whatever action is necessary during emergencies.

FEMA lost its Cabinet-level status in 2002 when Congress moved it into the Homeland Security Department.

"While it has almost been two years, the pain of Hurricane Katrina and FEMA's inadequate response is still fresh in so many people's hearts and minds," Clinton said in a statement. "On top of that, it seems like every week we hear about new failures on the part of FEMA and the administration when it comes to disaster response."

She noted that FEMA has yet to issue a new national response plan, which defines how agencies would coordinate during major disasters. Last week, the agency said the plan will not be completed until sometime in June, after the start of hurricane season.

Clinton introduced similar legislation last year, as lawmakers in both the House and Senate -- including powerful committee chairmen -- were bitterly divided over how best to restructure FEMA.

In the end, legislation written by Lieberman and Collins and then-House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., and then-ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Bush.

The legislation kept FEMA under the Homeland Security Department but mandated a significant overhaul.

Collins said Tuesday she had "no idea what has prompted a renewal of this debate that we went through last year."

The Homeland Security Department's deputy secretary, Michael Jackson, also urged Congress not to remove FEMA.

"FEMA is made stronger by being a part of DHS," he told Lieberman and Collins during the hearing. "I can assure [you] that what Congress voted to create is taking shape and improving."

"I urge Congress to stay with its vision," Jackson added in written testimony. "I am convinced that a failure by Congress to embrace DHS' integrated homeland security mission will impel far too many of my 208,000 colleagues across the department to question their own commitment to this important enterprise."

FEMA Administrator David Paulison testified that his agency and the department now have a unified command system, improved logistics for moving supplies and equipment, and an improved system to register disaster victims and prevent fraud.

COMMENTS

• I work for a diff't segment of DHS than do the FEMA professionals, and I hear the same lonely cry out of these dedicated employees that we have inside the bureau which i'm employed. And that is... DHS is a monster, out of control, growing larger and larger, and yet, larger. Hiring new employees, consisting of little experience, minimum training.... and allowing bigger and bigger expansions of departments with GS-12's, 13's, 14's, 15's and SES workers who do less work, and more oversight-micro managing, continuing to develop programs (for which they are promoted and compensated generously) without regard for positive results from their projects. DHS, it seems from comparing notes from the FEMA employees written below, is swallowing up good, honest, beneficial programs, and hijacking those programs in the name of Nat'l Sec., and sucking the money & morale dry. Sen. Leiberman would do well, to speak personally with a seasoned FEMA employees, and accept the recent charge of Mr. Romney, and that is, change, improve and streamline the DHS to what it really is, a law enforcement agency taxed with preventing terrorism, AND NOTHING ELSE. Take the non law enforcement components out of DHS, and put them back to where they are most effective! ENTRAPPED Posted August 1, 2007 8:06 PM
• Beginning with FEMA's birth in 1979, I retired a year ago and spend much time listening to or reading messages from those who were “stars” in the 90s complain about the destruction DHS has caused our agency. When those who care are prevented from helping those in dire need, it is debilitating to FEMA employees, disaster victims, and the agency itself. It is now time to rectify the error made in 2003; Congress must remove FEMA from DHS...FEMA was the “star agency” in government in the previous administration when it was proactive (not reactive) and empowered with Cabinet-level status to carry out the mission. Now DHS makes decisions for FEMA and uses it as a scapegoat when criticized. Politics vs. experience has become the rationale for making decisions. DHS has decimated FEMA by eliminating exemplary projects (e.g., Project Impact) and by “taxing” FEMA its vacancies (e.g., allowing us to fill 25 out of 162 vacancies prior to the hurricanes) and funding (for training, equipment, etc.). These “taxes” are used for letterhead changes, logos, glass doors, etc. rather than improving the agency’s ability to assist disaster victims...FEMA should never have been put into DHS as it was the only independent agency placed under DHS, and the only one whose mission is to prepare/respond/recover/mitigate all hazards/disasters—not to protect borders or secure the nation from terrorism...Under DHS micro-management, FEMA has struggled with: 1)Daily/weekly/monthly policy changes that put victims on mental roller coaster; 2) Superficial deadlines that delay assistance to victims by months; 3)Stressed/hospitalized disaster workers, or caused them to leave FEMA since they cannot help victims get eligible assistance; and 4) Responding to many reports called for by IG, GAO, Congressional committees, White House, DHS Secretary, FOIA, and the press rather than providing assistance...The changes that were made to the law in September 2006 were few and small. However, none were significant enough to remedy the problems associated with remaining under DHS’s control. Hundreds or thousands of new hires that have little or no experience and little or poor training will not be able to adequately perform in another large disaster. Pray that the Senate awakens to the need to restore FEMA to its independent status so that it can reclaim the shining “star” status that helped all. Karen Keefer Posted May 25, 2007 7:19 PM
• I retired from FEMA in 1999 after 20 years of service in FEMA and 34 in Federal Service. The analytic framework for emergency management and response is not necessarily incompatible with FEMA being housed in DHS. I take issue with the notion that what happened after January 2001 to FEMA and specifically after March 2003 when made part of DHS represents the specific failure of partisan politics. Emergency Management and Homeland Security should be removed from partisan politics and have a bipartisan focus. Several long-term issues must be addressed whereever FEMA is located organizationally. First, the technical response organizations have decayed, namely NRC, EPA, DOE, and Coast Guard. DOD still does its best to undercut the civil agencies including DHS and FEMA and DOJ remains in a law enforcement mode that could be destructive in the event of a large-scale man-caused event. Second, disaster relief is actually a two tier effort, first tier for those that have transportation and medical care and insurance. Second tier those without the above assets. As federal social programs disintegrate under budget and political pressure, FEMA and DHS are asked to make up for the vast social discrepancies in our current class structured societ. Finally, a stove-piped medical and public health response system has been built at the cost of about $10B by HHS and CDC that as and end result will result in members of the medical profession slugging it out over proposed federal, State and local actions. DHS and FEMA haven't got a clue as to the problems raised by this new threat to comprehensive response, to go with the bureacratic threat from DOD and DOJ, now add DHS. Failure of Congressional oversight to deal with the issues above will soon lead to great tragedy in the next large-scale event.Hope for the best, but don't count on it. William R. Cumming Posted May 25, 2007 12:29 PM