Bid to keep FEMA within DHS gains momentum
White House has opposed the idea of FEMA’s removal from the department.
Two key senators have reached an agreement to keep the Federal Emergency Management Agency within the Homeland Security Department, a development that at least one senior House Republican hopes will reverse the direction being pursued by House leaders.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rules Chairman Trent Lott, R-Miss., announced an agreement Thursday to keep FEMA within Homeland Security but give it enhanced powers and protected status.
Under the agreement, FEMA would be transformed into the U.S. Emergency Management Authority.
"The agency will be independent within the Department of Homeland Security and will have the same protections currently provided to the U.S. Coast Guard," the senators said in a joint statement. "For example, similar to the Coast Guard, the DHS secretary will not have the authority to reorganize the structure of the agency, erode its budget or functions, or significantly restructure personnel without approval by Congress."
Lott had supported making FEMA an independent agency again, as it was before Congress created the Homeland Security Department in late 2002. The agreement also would allow the director of the agency to report directly to the White House on emergency matters.
"The administrator will also have the authority to make recommendations directly to Congress, an authority not previously provided to directors of FEMA," the statement said. Collins said she planned to introduce a bill Thursday.
House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., immediately seized on the announcement to express hope that it will influence House lawmakers. The House leadership plans to put a bill on the floor the week of July 10 with language backed by House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, and House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., that would remove FEMA and make it an independent, Cabinet-level agency.
King was going to introduce an amendment to the bill with language almost identical to the agreement worked out by Collins and Lott.
"This has to show the House that legislation taking FEMA out of DHS is an exercise in futility," King said. "And if we're serious about reforming FEMA we should do it in a way that we know can be passed into law, rather than just making a statement."
House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, plans a meeting this afternoon with King, Young and other lawmakers to discuss the House FEMA legislation.
King said his first point will be to promote the Collins-Lott agreement.
"This is really perfect timing," King said. "I couldn't have asked for a better development. This, in the real world, should end all the debate."
He added that a House consensus to transform FEMA inside Homeland Security would set up an easy conference with the Senate.
"I'm going to ask them to reconsider, but I'm not going to do that as a means for new negotiations," King said. "Lott was the guy I was always worried about over there who could make this thing move. This definitely shifts momentum."
The White House has opposed FEMA's removal from the Homeland Security Department.