USDA, Homeland Security urged to coordinate bird flu responses
GAO says agencies must define their roles in the case of a major outbreak, to head off a possible pandemic.
The Agriculture Department has failed to plan how it will coordinate with the Homeland Security Department in case of a major avian flu outbreak, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
The Agriculture Department bears primary responsibility for planning for a potential flu outbreak in the poultry population, and works with state and local governments to develop responses. If an outbreak became significant enough to be declared a federal disaster, however, DHS would assume a leading role coordinating federal, state and local responses.
But according to GAO, the Agriculture Department has not yet established with DHS how the two agencies would coordinate if a major outbreak occurred, leaving open the possibility for miscommunication and unnecessary overlap.
"Unless USDA and DHS work diligently together to ensure roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, effectively communicated and well understood in advance of a significant outbreak, delay could occur at the federal level as the two agencies attempt to work out their relationship during a time of crisis," said Daniel Bertoni, GAO's natural resources and environment director, in the report (GAO-07-652).
Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee urged the Agriculture Department to take advantage of DHS resources to protect humans and the $28 billion poultry industry.
"USDA must recognize DHS' role in preparing for and responding to disasters of any kind and must put to good use the resources and coordination capabilities available to it," Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a joint statement. "A failure to do so puts the American people at needless risk."
In response letters to GAO, officials at Agriculture and DHS agreed that there needs to be clearer delineation of roles in case an outbreak is declared an emergency, disaster or incident of national significance. While emergencies and disasters are declared by the president, incidents of national significance -- events that would require an extensive response coordinated across multiple agencies -- are declared by the DHS secretary.
Bertoni's report stated that a memorandum of understanding was necessary to formalize how the two departments would coordinate, but Jeremy Stump, director of Agriculture's Office of Homeland Security, said the department sees the National Response Plan as the best avenue to increased coordination. The National Response Plan, administered by DHS, is a guide for coordinating all levels of government and the private sector in case of a domestic disaster.
"Our recommendation is to work through the existing process to test the animal response plan through NRP," Stump said. "An MOU seems redundant to us."
Stump said practice is key to smooth cooperation in case of a major avian flu incident, citing an exercise done last fall that allowed the agencies to simulate the point at which an outbreak in the poultry population becomes an incident of national significance requiring DHS to take the lead.
"The best way is exercising it, making sure we have trigger points in everyone's plans, making sure we're dotting our Is and crossing our Ts on this issue because it's such an important one," Stump said.