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NVFC Urges President Obama to Retain FEMA As a Component of Homeland Security
On February 5, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) sent a letter to President Obama urging him to retain the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
In 2005 and 2006, in response to FEMA’s actions after Hurricane Katrina, there was political pressure to make FEMA an independent agency. At that time, the NVFC supported the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, which strengthened FEMA within DHS. The NVFC decided to address this issue again, through a letter to the President, in response to reports in the media, public actions by other stakeholder groups, and testimony from DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano suggesting that the location of FEMA could become a political issue again this year.
The NVFC believes that the reforms to FEMA and DHS undertaken in 2006 in response to Hurricane Katrina strengthened both agencies individually and collectively and should not be abandoned. FEMA has made great strides since passage of the 2006 reforms under the leadership of its recently departed Administrator, David Paulison. Separating FEMA from DHS would weaken both agencies by eliminating synergies and potentially creating overlapping authorities. Additionally, reorganizing FEMA and DHS again now would unnecessarily create a new round of bureaucratic reshuffling.
A copy of the letter to President Obama has been posted at www.nvfc.org. If you have any questions regarding the NVFC’s position on this issue, contact Dave Finger, Director of Government Relations, at (202) 887-5700 or dfinger@nvfc.org.
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Kimberly Ettinger
Director of Communications
202-887-5700 ext. 19
David Finger
Director of Government Relations
202-887-5700 ext. 12