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FEMA Director Nominee Supports Keeping Agency in DHS
President Obama’s nominee for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director, Craig Fugate, made it clear in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) last month that he believes FEMA should remain a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“That debate, as far as I’m concerned, is over,” Fugate said, responding to a question during the hearing.
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) urged President Obama in January to retain FEMA in DHS after several interest groups and members of Congress publicly called for FEMA to be established as an independent agency. The NVFC believes that FEMA has access to resources within DHS that it would lack outside the Department and has long maintained that emergency management should be at the core of the federal government’s homeland security efforts.
Fugate is a former volunteer firefighter who is currently the Director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management. Representatives from various emergency services organizations attended the hearing, including NVFC Director of Government Relations Dave Finger.
HSGAC Chairman Joseph Lieberman and Ranking Member Susan Collins along with most of the rest of the Committee expressed strong support for Fugate at the hearing. Fugate’s confirmation is currently on hold but expected to proceed to the full Senate in the relatively near future.
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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