Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton introduced legislation to restore FEMA to Cabinet-level, independent federal agency status to ensure it has the authority to effectively manage recovery efforts for future national crises. In addition, to make sure that disaster response efforts are conducted better in the future, Senator Clinton has also introduced legislation to create an independent commission to investigate the delayed response of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
Washington, DC September 9, 2005--Upon her return from visiting victims of Hurricane Katrina in Houston, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton introduced legislation to restore FEMA to Cabinet-level, independent federal agency status to ensure it has the authority to effectively manage recovery efforts for future national crises. In addition, to make sure that disaster response efforts are conducted better in the future, Senator Clinton has also introduced legislation to create an independent commission to investigate the delayed response of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
"Its difficult to have visited with those whose lives have been shattered by Hurricane Katrina and feel that they were well served. At every turn, I encountered our fellow citizens with desperate questions and few answers. The bureaucracy created by moving FEMA under the Department of Homeland Security is clearly not working. Thats why I am introducing legislation to make FEMA an independent agency again so that our nation is truly prepared to respond when our citizens need our help," said Senator Clinton.
The legislation Senator Clinton announced will restore FEMA to Cabinet-level rank and establish it once again as an independent agency. The FEMA Director would report directly to the President and would have full authority to coordinate with all agencies and take whatever executive action is necessary to ensure needed resources and recovery personnel are deployed to impacted areas in an efficient and timely manner. As part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, President Bush moved FEMA from an independent, Cabinet-level rank to a sub-agency of the Department of Homeland Security under the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The FEMA legislation also will clarify the mission of the agency to ensure that its primary focus is on preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation issues. It will also ensure that FEMA will budget for and champion key mitigation programs such as Project IMPACT that establish successful partnerships between federal, state and local government agencies. Finally, the legislation will require that FEMA retains independent control of the assets needed to prepare for and respond to significant natural disasters.
The independent Katrina Commission would be modeled after the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States convened in the wake of September 11. The Katrina Commission would be charged with providing a comprehensive and unbiased evaluation of what could and should have been done to avoid the extraordinary damage, the loss of life, the evacuation problems and the inadequate relief efforts that have exacerbated the dislocation and suffering of thousands of Americans affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Commission would bring together officials with knowledge, expertise, training and experience with natural disasters to determine how to fix our broken system of federal response to natural disasters of a cataclysmic nature.