December
2001 - January 2002
FEMA
and Homeland Security: Shared Missions, But a Shared Budget, Too?
by
Edith T. Carper
The Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the agency charged with dealing
with national emergencies — fires, floods, and other
devastation. FEMA has the duty to "reduce the loss of life and
property and protect our institutions from natural and technological
hazards." It carries out this mission through
"comprehensive, risk-based emergency and consequence-management
programs of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery."
In light of the
events of 11 September, FEMA now needs a major infusion of money to be
ready to respond to potential future terrorist attacks, which could
range from bombings to bio-terrorism and nuclear incidents. Ronald E.
Miller, assistant director of FEMA's Information Technology Office,
described the agency's work and plans to the IEEE-USA Medical
Technology Policy Committee on 13 November. At this meeting, he said
FEMA is in the process of modifying its mission statement to include
terrorism and its aftermath. Terrorism has no season, he pointed out;
it's easier to handle floods and fires, which tend to occur in
somewhat predictable cycles.
Homeland Security
— The New Player
There is a natural
overlap between FEMA's mission and that of the newly created White
House Office of Homeland Security. Its chief, former Pennsylvania
governor Tom Ridge, is a high-profile political figure. The office is
being organized similarly to the National Security Council; its staff
of 100 is being borrowed from
other government agencies.
Congress is
considering bills to broaden the reach of Ridge's office. Under these
proposals the Customs Service (now in the Treasury Department), the
Border Patrol (now in the Immigration and Naturalization Service), and
the Coast Guard (now in the Department of Transportation would be
merged. Bills are also pending that would give a Homeland Security
office cabinet rank.
For now, though,
Senate Democrats plan to propose a $20 billion supplement for
"homeland security" to the fiscal stimulus package that is
now working its way through the Senate. Press accounts state that the
Homeland Security Office is currently being funded by a $25 million
budget with money set aside by the White House.
…Meanwhile, In
the Nation's Capital…
As for the nation's
capital itself, some of the senators responsible for providing the
funds that pay the bills for Washington, D.C. say the city is not
prepared for a major terrorist attack. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said
the city itself needs far more than the $25 million proposed by the
White House for the entire operations of the Homeland Security Office.
D.C. and federal officials agree that Washington lacks adequate
hazardous-material gear to protect police and fire fighters, among
other things. At a recent hearing, Landrieu declared that the District
of Columbia is not equipped for "a large-scale chemical or
biological attack or destruction on the scale of what took place in
New York City."
FEMA's Miller said
there is renewed interest in developing a warning system and plan for
Washington, D.C. (A communications system put in place for the Y2K
challenge has since been dismantled.) If the federal government were
forced to evacuate the city, what steps would have to be taken, he
mused. We should install a communications system right now to make
clear which government agency should do what. But who will lead this
project — and with what budget?
Edith T. Carper is a
special correspondent to IEEE-USA Policy Perspectives.
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