For Immediate Release:
Friday, February 17, 2006

Decisions have to be made quickly in an emergency -- in times of natural disaster and terrorist attack alike.  As we saw in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, and again right here in Oklahoma with wildfires, there’s no time to navigate the vast federal bureaucracy when disaster strikes.  Lives and property depend on a quick response.

 

That’s why FEMA has to be an independent agency.  Since September, I have supported legislation that would remove FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and require that its director report directly to the president.

 

H.R. 3656, the National Emergency Management Restoration and Improvement Act, would make it clear that FEMA is the primary agency for national emergency preparedness and assure that it receives the attention it deserves.  FEMA would be better able to coordinate with other federal agencies and departments, and provide assistance to state and local officials on the ground more quickly.

 

On Feb. 15, the House Commission on Hurricane Katrina Preparation and Response released a report detailing the failures of the federal government in the days leading up to and following the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history.

 

After his resignation, former FEMA Director Mike Brown said he did not have a free hand to make decisions that could have expedited the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina.  FEMA’s slow-motion response to Katrina and Brown’s testimony rang true of a certain fact: FEMA was buried deep in Washington bureaucracy with unqualified political appointees at its helm.

 

When deadly wildfires charred thousands of acres across Oklahoma, again FEMA dragged its feet in responding.  Governor Henry requested a disaster declaration on Dec. 30 – more than a month after the wildfires started – but only after outrage from state and federal leaders did FEMA finally approve the request on Jan. 10.  Even then, aid was approved for only 12 counties, requiring an additional request to be made to cover all Oklahomans in need.

 

Because of the inexplicable delay in the approval of the governor’s original request, I called upon acting FEMA Director R. David Paulison to expedite the agency’s review of additional counties.  The counties were added within a week of Henry’s request, but FEMA had a long way to go in reclaiming the trust of Oklahomans and their congressional delegation.

 

On the heels of the scathing 520-page House report, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff proposed several reforms aimed at making FEMA – an agency under the Department of Homeland Security – more responsive.  His proposals are too little too late.

 

In the past few months we saw in the gulf and again right here in Oklahoma what the House report confirmed – it is time for action.  It’s time to cut FEMA loose from the red tape that cripples it.  Be assured, I will continue fighting to make FEMA more responsive and once again make it work for Oklahomans.

 

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Rep. Dan Boren (D-Muskogee) represents Oklahoma’s Second Congressional District.