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| Excerpt from House testimony about NDPO demonstrates non-War footing |
| 2004-04-14 |
| EFL from congressional testimony concerning an FBI plan to enact a body with some duties simular to a watered down Homeland Security. The testimony is dry but try to picture bodies falling from the World Trade Center as you read the blasé statment. Testimony of Mrs. Barbara Y. Martinez, Deputy Director, National Domestic Preparedness Office, FBI Before the United States House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Emergency Management June 9, 1999 "Preparedness for Terrorism Response" -snip- ...As you know, in the past few years, the President of the United States and Congress have taken significant steps to increase our national security and to promote interagency cooperation. Most recently, cooperative efforts against terrorism have been extended to include state and local agencies and professional and private sector associations as well. For example, in the preparation of the Administration’s Five-Year Interagency Counterterrorism and Technology Crime Plan, the Attorney General directed the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, to host a meeting of individuals who represent the various emergency response disciplines that would most likely be involved in the response to a terrorist event. More than 200 stakeholders representing local and state disciplines of fire services and HAZMAT personnel; law enforcement and public safety personnel; emergency medical and public health professionals; emergency management and government officials; and various professional associations and organizations attended the two-day session. Collectively, they made recommendations to the Attorney General; James Lee Witt, Director of FEMA; Dr. Hamre, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and other federal officials on ways to improve assistance for state and local communities. These recommendations have been incorporated in the Administration’s Five-Year Plan mentioned above. The most critical issue identified by stakeholders was the need for a central federal point of coordination. Due to the size and complexity of both the problem of terrorism and of the federal government itself, it was no surprise that the many different avenues through which aid may be acquired, by state and local officials, and the potential inconsistency of those programs was deemed to be simply overwhelming. In essence, the federal government, though well intentioned, was not operating in an optimal manner nor was it effectively serving its constituents with regard to domestic preparedness programs and issues in an optimal manner. State and local emergency response officials made a strong recommendation to the Attorney General for the coordination and integration of all federal assistance programs that reach state and local agencies for terrorism preparedness. In heeding that recommendation and seeking to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of federal support programs that provide grants for equipment, training, exercises, and information sharing, the Attorney General proposed the establishment of the National Domestic Preparedness Office. In proposing the establishment of the NDPO, the Attorney General consulted the National Security Council, Department of Defense, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, and other relevant agencies regarding the creation of a single coordination point within the federal government to better meet the needs of the Nation. Mission of the NDPO The NDPO, if approved, will provide a forum for the coordination of all federal programs that offer WMD terrorism preparedness assistance for state and local officials. Through such coordination, it is believed that the vital efforts of the Office of Justice Programs’ Office for State and Local Domestic Preparedness Support, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Department of Defense (DoD), the National Guard Bureau (NGB), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other agencies will better serve the states and local communities of this country. It is intended that the NDPO will serve as a much needed clearinghouse to provide information to local and state officials who must determine the preparedness strategy for their community. In keeping with Stakeholders’ requests, the NDPO will also provide a forum for the establishment of agreed-upon standards to guide the execution of federal programs. Federal participants that will serve in a full-time capacity at the NDPO, once approved, will include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Defense, the National Guard Bureau, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Justice Programs, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We have also received commitments from other agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to provide personnel in the future. Stakeholders also cited the need for formal representation of state and local officials with the federal agencies in the form of an Advisory Board to guide the development and delivery of more effective federal programs. Federal agencies agree that their participation is critical to the whole process of domestic preparedness. Therefore, in addition to the Advisory Board, it is anticipated that when fully staffed, approximately one-third of the NDPO will be comprised of state and local experts from various disciplines. Stakeholders identified six broad issue areas in need of coordination and assistance. These areas are: Planning; Training; Exercise; Equipment Research and Development; Information Sharing; and Public Health and Medical Services. I would like to highlight how the proposed NDPO would address each of these areas. In the area of Planning, the NDPO would facilitate the distribution of the United States Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan and other Planning guidance for state and local communities. The benefit of such guidance is to explain to state and local planners the logistics of how federal assets may be included in their local emergency response plans. In the area of Training, the NDPO would continue the DoD initiative to establish and maintain a compendium of existing federal training courses available to emergency responders. It would also establish a mechanism to ensure federal training programs comply with national standards such as those issued by the National Fire Protection Association and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Finally, it would develop a national strategy to make sustained training opportunities and assistance available to all communities and states. For example, the Office of Justice Programs Office for State and Local Domestic Preparedness Support will incorporate into the training programs that it supports standards that have been coordinated through the NDPO process. In connection with the Information Sharing program area, the NDPO can implement a mechanism to facilitate access by personnel outside law enforcement to information that may be important for preparedness and consequence management. Internet web-sites, both public and secure have been proposed for the sharing of public safety information. Links to several existing web-sites may also be built. In the Exercise program area, the NDPO will formally adapt a military software application for civilian use to track the lessons learned during exercises and actual events. The NDPO will provide this tool to participating communities and will maintain an After-Action Tracking database for the repository and review of all lessons that might assist other communities. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |