The proposed fiscal year 2007 budget: enhancing preparedness for first responders: hearing before the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, ... of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congre

The proposed fiscal year 2007 budget: enhancing preparedness for first responders: hearing before the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, ... of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congre Review

LC Number: KF27 .H573 2006c OCLC Number: (OCoLC)181184218 Subject: Emergency management -- United States -- Finance. Excerpt: ...curity. Indeed, no other administration in the history of our great country has requested more funds for first responders. Since September 11, 2001 the administration and Congress have made an enormous investment, over 28 billion in State, regional and local preparedness programs. Much of this funding, however, remains unspent. If the President's budget request is combined with yet to be awarded funds for 2006 and amounts from prior years that State and local governments have not yet obligated, the result is that more than 5 billion in funding will be available for State and local preparedness activities in fiscal year 2007. Until the problems causing these backlogs are resolved, the reductions in certain homeland security grants programs demonstrate the President's fiscal discipline. So rather than merely continuing to increase Federal funding, the administration's proposed budget attempts to resolve this problem by reforming the grant making system, consistent with the reform contained in H.R. 1544, the Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act. The administration intends to allocate the vast majority of Federal preparedness grants on the basis of risk and need and to assure that States and local governments use such funding to achieve minimum baseline levels of preparedness in accordance with the national preparedness guidance. It is also important to note that the administration's budget request substantially increases funding for certain grant programs. For example, the President's budget includes an over million increase for the Urban Area Security Initiative, a 4 million increase in grant programs dedicated to critical infrastructure protection, and million of increase for the State homeland security grant program. The budget request for the Preparedness Directorat...

The London attacks: training to respond in a mass transit environment: hearing before the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and ... One Hundred Ninth Congress, first se

The London attacks: training to respond in a mass transit environment: hearing before the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and ... One Hundred Ninth Congress, first se Review

LC Number: KF27 .H573 2005b OCLC Number: (OCoLC)70680805 Subject: Local transit -- Security measures -- United States. Excerpt: ...ising attackers anonymity and easy escape. And attacks on mass transit, the circulatory systems of urban areas, can cause widespread fear to really disrupt economic activity and kill or injure large numbers of people. Addressing transit security is complicated by the nature and scope of mass transit. More than 6,000 agencies provide mass transit services, such as bus, subway, ferry and light rail--more than 26 million Americans on a daily basis. And to remain competitive, transit agencies must offer convenient, inexpensive and quality service. The deployment of metal detectors, X-ray machines, explosive detection devices, enhanced searches of passengers and baggage, which of course are accepted now at airports, cannot be transferred easily to subway and/or bus stops. Delays would be enormous and the costs would be extremely large and mass transit could in fact grind to a halt. But that does not mean that we should not be doing more to increase security. It is difficult and it is vulnerable, but it does not mean we should stand back and do nothing more. To the contrary, mass transit systems can develop many effective countermeasures to make attacks more difficult, increase the likelihood of detection, minimize casualties and disruption and reduce panic. Many measures involve only modest expense. Improving liaison with state and local first responders, conducting vulnerability and security assessments, establishing emergency management plans, instituting preventive controls, holding tabletop exercises and full-scale drills, and putting in place procedures to handling bomb threats and left or suspicious objects are not particularly costly undertakings. Just this weekend, in fact, I met a retired New York City police officer who mentioned the possibility--I am going to ask this of the M...

Preparing for emergencies: is northern New Jersey ready?: hearing before the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology of the ... One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session,

Preparing for emergencies: is northern New Jersey ready?: hearing before the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology of the ... One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session, Review

LC Number: KF27 .H573 2006 OCLC Number: (OCoLC)135245393 Subject: Emergency management -- New Jersey -- Evaluation. Excerpt: ...hip and his guidance and support in working for America, and that's what he does. This is the second field hearing we've done together, with the first one being in my home district, which is in Washington State, which borders the City of Seattle. Although Bill and I hail from opposite coasts and belong to different political parties, we, nonetheless, share a common vision for a safer America. There are few members of Congress as passionate as Bill on issues to homeland security, and as one of the few former Mayors serving in the House of Representatives Bill brings leadership and expertise on the needs and concerns of those in the front lines of our first responders. Bill and I have been working on comprehensive legislation to fix the most serious deficiencies within our National Disaster Response System, as made evident by the government's poor response to Hurricane Katrina last year. Since taking over as Chairman of the Subcommittee, we've held five hearings on interoperability and emergency communication. As a first responder myself for over 30 years in law enforcement and the former Sheriff of King County in Washington, I know the importance of having situational awareness in the field when responding to an event. I was proud to work with Bill in drafting H.R. 5351, the National Emergency Management Enhancement Act of 2006. This legislation will, among other things, establish an Office of Emergency Communication and consolidate the SAFECOM program, the Integrated Wireless Network Project, and the Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program within this new office. It was clear from witness testimony during our hearings for the need to hold one person accountable for interoperable communications in the Department of Homeland Security. H.R. 5351 will also make much neede...