S. 412: A bill to establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an independent agency, and fo

S. 412: A bill to establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an independent agency, and for...

www.govtrack.us

A bill to establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an independent agency, and for other purposes.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
inhofe.senate.gov

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
I just got back from a FEMA Detainment Camp
Congress Seeks To Authorize & Legalize FEMA Camp Facilities

Full text of legislation not yet available. I will post when it does become available.

Until then, we can only speculate as to what this new bill could do for FEMA. New powers, limit on powers?

This bill was introduced by Oklahoma Senator James (Jim) Inhofe. His website does not yet give any additional information as to this bill he sponsored.

www.govtrack.us
(visit the link for the full news article)

Bah! This was supposed to be posted under the breaking Political News thread just as the other 2 did I recently submitted. Must have forgotten to click the Political news link during the submission process.

Sorry. Please move the thread as needed.

[edit on 2/12/2009 by Amaxium]

FEMA - as a disaster assistance agency - was sacrificed on the alter of Homeland Security and the so-called "War on Terror" and has been mostly useless ever since.

This article details a bit more on how the agency was essentially rendered ineffective once absorbed into DHS:

www.washingtonpost.com...

Regardless of what one might think of FEMA camps and the potentially nefarious uses, it can't be denied that people who need assistance in disasters are not terrorists. It's often difficult for the government to walk and chew gum at the same time so extracting FEMA back out of DHS is a good thing.

If anything, this legislation should make one feel a bit better about those "detention" centers.

Full text of this bill is now available on Thomas.gov.

S 412

SEC. 103. MISSION.

(a) Primary Mission- The primary mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, by leading and supporting the Nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation.

(b) Specific Activities- In support of the primary mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Director shall--

(1) lead the Nation's efforts to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against the risk of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, including catastrophic incidents;

(2) partner with State, local, and tribal governments and emergency response providers, with other Federal agencies, with the private sector, and with nongovernmental organizations to build a national system of emergency management that can effectively and efficiently utilize the full measure of the Nation's resources to respond to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, including catastrophic incidents;

(3) develop a Federal response capability that, when necessary and appropriate, can act effectively and rapidly to deliver assistance essential to saving lives or protecting or preserving property or public health and safety in a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster;

(4) integrate the Federal Emergency Management Agency's emergency preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation responsibilities to confront effectively the challenges of a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster;

(5) develop and maintain robust Regional Offices that will work with State, local, and tribal governments, emergency response providers, and other appropriate entities to identify and address regional priorities;

(6) coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, the Director of Customs and Border Protection, the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the National Operations Center, and other agencies and offices in the Department of Homeland Security to take full advantage of the substantial range of resources in that Department;

(7) coordinate with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to take full advantage of the resources of those departments and agencies;

(8) provide funding, training, exercises, technical assistance, planning, and other assistance to build tribal, local, State, regional, and national capabilities (including communications capabilities), necessary to respond to a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster; and

(9) develop and coordinate the implementation of a risk-based, all-hazards strategy for preparedness that builds those common capabilities necessary to respond to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters while also building the unique capabilities necessary to respond to specific types of incidents that pose the greatest risk to our Nation.

Looks like this bill gives FEMA's power back and moves out from under the babysitting DOD.