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February 2004                                                              Volume 6 - Number 1

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NEMA Update...

National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) Update

An Interview with NEMA’s Government Relations Director

by Joanie Rainey

The duties of the Government Relations Director include interfacing with congressional staff and federal agency officials on both legislative and administrative emergency management and homeland security issues.

NEMA is a nonprofit organization representing state emergency management directors by providing an information support network. Members report directly to the Governors for disaster preparedness, mitigation and relief efforts.

In addition to sharing best practices, educating members of Congress, and coordinating with the federal government NEMA also has operational components: the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a mutual aid agreement and partnership between states to send personnel and equipment to help disaster relief efforts in other states/jurisdictions; and the Emergency Management Accreditation Program, the only national standards and accreditation process for states/territorial and local emergency management.

According to NEMA’s Government Relations Director, the hottest issues NEMA is currently monitoring include:

• Reauthorization of the pre-disaster mitigation grant program which is intended to study the effectiveness of mitigation grants in the absence of a disaster, as opposed to solely following a disaster, as is currently the practice. This program originally authorized as a pilot program as part of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 provided for a sunset on 31 December 2003. The omnibus package containing a one year authorization for an extension of the program failed to go through in time. Therefore, on 22 January 2004 the Senate cleared the authorization of the omnibus, which included the extension of the program until 31 December 2004. Nevertheless, Congress still needs to act to determine what to do with the program.

• In the fiscal year 2003 appropriations bill the formula for post-disaster mitigation was changed from 15% of a disaster cost to 7.5%. Although this is based on the formal numbers coming out of the disaster relief fund it cuts the opportunities after a disaster in half. This is particularly important because commitment to engage in mitigation efforts is highest following a disaster. Furthermore, most people do not really think of disasters until they actually happen therefore, they are not aware of the lessons learned until a disaster occurs within their own community.

• The President’s federal budget for 2003 and 2004 proposed to eliminate the post-disaster grant program in its entirety from future funding and would create only a competitive grant program through pre-disaster mitigation. However, Congress restored the program to at least half its previous level before the 2003 fiscal year and continued it throughout the appropriations process. NEMA patiently waits for the release of the President’s proposed budget for 2005 to see if the program will remain and if the percentage of hazard mitigation funds will be restored to previously authorized levels.

NEMA firmly believes there must be a dual prong approach to mitigation 1) pre-disaster mitigation and 2) post-disaster mitigation.

Information for this article was obtained from the following sources:

Telephone interview with Kristin Cormier Robinson: (202) 624-5459.

The National Emergency Management Association website: http://www.nemaweb.org.