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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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October/November
2007
Volume 13 - Number
1/2 |
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John McCain Emergency Management Policy Position By John French McCain for President Website John McCain understands national security and the threats facing our nation. He recognizes the dangers posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, violent Islamist extremists and their terrorist tactics, and the ever present threat of regional conflict that can spill into broader wars that endanger allies and destabilize areas of the world vital to American security. He knows that to protect our homeland, our interests, and our values - and to keep the peace - America must have the best manned, best equipped, and best supported military in the world. John McCain has been a tireless advocate of our military and ensuring that our forces are properly postured, funded, and ready to meet the nation's obligations both at home and abroad. As President, John McCain will ensure that the nation is capable of protecting the homeland. In the aftermath of 9/11 John McCain fought for the creation of an independent 9/11 Commission to identify how to best address the terrorist threat and decrease our domestic vulnerability. He fought for the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security and the creation of the U.S. Northern Command with the specific responsibility of protecting the U.S. homeland. As President, John McCain will ensure that America has the quality intelligence necessary to uncover plots before they take root, the resources to protect critical infrastructure and our borders against attack, and the capability to respond and recover from a terrorist incident swiftly. http://www.johnmccain.com/ Wayne Washington, The State, Columbia, S.C. August 26, 2007 Each major presidential candidate who was a member of Congress in 2002, when the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted to create a department of Homeland Security, voted in favor of having FEMA be a part of the new department. They did so despite words of caution from former FEMA director James Lee Witt, who said the new department should be created slowly. Witt told House members that FEMA's structures for dealing with disasters "were not broken and didn't need fixing." U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., wrote legislation that would restore FEMA to independent status. But Clinton's legislation was rejected in the Senate. Presidential candidates . . . John McCain, an Arizona Republican, were among the senators to vote against Clinton's legislation. McCain said moving FEMA won't make it more effective. "That's just moving the boxes around," he said recently. "I don't think it's a matter of where it is. It's a question of: 'How are you going to take care of people?' "In the two years after Katrina, the storm has come to symbolize different things to different candidates. Some see the storm as proof of the limits of government. McCain, for example, said he wants to see the private sector -- specifically businesses that rely on getting things done quickly -- more involved in getting supplies to stricken communities. WHERE THE CANDIDATES STAND: U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona: Voted to merge FEMA into Homeland Security. Opposed efforts to make FEMA a stand-alone agency after it was criticized for poorly responding to Katrina. Argues moving FEMA out of Homeland Security will not automatically improve the nation's emergency preparedness. Wants the government to tap the expertise of private companies to respond more quickly after natural disasters. Failed in a bid to establish an independent agency that would suggest priorities for the U.S. Corps of Engineers, which constructs and maintains flood-control projects. http://www.nationalcitynetwork.org/news/1943661.html "McCain, Perry Are Critical of Feds' Hurricane Response." Moritz, John Star-Telegram (Fort Worth TX), April 4, 2006. Excerpt: "The governor and McCain also pledged to resist any effort by the federal government to take over disaster operations from state authorities during future emergencies. 'If the federal government assumes control of first responders to catastrophes, I believe it will add needless layers of bureaucracy, create indecisiveness ... and ultimately cost lives,' Perry said. McCain said he would not 'engage in FEMA bashing,' referring to the months-long criticism of the slow response by the Federal Emergency Management Administration during the Katrina aftermath. But he did say that he expected Congress to examine whether the agency should be taken out from the control of the Department of Homeland Security." http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/14258978.htm from http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/ARRPT/April%204%2006.doc |