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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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Reports on emergency management policy position
of Presidential candidate Barack Obama
By: Firas Makarem Two legitimate sources were used to determine Barack Obama’s emergency management policy position. In examing his campaign website as well as his Senate website, the following information was gathered: A number of positions on a number of policies were listed however, emergency management as an issue, topic, or otherwise was not prevalent in any of his positions. The 2 most related issues to emergency management were the “Environment” and “Protecting the Homeland”. His positions on each as relates to emergency management are summarized below: Senator Obama is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and has supported efforts to base homeland security spending on risk rather than politics. He states that the 9/11 commission report recommendations have been undefended and ignored. Protecting the Homeland – Protecting Chemical Plants - Mr. Obama focuses on protecting our Chemical Plants because they are often located near cities, are relatively easy to attack, and contain multi-ton quantities of hazardous chemicals. Senator Obama worked to introduce comprehensive chemical plant security legislation that would establish a clear set of federal regulations that all plants must follow. The bill requires chemical facilities to enhance security, including improving barriers, containment, mitigation, and safety training, and, where possible, using safer technology, such as less toxic chemicals. This approach also includes a focus on tracking spent nuclear fuel. With a 103 plants operating nationally, GAO found that there was inadequate tracking of spent fuel rods. Senator Obama introduced legislation to establish guidelines for tracking, controlling, and accounting for spent fuel at nuclear power plants. Transit Security - Non-aviation security has been under-funded since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, and our subways and buses remain vulnerable. Disaster Response - In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, improving our nation's emergency planning and response capacity has become a priority for Senator Obama. He introduced legislation to ensure that the mistakes witnessed before and after Katrina are not repeated in the future. Language based on Senator Obama’s bill creating a National Family Locator System was included in the Fiscal Year 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. Keeping Our Drinking Water Safe - There are almost 170,000 public water systems in the United States. An attack on a drinking water system could contaminate or disrupt water service, thereby disrupting society, impacting human health and compromising critical activities such as fire protection. Senator Obama introduced legislation to provide $37.5 million over 5 years for drinking water systems to upgrade their monitoring and security efforts. Environment – Global Climate Change - The issue of climate change is one of the greatest challenges that our generation faces. Senator Obama believes that the U.S. must take aggressive action now to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. He is a cosponsor of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act (S. 309), which was introduced by Senators Sanders and Boxer. This important legislation would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by 80% in the year 2050. Reference: http://obama.senate.gov/issues/homeland_security/ Obama Senate Website http://www.barackobama.com/issues/homeland/ Obama Campaign Website |