WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- A congressional panel wants to radically overhaul U.S. disaster preparedness before the new hurricane season begins.
The Homeland Security Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives will move aggressively to overhaul the nation's emergency preparedness and response system, with a goal of approving legislation before the start of the hurricane season in five weeks, CongressDaily reported Friday.
With the looming hurricane threat and mounting election-year pressure to address the system's glaring deficiencies, it appears the panel wants to get out front with its legislation before any competing proposals can gain traction, especially the Senate plan unveiled Thursday to replace the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the report said.
The committee's top priority has become marking up a bill to rebuild FEMA and make other changes to improve the nation's emergency preparedness and response capabilities. The bill is being drafted by House Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert, R-Wash., and House Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas. Their effort has been endorsed by both Homeland Security Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., and ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.
"This bill will be coming out of the committee fast," one aide told CongressDaily. "This is the next thing to be marked up."
The bill would leave FEMA in the Department of Homeland Security, but expand its powers. Responsibility for both emergency preparedness and response would also be reunited within the agency, reversing a decision last year by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
