WASHINGTON, May 12 (UPI) -- A new bipartisan congressional bill will boost the status of the much-criticized FEMA disaster agency.
Legislation unveiled Thursday by a bipartisan team of House members and senators would give the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency direct access to the White House during catastrophic events -- and a new identity, GovExec.com reported Friday.
FEMA still would fall under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, but it would get additional grants oversight responsibilities and its director would be elevated to the rank of deputy secretary, advising the president on disaster management. The name of the agency would be changed to the National Preparedness and Response Authority.
The proposal is largely in step with recommendations issued by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives late last month. It also would return to FEMA the authority over disaster preparedness that was stripped from it as part of a departmental reorganization announced last July, GovExec.com said.
The bill is being sponsored in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., ranking member of that committee.
Legislators said they were seeking an additional $1 billion in FEMA funds for planning and training, and to expand its ability to award grants.
The bill would create uncertainty for President George W. Bush's pick to lead FEMA, R. David Paulison. If the measure is approved, Paulison could be re-appointed to fill the elevated rank of director of the National Preparedness and Response Authority, or another candidate could be nominated, Collins said.
The committee will nonetheless proceed with a nomination hearing for Paulison in a couple of weeks. "[He] is a good choice," Collins said.
