Newsday- Lawmakers set to battle over FEMA

Wednesday May 10, 2006

From Newsday:

Lawmakers set to battle over FEMA

BY J. JIONI PALMER. NEWSDAY WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - Bracing for a showdown with two other powerful committee leaders, Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) said yesterday he'd oppose efforts to strip the Federal Emergency Management Agency from the Department of Homeland Security.

King, who chairs the House panel with jurisdiction over homeland security, said the nation's ability to respond to major catastrophes - natural or man-made - would be best served if federal authorities responsible for disaster preparedness and response remained under the same command.

FEMA was criticized for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina, the first large-scale disaster since a shake-up after the Sept. 11 terror attacks resulted in the agency being placed in the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Ark.) are backing legislation that would once again make the agency independent.

"Experience has shown the synergies we were hoping for in the moving to the Department of Homeland Security never materialized," said Robert White, a spokesman for Davis' committee.

King said FEMA's deficiencies could be fixed by tweaking the way the agency functions and ensuring those in charge are qualified. "I've seen nothing to suggest it would perform better out of the Department of Homeland Security," said King, whose committee is expected to approve such legislation next week.

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