FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
AGENCY
BEFORE THE
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
NOVEMBER 1, 2001
Good afternoon, Chairman Jeffords and Committee members. I am Michael D. Brown, the General Counsel and Acting Deputy Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and I am pleased to testify today about several draft bills that are being considered in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack.
One bill would require the Director of FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Defense, to conduct a study to determine the resources that are needed to develop an effective communications system for the use of emergency response personnel during disasters. We have no objection to the concept of performing such a study, but note that allocating resources to this effort would have an impact on our operating budget.
Another bill under consideration would establish within FEMA an Office of World Trade Center Attack Claims to reimburse individuals and businesses that were injured by the World Trade Center attack on September 11.
Several other bills under consideration would amend the Stafford Act to: 1) authorize the President to conduct studies relating to protection of the health and safety of emergency responders in the aftermath of disasters where harmful substances have been released into the disaster area; 2) direct the President to appoint Children’s Coordinating Officers following disasters where children have lost one or more custodial parents; and 3) extend from 26 weeks to a year the availability of disaster unemployment assistance for individuals who are already eligible for this assistance under the Stafford Act. In addition, FEMA was asked informally to address whether there is a need for new legislation involving housing repairs relating to the September 11 attack.
The draft legislation to establish a
World Trade Center claims office within FEMA would require the Director of FEMA
or an independent claims manager who would be appointed by the Director to
reimburse claimants, including individuals and businesses that live or maintain
businesses in the area around the attack site, for losses suffered as a result
of the World Trade Center attack. The
bill indicates that claimants could file claims for a variety of different
losses, including property losses, infrastructure damage, business interruption
losses, wages for work not performed, insurance deductibles, temporary living
or relocation expenses, and debris removal costs. The bill also requires FEMA to deduct from any claim payments the
amounts that claimants received from insurance recoveries and disaster
assistance payments provided by FEMA, other Federal agencies, State or local
governments, charities, or non-profit organizations. Initially $2 billion would be authorized to be appropriated to
implement the legislation - $1,925,000,000 to pay claims, and $75,000,000 to
cover the costs of administering the program.
As you are aware, the Stafford Act
already contains a broad range of authorities that were triggered by the
President’s major disaster declaration.
We have provided temporary housing assistance to address the housing-related
needs of victims of the attacks. FEMA
is also providing funding to cover 100% of the costs of performing debris
removal at the site of the attack. In
addition, we are providing assistance to repair and replace all publicly-owned
and certain nonprofit facilities that were damaged or destroyed by the
attack.
Nevertheless, it is clear that the
draft legislation would cover a substantially broader range of injuries and
losses than FEMA is authorized to address under the Stafford Act. For example, the Stafford Act does not authorize
FEMA to reimburse disaster victims for business interruption losses, wages for
work not performed, and business relocation expenses. In addition, the Stafford Act only authorizes FEMA to provide
assistance to eligible applicants, such as State and local governments and a
limited number of nonprofit organizations.
The draft legislation, on the other hand, would require FEMA to pay
claims that might be submitted by virtually all individuals and businesses that
were injured by the attack.
As you know, Congress recently enacted
the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act. Title IV of that Act authorizes the Justice
Department to provide compensation to any person, or relatives of a deceased
person, who was injured or killed in the September 11 airplane crashes. Although the draft legislation that would
create a claims office within FEMA would provide assistance to a broader range
of claimants than is covered by the Air Transportation Safety and System
Stabilization Act, we question whether this is an appropriate role for
FEMA.
While
Justice is still developing the regulations of this program, FEMA is already
addressing a substantial percentage of the needs of individuals who were
injured by the attack at the World Trade Center pursuant to the authorities of
the Stafford Act. On the other hand,
our preliminary review of the draft legislation suggests that most of the
claims that would be paid pursuant to the bill would flow to businesses that
were damaged by the attack and that agree to re-establish their business
activities in the area affected by the attack.
FEMA believes that there are already authorities
administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that would cover many
of the types of losses that the bill would require FEMA to address. While I recognize that there are caps on the
disaster assistance loans that SBA is currently authorized to provide, and
while I also recognize that affected businesses would prefer to have access to
Federal grants, rather than loans, we believe it would be preferable to
consider legislation in this situation that would authorize additional
flexibility for existing Federal programs.
Another one of the bills that I was
asked to address would amend the Stafford Act to authorize the President to
appoint Children’s Coordinating Officers whenever an emergency or major
disaster caused children to lose one or more custodial parents. The Coordinating Officers would be
responsible for providing support and assistance to such children to ensure
that they were provided with adequate temporary care services, mental health
services, and counseling to address their long-term needs. As you know, FEMA is already authorized to
provide crisis counseling assistance to disaster victims. We administer this authority by funding
States’s costs of administering counseling services. State applications for crisis counseling funds must address how
services will be provided generally, and in particular to special populations,
such as children.
New York’s application already addresses the need to
provide counseling services to children who have been affected by the
attack. According to the New York
Office of Mental Health, these activities are being provided through outreach
programs, education, and other existing services to children who lost a parent
in the attack. We are not aware that
this has become an issue which needs to be addressed by amending the Stafford
Act, but we would welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue with Committee
members, as well as representatives of the State, New York City, and counseling
providers to ensure that appropriate counseling and long-term services are
available to all needy children.
Additional needs in this regard would probably best be addressed by
agencies with a traditional role in the provision of such services.
I was also asked to address a draft
bill that would amend section 410 of the Stafford Act to extend the
availability of Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) an additional 26 weeks –
to a full year – for individuals who are already eligible for such
assistance. As you may be aware, the
DUA program is administered on our behalf by the Department of Labor, the
federal partner in the federal-state unemployment compensation system. The Department of Labor enters into
agreements with the states to administer the DUA program through the state
unemployment compensation systems. Most
workers who become unemployed as a result of Presidentially-declared disasters
qualify for unemployment compensation under the regular state programs. Those who do not may qualify for DUA.
The unemployment claims that have been
filed in the aftermath of the attack are, therefore, being paid under state
unemployment compensation laws and under the DUA provision of the Stafford
Act. The Administration has proposed,
as part of the Back-to-Work Relief package which has been introduced in the
Senate by Senator Allen as S. 1532, to extend unemployment compensation for an
additional 13 weeks for individuals who became unemployed on or after September
11 in States where a major disaster or emergency was declared as a result of
the attacks and in States where the unemployment rate increases by 30 percent
over the pre-September 11 rate. In
addition, in light of the uniqueness of this situation, the Administration
would support an additional 13 weeks of disaster unemployment assistance in
those States where a major disaster was declared due to the September 11
events.
The final draft bill that I was asked to address in
this hearing would amend the Stafford Act to authorize the President to
implement a program to protect the health and safety of emergency response
personnel in the aftermath of disasters which cause harmful substances to be
released. The program would authorize: 1) the provision to community members and
emergency response personnel, including volunteers, of information about
harmful substances; 2) monitoring of the long-term health impacts of harmful
substances; and 3) training in the use of personal protective equipment for
emergency response personnel. FEMA
routinely calls on the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of
Health and Human Services for expertise in assessing these types of concerns in
the aftermath of disasters. This system
has worked efficiently, and we therefore are not aware of a need to amend the
Stafford Act to address this issue.
However, this is an important issue that may require more time for
review within the Administration.
Finally, the Committee letter mentions a need to
amend the Stafford Act’s temporary housing authority to increase the amount of
funding that may be provided to repair owner-occupied housing that is damaged
by major disasters. There is a new
provision of the Stafford Act that will become effective next May that would
impose a $5,000 cap on this form of temporary housing assistance. In previous correspondence we have asked the
Committee to amend this provision, which, when it becomes effective in May of
2002, will work a severe hardship on disaster victims with the lowest incomes
and the most significant disaster impacts.
This cap was enacted within Public Law 106-390. While the cap does not affect the response
in New York, we continue to urge the Committee to make this technical amendment
before the cap takes effect next May.
Thank you for this opportunity to testify before you
today. I would be pleased to answer any
questions you might have.