Lawless Calls for Independent FEMA

WARWICK, RI – Jennifer Lawless, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island’s second congressional district, today called for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to be removed from the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and be rendered an independent federal agency. Amid allegations of former FEMA Director Michael Brown’s resume padding and lack of qualifications, Lawless expressed concern that the United States must have someone leading relief efforts who has emergency management experience.

“The federal government’s initial response to Hurricane Katrina was abhorrent and embarrassing,” Lawless said. “Over the course of the coming weeks and months, we will be evaluating what went wrong and ensuring that we are better prepared for natural disasters in the future. We should start by restoring FEMA to its status as an independent agency and setting standards for its Director. How is it possible for the Director of our federal emergency management agency to have no previous experience managing disasters?”

Lawless backs amendments several Representatives had planned to offer during debate in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, September 8, that would have made FEMA an independent agency and required provisions to ensure a qualified agency director. Prior to the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA was an independent, cabinet-level federal agency reporting directly to the President. The House amendments could have been offered during debate on the $52 billion emergency spending bill, but they were stifled by a GOP-led procedural move to block amendments from being offered. Representative James Langevin was one of just a few Democrats to vote for the measure.

“The people of Rhode Island deserve to know why our Representative was one of only sixteen Democrats to join with Tom DeLay and the Republicans to stifle this amendment,” Lawless said. “We all see the horror that has taken place on the Gulf Coast. You can be sure that if I had the opportunity to help make the federal response more efficient, then I would have done everything in my power to do it.”

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