CQ HOMELAND SECURITY: Paulison: Access to President Key to FEMA Prospering Inside DHS

CQ HOMELAND SECURITY
Jan. 13, 2009 – 7:36 p.m.

Paulison: Access to President Key to FEMA Prospering Inside DHS

By Daniel Fowler, CQ Staff

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s outgoing administrator says the agency should remain within the Homeland Security Department, but indicated he might feel differently had his relationship with the president been less open.

“I don’t see any benefit by taking it out,” R. David Paulison said Tuesday. “If I didn’t have direct access to the president, if I couldn’t call him if I needed him, or if I couldn’t go with him on disasters, if I was not by statute his personal adviser on disasters, then it would be a different story.”

But Paulison said he does have access, President Bush does listen, and asks a lot of questions. “He wants to know exactly what’s going on,” Paulison said. “And I’m the one in the cabinet briefing him when that happens. So, I don’t see us gaining a lot by taking it out.”

Paulison made his comments during a forum sponsored by The George Washington University Security Policy Institute on FEMA’s capabilities, coordination and capacity for the future.

FEMA’s status — in or out of DHS — is one of the key issues that President-elect Barack Obama will face once he moves into the Oval Office, and there is no shortage of people and groups with an opinion on the issue.

In addition to Paulison, outgoing DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff thinks DHS should stay put. But so does House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat. Disagreeing with Thompson is another senior House Democrat, Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James L. Oberstar of Minnesota.

The International Association of Emergency Managers and former FEMA Director James Lee Witt have also weighed in on the side of an independent FEMA, while Senate Homeland Security Chairman Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., the committee’s top Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, the National Troopers Coalition, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Firefighters, the Congressional Fire Services Institute and the International Association of Chiefs of Police want FEMA to remain in DHS.

“There are arguments on both sides,” Paulison said. “And both sides feel very strongly that that’s the way it should be and that’s the best way to strengthen it and prepare this country to respond. But, it’s not a simple decision.”

Due Diligence

Paulison said removing FEMA “cannot be a knee-jerk reaction” and “can’t be based solely on terrorism response.” If FEMA were to come out of DHS, he suggested there would be a resource and authority struggle.

According to Paulison, HSPD-5 gives the DHS secretary “a lot of command and control” and responsibilities in preparedness, response and recovery.

“How is that going to conflict with a separate FEMA and how are they going to de-conflict those types of issues and who’s going to do that?” the administrator asked. “That’s going to take some serious thought and people a lot smarter than me to work those issues out if they make a decision to pull FEMA out.”

In the past two years, Paulison said FEMA has begun to prosper within DHS, citing the growth of the agency’s capabilities and its budget.

He also cited the personal relationships he has with people in other DHS components, which proved useful during Hurricane Ike when he was able to call Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley and ask for help running supply distribution sites.

“I picked up the phone and called him and said ‘Kip, I need people,’ and the next morning I had 300 people,” he said.

Paulison also acknowledged the obvious: Life within DHS hasn’t always been a bed of roses.

“Sometimes it has been very difficult inside of Homeland Security, and not out there operating on your own,” Paulison said. “But the plusses . . . have far outweighed the minuses.”

Daniel Fowler can be reached at dfowler@cq.com.