Waxman nails it

FEMA pushes back timeline for meeting hiring target

By Jonathan Marino jmarino@govexec.com

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials on Wednesday released information indicating that they may be behind schedule on meeting hiring goals.

In April, FEMA officials said they would have 95 percent of openings filled by mid-May. Then, on Tuesday, the agency's acting director, R. David Paulison, said FEMA would likely reach its goal by the start of the hurricane season on June 1. But in a fact sheet released at a House Government Reform Committee hearing Wednesday, officials said it will be at least July before the target is reached.

Panel members assailed the lack of hands on deck at the beleaguered agency, and some continued to push for FEMA's removal from the Homeland Security Department.

"Senior posts at FEMA and DHS remain unfilled, in part because experienced emergency managers are unwilling to work in an organization they perceive as broken," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the committee's ranking member.

Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., pushed for FEMA's independence, and said she wants to see competitive contingency contracts in place for this hurricane season, to eliminate possibilities for waste, fraud and abuse.

"It is not clear what [contracts] FEMA has entered into," she said.

Robert Shea, FEMA's acting director of operations, told lawmakers that not all contracts have been solidified, in part due to the agency's steps to eliminate no-bid deals.

"We're going through a very strong competitive process," he said.

DHS' undersecretary for preparedness, George Foresman, told committee members that federal officials also have taken steps to establish a clearer chain of command for disaster response, but nevertheless are prepared to shadow state and local officials and, when necessary, take the reins from them.

Foresman said some states are better at handling disasters than others, but when approached by a reporter, he declined to elaborate. He told committee members that he and other DHS officials will rely on decades of experience in assisting state and jurisdictional authorities.