Nomination of Deanne B. Criswell — Senate Hearing 117-365 (March 25, 2021)
Summary
Senate Hearing 117-365 is the record of the March 25, 2021, hearing of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on the nomination of Deanne B. Criswell to be Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, with Chairman Gary Peters presiding. Chairman Peters's opening statement cites over 25 years of emergency management and disaster response experience. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the nominee by video, describing 21 years in the Colorado Air National Guard and service as Commissioner of New York City Emergency Management. The appendix lists testimony, biographical information, a letter from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and responses to pre-hearing and post-hearing questions.
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[Senate Hearing 117-365]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-365
NOMINATION OF DEANNE B. CRISWELL
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON
HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
NOMINATION OF DEANNE B. CRISWELL TO BE ADMINISTRATOR,
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, U.S DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
__________
MARCH 25, 2021
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
44-787 PDF WASHINGTON : 2022
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
Claudine J. Brenner, Counsel
Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
Andrew Dockham, Minority Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director
Kirsten D. Madison, Minority Director of Homeland Security
Trey E. Hicks, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
Andrew J. Timm, Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Thomas J. Spino, Hearing Clerk
C O N T E N T S
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Opening statements:
Page
Senator Peters............................................... 1
Senator Portman.............................................. 3
Senator Hawley............................................... 11
Senator Carper............................................... 13
Senator Scott................................................ 15
Senator Hassan............................................... 17
Senator Ossoff............................................... 20
Senator Lankford............................................. 21
Senator Sinema............................................... 25
Senator Padilla.............................................. 27
Senator Rosen................................................ 28
Prepared statements:
Senator Peters............................................... 33
Senator Portman.............................................. 35
WITNESSES
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand, a U.S. Senator from the New York........ 2
Deanne B. Criswell to be Administrator, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Testimony.................................................... 4
Prepared statement........................................... 38
Biographical and professional information.................... 41
Letter from U.S. Office of Government Ethics................. 62
Responses to pre-hearing questions........................... 66
Responses to post-hearing questions.......................... 88
Letters of support........................................... 97
NOMINATION OF DEANNE B. CRISWELL
----------
THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15 a.m., via
Webex and in room SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon.
Gary Peters, Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen,
Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Johnson, Lankford, Scott, and Hawley.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN PETERS\1\
Chairman Peters. The Committee will come to order. Today we
are considering the nomination of Deanne Criswell to be
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), a critical part of the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS). Welcome, Ms. Criswell, and good to see you, and your
sons, RJ and Eddie, who I had the opportunity to meet here a
few minutes ago. Great to see both of you here as well.
Congratulations on your historic nomination and thank you for
your willingness to serve your country once again.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Senator Peters appears in the
Appendix on page 33.
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FEMA is charged with helping people before, during, and
after disasters. The Administrator leads the Agency's efforts
to respond to disasters, from hurricanes to historic flooding
and wildfires to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
pandemic. The FEMA Administrator coordinates closely with State
and local partners to provide emergency assistance and save
lives in time of crisis, and to help communities across the
country rebuild and become safer and more prepared for the next
disaster.
This is an immensely challenging job, one that demands an
experienced and tested leader. Ms. Criswell, you have over 25
years of emergency management and disaster response experience
at the Federal, at the State, and local levels, a record that
shows you are well prepared to lead this critical agency. You
have the support of multiple emergency management and law
enforcement groups, as well as former FEMA administrators who
served under both Democratic and Republican Presidents.
If confirmed, you will take the helm while the Nation still
faces a historic public health crisis, and FEMA is actively
engaged in response and relief efforts. You will play a key
role in ensuring vaccine distribution is efficient and is
effective, and that every community has the resources that they
need to recover from this pandemic.
As you know, the pandemic is only one of the many
emergencies that FEMA is facing, and will face in the months
and years ahead. We are in the midst of a spring flooding and
heading into hurricane and wildfire seasons, while many
communities are still trying to recover from severe winter
storms.
From our earlier conversation, I know you understand that
there is no one-size-fits-all approach to these disaster
responses, and I also know that you understand that we must do
more to invest in mitigation to reduce the risk before a
disaster strikes. As communities across the Nation continue to
experience the impacts of climate change, we must work together
to mitigate this growing threat.
Ms. Criswell, I look forward to hearing more about your
plans to lead this critical agency, and thank you for your
willingness to serve, and for being here with us today.
I think as we are waiting for Senator Portman for his
opening remarks we have a virtual introduction by Senator
Gillibrand. If that video is available we could play that
video.
OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, A U.S
SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Senator Gillibrand. Challenges we face as a nation are
serious and ever-evolving, from the growing threats of climate
change-fueled natural disasters to global diseases like COVID-
19. During those crises, we rely on 20,000 women and men of
FEMA to form the front lines of our response. They, and the
American people, require competent, qualified, permanent, and
Senate-confirmed leadership.
Ms. Criswell is the experienced leader FEMA needs at the
helm. Ms. Criswell is crisis tested. She served in the Colorado
Air National Guard for 21 years, deploying to support overseas
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, where she responded to
crises in a high-stakes environment.
At her day job as Emergency Manager for the city of Aurora,
Colorado, she gave key experience at the local level. During
her tenure as the senior leader at FEMA, she led Federal
response and recovery operations for emergencies and disasters,
including flooding in North Dakota and South Carolina,
wildfires in Colorado, and tropical storms and typhoons in
Florida and Guam. She also coordinated key stakeholders during
the development of the national response to the Ebola outbreak.
She currently serves as the Commissioner of New York City
Emergency Management, where she made history as the first woman
to hold that job. In that role, she has coordinated the city's
response to COVID-19, tropical storms, extreme summer heat,
large fires, and power outages, including the July 2019
blackouts.
As evidence by her vision as Emergency Management
Commissioner, Ms. Criswell knows that the best way to manage
risk is by taking a proactive approach to reducing risk,
increasing resiliency, and creating the capability to respond
to new and emerging threats. She knows, from her experience as
a first responder and local emergency manager, that State and
local leaders know their community best, and a disaster
response should take a coordinated approach that supports their
efforts.
This forward-thinking, collaborative mindset would be an
asset to all of FEMA's operations. Ms. Criswell, if confirmed,
would be the first woman to lead the Agency, is also the leader
FEMA needs to tackle its internal challenges.
A 2018 Rand report estimated high rates of harassment and
discrimination within FEMA's ranks. As the New York State
Emergency Management Commissioner, she has worked to
proactively address racial and gender inequalities, and
encouraged employees to share their concerns. She knows that a
team is only made stronger by its diversity, and that welcoming
a variety of experiences and perspectives leads to better
ideas.
If confirmed, Ms. Criswell will bring a wealth of first-
hand knowledge and experience to the role that will leave FEMA
and our country better prepared to meet the challenges that lie
ahead.
Chairman Peters. Thank you. Ranking Member Portman, you are
recognized for your opening comments.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PORTMAN\1\
Senator Portman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to my
colleague, Senator Gillibrand, for introducing Ms. Criswell. I
enjoyed our conversation, and as we talked about, FEMA plays an
incredibly important role always, but particularly now, not
just with the natural disasters we have recently encountered
but with the work that FEMA is doing along the border as we
deal with the influx of unaccompanied kids and others.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Portman appears in the Appendix
on page 35.
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You have a lot of experience, 25 years of experience
working in emergency management at the State, local, and even
the Federal level. I am glad you had that time with the
National Guard in Colorado as well, because you led emergency
management units while being deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and
Qatar, so that experience is very important.
The next FEMA administrator will lead more than 21,000
staff, so it is a big management job. The budget is $74
billion, and again, we have plenty of natural disasters that
need to be coordinated. The COVID-19 pandemic has made that
more difficult. We just had a historic hurricane season, and
then again what is going on on the Southern Border, to name
some of the important issues.
One of the things that I want to focus on today is how
every State is different and how we need to be sure that, at
the FEMA leadership level, there is an understanding of that.
Ohioans have been provided significant COVID support, thanks to
FEMA, $100 million in emergency protective measures, $1.4
billion in lost wages assistance. Last week, FEMA launched a
mass vaccination clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, to administer 6,000
doses a day, prioritizing high-risk Ohioans and underserved
populations. So again, FEMA is playing a big role, some are not
aware, even with regard to COVID-19 vaccinations.
The tragic attacks that we have seen at synagogues and
other places of worship over the past decade, which have
increased, have led FEMA to play a bigger role in what is
called the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). Senator
Peters and I have spent a lot of time working on this and
increased the funding, but also managed to pass an
authorization for another 5 years.
This is an area where, as you know from our conversation, I
have a strong interest, and my hope is that this Nonprofit
Security Grant Program is something that you will focus on
personally to ensure that the appropriate funding continues to
be there for these purposes--there is a lot of demand, sadly,
right now for this--but also to be sure that the appropriated
funding comes increased responsibility for guarding against
fraud or waste, or certainly abuse of taxpayer funds.
Commissioner Criswell, I look forward to hearing what you
will do to address these issues, should you be confirmed. I
appreciate your willingness to serve again at a time when our
country is facing some of these unprecedented challenges, and I
look forward to the discussion today regarding your thoughts on
the role FEMA can play in response.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you allowing me to
give an opening statement.
Chairman Peters. Thank you. Thank you, Ranking Member
Portman.
Ms. Criswell, now, it is the practice of this Committee to
swear in witnesses. If you would please stand and raise your
right hand.
Do you swear that the testimony you will give before this
Committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth, so help you, God?
Ms. Criswell. I do.
Chairman Peters. You may be seated.
Ms. Criswell, you may now proceed with your opening
remarks.
TESTIMONY OF DEANNE B. CRISWELL,\1\ TO BE ADMINISTRATOR,
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY
Ms. Criswell. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Peters,
Ranking Member Portman, and distinguished Members of this
Committee. I am honored to appear before you today as President
Biden's nominee to be the next Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency. I would like to start by thanking
Senator Gillibrand for her very kind introduction. It has been
a true honor to serve New York City as their Commissioner for
New York City Emergency Management.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Ms. Criswell appears in the Appendix
on page 38.
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I would also like to thank my family and friends for all
their support throughout this process. In particular, I would
like to recognize my two sons, RJ and Eddie, who are here with
me today. They have sacrificed much over the years and have
supported me throughout my service to our country, and I am
very happy that they could join me here today.
I believe in FEMA's mission of helping people before,
during, and after disasters, particularly as we seek to bring
an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pathway to a ready and
resilient nation requires a shared vision and takes a proactive
mindset. We must reduce risk through system-based mitigation;
we must increase the resilience of our communities so they can
adapt as threats change; and we must scale our response to
minimize the consequences of disasters and emergencies.
I understand this is a challenging mission, and if
confirmed, I welcome the opportunity to meet this challenge and
lead FEMA in its efforts to create a more prepared and
resilient nation.
This last year has been the most challenging of my career.
As New York City responded to the impacts brought on by the
COVID-19 global pandemic, I led a team that worked tirelessly
to prevent the collapse of the health care system. We worked to
ensure no one went hungry. We stood up a first-of-its-kind
program to provide sheltering operations for vulnerable
populations. Sadly, we also implemented a mass-fatality
operation to meet the scale and severity of the impacts of
COVID-19. We had to have the ability to make decisions with
imperfect information and pivot as more details become
available. This was a critical skill that emergency managers
across this country bring to bear every day.
As FEMA responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, it must also
support communities in preparing for future challenges and
adapting to a changing world. The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane
season brought a record 30 named storms, and we also saw
wildfires cause significant damage.
I believe the best way to balance the competing demands is
to make risk reduction investments to build more resilient
communities and infrastructure, including against the threat of
climate change. FEMA has developed robust preparedness and
response capabilities, and now we have an incredible
opportunity to invest in our ability to reduce risk.
As we look to the future, I believe emergency management
across the Nation is at a pivotal point. As an emergency
manager, I have always focused on keeping families and
communities safe. There is nothing more rewarding than being
able to help the people of this Country, and I am deeply
grateful to be nominated for that important role.
Finally, I understand the importance of working closely
with Congress and the Members of this Committee to make sure
FEMA is responsive to your communities and the people you
represent. I have appreciated the opportunity to speak with
Members on both sides about the importance of emergency
management, and, if confirmed, commit to working in a
bipartisan manner at all times.
Thank you for your consideration of my nomination, and I
look forward to answering any questions you may have.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Ms. Criswell. Before we get
started there are three questions the Committee asks of every
nominee for the record.
First, is there anything that you are aware of in your
background that might present a conflict of interest with the
duties of the office for which you have been nominated?
Ms. Criswell. No.
Chairman Peters. Second, do you know of anything, personal
or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and
honorably discharging the responsibilities of the office for
which you have been nominated?
Ms. Criswell. No.
Chairman Peters. And lastly, do you agree, without
reservation, to comply with any requests or summons to appear
and testify before any duly constituted committee of Congress,
if you are confirmed?
Ms. Criswell. Yes.
Chairman Peters. Ms. Criswell, according to multiple
studies, minority and impoverished communities feel the impact
of natural disasters far more severely than others, and we have
certainly seen that time and time again in my home State of
Michigan. These communities often have difficulty obtaining the
assistance that they need from the Federal Government, and
therefore, they do not recover as quickly as they could have
otherwise, or certainly to the same level pre-disaster.
My question to you is, if confirmed, specifically what
steps would you take to make sure that these communities have
the same access and the same assistance as others affected by a
disaster?
Ms. Criswell. Chairman, thank you very much for that
question. It is incredibly important to make sure that we
provide programs and services to communities in an equitable
way. I think, as you mentioned in your opening remarks, that a
one-size-fits-all does not fit every community.
I have seen, first-hand, the devastation that communities
have experienced across this country, and, if confirmed, I am
committed to working with our leadership team, FEMA's
leadership team, as well as our regional leadership to ensure
that programs are delivered consistently and equitably across
the Nation.
Chairman Peters. Last Congress, I introduced the Achieving
Racial and Ethnic Equity in Disaster Response, Recovery, and
Resilience Act to establish a dedicated office to help to
address the disparities that we see in disaster response, to
make sure there is a focus on it, to make sure it not
occurring. Can I receive your commitment today to work
together, and particularly with this piece of legislation which
I intend to introduce shortly here in the Congress, to help
address the unacceptable gap in Federal assistance?
Ms. Criswell. Chairman, I have not had a chance to see your
legislation but I, again, think it is incredibly important that
equity in how FEMA delivers its programs is incredibly
important. If confirmed, you have my commitment to work with
you as this legislation gets introduced again to see how FEMA
can be a part of that.
Chairman Peters. Great. Good to hear.
Studies have also shown that our nation can avoid $6 in
future disaster costs for every $1 that we spend on hazard
mitigation today. That is a pretty good return on investment,
regardless of your perspective. However, mitigation projects
have historically made up only a small part of the nation's
disaster spending. Communities in my home State of Michigan are
facing serious challenges due to shoreline erosion and rising
water levels, destroyed homes and public property, and it has
even forced some residents to relocate.
A bill that I authored, the Safeguarding Tomorrow Through
Ongoing Risk Mitigation Act, recently was signed into law, and
will allow States to really access revolving loan funds for
mitigation projects in their States, such as protecting
coastlines from further erosion.
If confirmed, would you support the expansion of mitigation
programs such as these revolving loan funds to help protect our
local communities?
Ms. Criswell. Chairman, mitigation is so critically
important in today's time, as we see an increase in the number
and severity of disasters. The best way for us to protect
against that is to try to reduce risk. If confirmed, I am
looking forward to learning more about the resources that will
become available through that act, and working with you and
your team to see how we can make sure communities across the
Nation understand the new resources that might be available to
them.
Chairman Peters. I appreciate your understanding of the
issue and your willingness to work on that issue. We passed the
authorizing language, and now we have to get the funding and
appropriations. But I can assure you local communities are
looking forward to having this opportunity to invest in their
communities and put in the kind of mitigation dollars necessary
to protect their residents and also reduce costs in the long
run.
Ms. Criswell, as I am sure you are well aware, the suite of
FEMA preparedness grants was developed following the attacks of
September 11, 2001 (9/11). These grants help secure our
nation's buses, trains, and ports from the threat of terrorism,
among other efforts. In many ways, these grants were designed
to prevent a large-scale terrorist attack on our country, like
we saw on 9/11. Twenty years later, I think we can all agree
that our threat landscape has certainly changed dramatically
since that time. Our communities must now be prepared to
prevent an attack from a white supremacist with an assault
rifle, a ransomware attack by a criminal organization, as well
as large-scale attacks by international terrorists, which
continues to be something that we need to be prepared for.
If confirmed, what changes would you undertake to FEMA's
grant programs to better align with these modern threats that
we face?
Ms. Criswell. Chairman, you raise a really great point, and
the preparedness grants, as you mentioned, started after
September 11th, and they have done a tremendous job at
increasing the capabilities and the preparedness of
jurisdictions across this country.
As the risk and threats do continue to change, the grant
program also must change with it. It is my understanding that
Secretary Mayorkas has also asked FEMA to do an assessment of
the current risk formula to make sure that we are addressing,
that FEMA is addressing the current risks across the Nation. If
confirmed, I look forward to seeing where FEMA is at with that
current assessment and seeing how we can always make sure that
we take the opportunity to improve our programs to make a more
prepared and resilient nation.
Chairman Peters. Extreme weather events, such as
hurricanes, floods, wildfires, they are likely to become more
frequent and intense due to climate change. We are already
seeing that. These events lead to a rising number of human
casualties, economic losses, and there does not seem to be any
abatement in that. In fact, we are likely to continue to see it
escalate in the years ahead.
If confirmed as Administrator, what would you do to ensure
that the entire country, from the Federal Government to State
and local partners, are actively considering climate change in
their disaster planning?
Ms. Criswell. Chairman, we are definitely seeing the
increase in the impacts from climate change. As I said in my
opening remarks, if we look back last year, with the most
number of named storms and a record-breaking wildfire season,
and the time is really now to make sure that we are making
investments for this future risk, and looking out 5, 10 years,
to try to reduce that risk as much as possible.
If confirmed, I really do look forward to understanding
more about how jurisdictions utilize the newly implemented
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program to
continue to buy down that risk, but also to make sure that the
plans that they have in place are taking into account this
changing climate, and that they are looking forward to the
future of what those impacts might be in addressing those in
their plans and their responses.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Ms. Criswell, for your answers
to my questions, and I now recognize Ranking Member Portman for
your questions.
Senator Portman. Thank you, Chairman Peters. Commissioner
Criswell, we had a chance to talk about some of this during our
conversation, but as you know we have made efforts here in this
Committee to ensure that FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant
Program is effective in providing protection to synagogues,
other places of worship, nonprofits. We have increased the
funding. We have ensured that it does not just go to urban
areas.
Have you had much experience with the Nonprofit Security
Grant Program?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, I have not had personal experience
with the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, but I do understand
the importance of having a program like this, as we continue to
see more soft target attacks across our country. The Nonprofit
Security Grant Program is an excellent tool to help these soft
targets and these nonprofit organizations build their
resilience and harden their infrastructure to be better
prepared for them.
Senator Portman. One of the concerns that I have had is
sustainability and the need for local communities to work with
the local police departments in coordination with FEMA, so if
you will focus on that. Also, this notion that it is not just
about money. I do not think the funding is all this is about.
It is also about providing good counsel, advice,
recommendations. As an example, ensuring that there is proper
hardening of the facilities, that the cameras are in the right
place, and so on.
I hope you will work with us on that too, to make sure that
this is about providing best practices and expertise, and be
sure that those States and areas, rural and suburban, that are
not using the program yet understand the use of the program. I
assume you would be committed to trying to do that.
Ms. Criswell. Senator, absolutely. It is my understanding
that the funding for that program was recently increased, and
so I think it is incredibly important that outreach is done so
communities do know that this resource is available to them,
and then provide technical assistance so they can make the most
advantage of it.
Senator Portman. Let me ask you about the Southern Border.
We talked again a little about this. FEMA has now been called
into service to support the response to the ongoing crisis that
is occurring at the Southern Border. Although no disaster
declaration has been issued, is it your understanding that the
Stafford Act requires the President to first declare a disaster
before public assistance can be used to care for migrants?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, my understanding of FEMA's role in
the Southern Border is providing support to the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S.Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) in the execution of their mission. I have not
been briefed on their specific activities that they are
performing, but through the Economy Act, Federal agencies can
provide support to one another as they execute their missions.
Senator Portman. Yes. My feeling is that--and I was just
down at the border--is that FEMA's role can be advisory, but
the public assistance is not appropriate unless there is a
disaster declaration. If migrants are arriving with COVID,
which seems to be, I guess, the hook for FEMA to be there,
isn't the best way to address this stopping the surge rather
than warehousing arriving children in close quarters?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, again, I am not familiar with the
details of exactly what supports FEMA is providing, but I do
understand that they are providing assistance with a small
footprint to assist HHS and CBP with their mission, in
particular, of trying to identify locations to provide the
sheltering for the migrants.
Senator Portman. We will have to talk about that more once
we understand better what the mission is.
In terms of opening schools, I am a big fan of reopening
our schools. According to Congressional Research Service (CRS),
all 50 States have now had some schools reopen. My home State
of Ohio has opened a lot of schools. Thus far, FEMA has only
made reimbursements for schools reopening and operating in this
year, 2021. If confirmed, would you commit to reviewing the
decision to leave behind these schools that reopened back in
2020, and report back whether there will be a change in
eligibility for all schools that have safely reopened under the
new COVID-19 protocols?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, my experience in New York City has
been very similar to what you just explained, really trying to
make sure that schools are opened. It is one of the first
things that we can do as a nation to really move toward
recovery. The guidance that has come out of FEMA throughout
this time has changed and been kind of vague at time. If
confirmed, I am committed to seeing where the current policy is
with reopening schools and what is reimbursable, and working
with you and your staff to understand better your challenges
and issues.
Senator Portman. OK. I think that is really important,
again, not to leave the schools behind that made the decision
in 2020 to go ahead and continue educating our kids, and did so
in a safe manner.
Many of the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO)
and Inspector General (IG) reports covering FEMA highlight
significant challenges in managing risks inherent in any
emergency and disaster response. Specifically, the GAO reports
that FEMA is too focused on eligibility and compliance and too
little focused on fraud prevention. As an example, the
Inspector General recently reported that FEMA made more than $3
billion in improper and potentially fraudulent home repair
payments since 2003.
What are ways that you have mitigated the risk of fraud in
your programs, as Commissioner in New York City, and will you
commit to me that should you be confirmed you will prioritize
fraud prevention in program design and in every response during
your tenure at FEMA?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, it is an incredibly important topic.
With the amount of contracts and funding that is distributed
during the initial phases of a disaster, it always opens up the
opportunity for the potential for fraud.
During my time in New York City, and in particular during
our response to COVID-19, we executed more emergency contracts
than we ever had, and we put in place internal controls and
auditing measures to make sure that we were trying to mitigate
fraud as much as we could. In fact, we even reached out to the
City's Department of Investigation to engage them early on so
we could help identify potential issues ahead of time and put
appropriate mechanisms in place to try to prevent fraud.
If confirmed, Senator, I am certainly committed to making
sure that we have the appropriate internal controls and
measures in place to audit the programs, while being very good
stewards of the taxpayer dollar.
Senator Portman. I hope you work with your IG, and we
certainly work closely with GAO in that. We will continue to
have oversight over that. By the way, the Committee has
oversight over a number of things, including the response to
COVID, and we hope that you will be responsive to legitimate
requests from the Committee. We talked about that, and you said
that you would be. Can you just confirm that here, in the
public hearing?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator, I commit to cooperating with
any of the hearings and the investigations that you are doing.
Senator Portman. A final thing for me is mitigation
efforts, and along the shore of Lake Erie, unfortunately, we
have more erosion as waters have risen. I believe it is cost-
effective--Senator Peters has the same issue, I am sure, with
Lake Michigan, and he has talked about that. But we have a real
interest in providing funding up front for mitigation, because
we think it is more cost effective to be able to deal with the
problem and prepare for it, rather than try to fight erosion
once it occurs. Would you commit to working with us on that?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator. The new, again, Building
Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, is an
excellent opportunity for us to have a transformational
approach to how we prevent risk and reduce risk ahead of
disasters. With a committed funding stream and the larger
Federal share, I think communities really have an opportunity
to do widespread community-wide projects to really help address
some of the things that you are talking about.
If confirmed, I would really appreciate the opportunity to
work with you and your staff to better understand the
challenges you are facing, as well as making sure communities
understand and can take advantage of this new, important
resource.
Senator Portman. Great. I look forward to working with you
on that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Portman. Senator
Hawley, you are recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HAWLEY
Senator Hawley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Nice to see you,
Ms. Criswell. I appreciate our phone conversation and I look
forward to chatting with you more here now.
We discussed yesterday, when we talked on the phone, the
historic flooding that happened in the State of Missouri and
other States, too, in the Midwest, but in Missouri very badly
in the spring of 2019. One of the things we talked about was
the difficulty that many residents of my State had in applying
for and receiving individual assistance, and the inconsistent
rules, the lack of information for local residents on the
ground.
Will you work with me and Members of this Committee, if you
are confirmed, to get rid of the bureaucratic red tape, to
streamline this process, and to make sure that local residents,
who are in the midst of a disaster--the worst part about this
is they are not sitting at home with lots of time on their
hands, applying. They are out of their homes, they have lost
their farms, they are in desperate need, and they have no idea
where to go to or what to do, and they are getting conflicting
information. Will you work to remedy that and to streamline
this process, if you are confirmed?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, I understand, being a local
emergency manager at a small jurisdiction in Colorado, as well
as even in a large urban area, the complexity of FEMA programs
and how burdensome they can feel, especially to individuals as
they are trying to recover. I am committed to, if confirmed,
working with you to really better understand the challenges
that you are seeing there in Missouri. FEMA has one of their
strategic goals of reducing the complexity of FEMA, and I am
committed, if confirmed, to continuing that and trying to
streamline processes to the best of our ability.
Senator Hawley. Great. What about clawbacks? We talked
about this as well. In Missouri, we have had the unfortunate
situation of folks who waited a long time to get individual
assistance were then awarded, eventually, individual
assistance, and then a number of them were told, ``Oops. We,
FEMA, made a mistake and you either got too much or you didn't
qualify, so we want it back.'' Again, when many of these people
are out of their homes, their property is literally under
water, and now they are told, ``Oh, you have to get back what
we wrongly represented you could get.'' I mean, to say it is
frustrating is a dramatic understatement.
When it comes to these clawbacks that are a result of
unclear rules, unclear procedures, inconsistent application of
the rules, will you work with me and other Members of the
Committee, if confirmed, on that issue, to make sure that
residents get timely information, once they are awarded
assistance they keep the assistance and they are not then told,
``Oh, you should not have gotten it after all''?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, I am committed, if confirmed, to
making sure that everyone who is eligible to receive assistance
gets that assistance. It is a very difficult time for
homeowners and individuals as they are responding to their own
disaster and trying to recover from this, and, again, the
programs can be hard to maneuver. If confirmed, I am committed
to working with you and your staff to better, again, understand
the challenges you are facing and ensuring that everybody who
deserves assistance or is eligible for assistance gets that.
Senator Hawley. Very good. Beyond the individual assistance
issue, do you have other ideas, from your experience at this
agency before, in New York City recently, back in Colorado,
about how FEMA can improve its communications with local
stakeholders and can do a better job in terms of administering
the important relief that is within the agency's purview?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, I think the point that you made
about communicating with stakeholders is the key to helping to
improve programs, and without that communication to
stakeholders at the State and local level, and truly
understanding what their challenges are, then it is hard to
make improvements in that program. If confirmed, I believe that
my experience at the local level, again, at a small
jurisdiction and a large jurisdiction, will really help to
inform changes and improvements that could potentially be made
to the program, and commit to working with you on that.
Senator Hawley. Great. Do you have any specific ideas about
changes you might like to see?
Ms. Criswell. Right now I would like to, if confirmed,
really get an understanding and a briefing of where the
programs are at. They may have changed since my time at FEMA.
Again, working with State and local and both you and your staff
to understand some of the ideas that you may have.
Senator Hawley. Great. Very good. I want to follow Senator
Portman and ask you now about the Southern Border. As he
mentioned, there is no disaster declaration. You talked about
that FEMA is able, your understanding is to provide advice,
potentially support. However, we have been briefed that FEMA is
working to set up temporary influx care centers, and have
assigned at least 67 personnel to work at the border. That does
not sound like advisory to me. I mean, that is a significant
number of people, and care centers, that sounds like disaster
relief work.
Can you give me a sense of what FEMA is doing, exactly, to
your knowledge, and what are you going to do to get a handle on
what precisely FEMA's role is at the border right now, in what
seems to be a very chaotic situation?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator. I have not been briefed on the
specifics of what FEMA is doing. I do understand, from a recent
testimony from Acting Administrator Fenton that they are
providing some assistance at the border. If confirmed,
obviously one of the very first things that I want to do is get
a better understanding of the role that FEMA is playing, the
assistance that they are providing, to make sure that we are
supporting HHS and CBP in the execution of their missions.
Senator Hawley. Will you also, if you are confirmed, when
it comes to the border crisis, make sure that whatever FEMA is
doing it is within the bounds of the statute and the law, No.
1, and then also, No. 2, make sure that we are not diverting
resources, as we are about to enter flood season in my State,
tornado season, disaster season in many parts of the country
with spring weather coming, natural disaster season, that FEMA
is ready to respond to those natural disasters, and what we
know is going to be a difficult time, and is not being used to
gap-fill at the border when, frankly, other agencies should be
standing up and doing that work.
Again, the administration's response so far is so chaotic
and so uncoordinated, but we have really no idea what is going
on at the border. They will not allow press to cover it. They
are not keeping Congress informed. So really, you do not know
what is happening. Really, nobody knows what is happening. But
I want to be sure that whatever FEMA is doing is lawful, and
also that FEMA is ready to respond to its other core mission
sets. Will you commit to working on that, and ensuring that
FEMA is ready to meet its core responsibilities in other parts
of the country?
Ms. Criswell. Absolutely, Senator. First and foremost, I
will always follow the laws that direct FEMA in their
activities. Second, our workforce, FEMA's workforce is our most
valuable resource. The women and men of FEMA do incredible work
every day, and they have been responding to multiple disasters
for several years now. I do look forward, if confirmed, to
understanding the current status of FEMA's workforce, what
challenges they may be having, and what improvements we need to
make to ensure we are ready for upcoming flood and hurricane
season.
Senator Hawley. Great. I look forward to working with you
on all of that, if you are confirmed. Thanks for being here
today. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Hawley. Senator Carper,
you are recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARPER
Senator Carper. Thanks, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member.
Welcome to all of our witnesses. I have, for a long time, been
saying the only way to get our economy back on track, to get
our lives back to normal is to put the pandemic in our nation's
rear-view mirror. Getting more vaccines in more arms is crucial
for keeping ourselves and our communities safe.
As FEMA continues to assist in the coronavirus vaccine
rollout, how would you, if confirmed ensure that State, local,
tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments have what they need
from FEMA in order to continue administering vaccines? Go
ahead, please.
Ms. Criswell. Senator Carper, thank you very much for that
question. I believe that we all have a responsibility to make
sure that America gets vaccinated, and the best way for us to
move on to recovery is to get Americans vaccinated, and that is
a shared responsibility at the Federal, State, and local level.
It is my understanding that FEMA is setting up community
vaccine centers in various sites across the country, but they
are also providing assistance in other ways. Again, there is no
one-size-that-fits-all, and jurisdictions know their needs best
and what type of resources they need to help execute their
vaccine missions.
If confirmed, I am committed to engaging with our State and
local communities to better understand what their requirements
are, and working within the appropriate authorities that FEMA
has to make sure they get the resources they need to get
America vaccinated.
Senator Carper. I have a follow-up, if I could. How would
you seek to improve the coordination and communication between
FEMA and State and local governments? I say this as a
recovering Governor. I was the Governor of Delaware for eight
years. But how would you seek to improve coordination and
communication between FEMA and State and local governments to
address each locality's specific needs during the pandemic?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, coordination and collaboration is
really one of the fundamental principles of effective emergency
management, and if you are not doing that level of coordination
and collaboration then it is hard to provide the assistance
that is needed. It has been said often that disasters start
local and end local, and it is important that we understand
what the needs are of State and local communities.
From my previous time at FEMA and my work as a local
emergency manager, FEMA has ten regions that really work hard
every day at trying to coordinate and understand the needs of
the communities within their regions. If confirmed, I am
committed to making sure that our regional offices as well as
our headquarters staff are making sure that they are engaging
with the stakeholders that they are serving, and the customers
that they are serving, so we can have a more prepared and
resilient nation.
Senator Carper. Ms. Criswell, my sister and I were about
10, 11 years old during the polio epidemic in our country, and
at the time the percentage of teenagers who were willing or
interested in being vaccinated was in single digits. One Sunday
night, on the ``Ed Sullivan Show,'' a rock-and-roll sensation
named Elvis Presley came on the stage, and he was vaccinated,
and within a matter of weeks the acceptance rate among our
nation's teenagers was about 80 percent or higher.
There are a lot of people, and I talk to them in Delaware
and in other places as well, who just say, ``I don't think I am
going to get this vaccine. I am just not going to do it,'' for
one reason or the other.
There have been a couple of nonprofits set up, one in
consultation with an ad agency, to address, to message to
people who are reluctant to take the vaccination. I heard the
number could be as high as a third, and that is not good, as
you know.
Any thoughts that you might have for helping to address and
bring down that number in the weeks and months ahead, should
you be confirmed?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator.
Senator Carper. Aside from bringing Elvis back to life.
Ms. Criswell. I do not know if I can bring Elvis back, but,
Senator, you raised such a concerning point, actually, right
now, because we do have this goal of making sure that all
Americans get vaccinated, and vaccine hesitancy is a concern,
and we have experienced that in New York City.
What I have discovered throughout this vaccine rollout so
far, is that the best way to do that is to provide trusted
messengers, and we need to have the communities that are
hesitant receive information from those that they trust. That
is going to be the best way to help them get beyond their
concerns over whether or not they should be vaccinated.
If confirmed, I think, FEMA has an extensive network that
they rely on to help provide information out to the public, and
as much as we can to continue to build that trust with those
communities I think will go a long way in helping to continue
to get more Americans vaccinated.
Senator Carper. Thanks for your service, in so many
different roles. Thanks for the willingness to take this one on
as well. Thanks to your family for sharing you with us.
Ms. Criswell. Thank you, Senator.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Carper. Senator Scott,
you are recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SCOTT
Senator Scott. Thank you, Chairman Peters. First off,
thanks for being here. First off, I want to thank FEMA. I mean,
I had four big hurricanes, I had floods. It seems like a very
Old Testament problem in my years as Governor, and FEMA always
showed up, and Gracia Szczech was outstanding. I hope she is
somebody that sticks around for a long time, because she always
showed up, she answered the questions, and she seemed like she
was very fair and cared about not wasting dollars. I did not
deal with all the other regions, but I dealt with her.
Can you talk about what we talked about on the phone, about
this idea that it seems like it is a little bit of a game of
what percentage the Federal Government reimburses these States.
How should it work, and how does it actually work? I mean,
somebody would say, ``Oh yes, you can get 100 percent.'' Some
States would get, after some disaster, 100 percent
reimbursement, and some other State got 75 percent
reimbursement. Can you talk about why that is the way, and
should it be that way?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, the application of the Public
Assistance Program can often be complicated and confusing, and
I understand that there is frustration at the local level. I
have experienced it myself, as a local emergency manager, in
what is going to be eligible and what is not eligible.
If confirmed, I am committed to making sure that the
programs are implemented equitably and consistently across the
Nation and across all of the regions. I think oftentimes there
can be opportunities for interpretation, and I think it is
important that we make sure that that consistency happens, so
jurisdictions know what they can expect, and really how they
can maneuver and work with their local leadership, the local
FEMA leadership, to help them apply for that assistance.
Senator Scott. Thanks. My goal is just whatever it is
supposed to be, that one State does not get treated better than
another State.
The next issue, and we talked about this a little bit, is
that it did not seem like there was like a toolkit that said
that if you have this problem, this is what FEMA can do, and if
you have this problem. It was sort of like you sat down--and
Gracia Szczech was great--you sat down and said, OK, can I
organize a program to do these things, rather than this is the
program that we have and these are your options.
Does it make sense to have more options for people, rather
than, it like almost a little bit like ``Let's Make a Deal?''
Ms. Criswell. I think, Senator, it is a great question.
There are tools that I believe FEMA does have. They have
increased the number of tools that I have seen on their website
on, what you can and cannot expect from different programs. In
fact, I have seen some tremendous tools that they have put on
there for what is eligible under the COVID-19 assistance.
But I agree that sometimes it can be confusing. But I think
it is also important that we strike a balance remaining
flexible with what the Stafford Act has, so we can be creative
and innovative, because no two disasters are alike. They may
have different needs. It is important to be able to use the
Stafford Act, as available and applicable, to meet those unique
needs that we might see in the different disasters.
Senator Scott. I talked to Chairman Peters about this thing
yesterday, and we talked about this on the phone. The way that,
in my State, after Hurricane Irma, we had this debris pickup,
and if we had an existing contractor in place we used that, and
reimbursement was like $7.50 or $8.50 a cubic yard, I guess it
is. But then if we used the Corps of Engineers it was over $70,
is my understanding. How can this happen? I mean, what is the
process to make sure that does not happen? It does not seem
fair to whoever is paying the check, and, for debris pickup,
the Federal Government is going to pay the lion's share of
that.
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator. I have worked a lot with the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in a variety of different
disasters, and they are very good at what they do, but they
also come with a price tag. I do believe that one of the ways
that jurisdictions can be better prepared is by doing some pre-
existing contracts ahead of time. In New York City, we put 13
different on-call emergency contracts in place, that we worked
with FEMA to develop to make sure that they would be eligible.
So that way we could expedite the response that we were going
to have to those disasters.
If confirmed, I think it would be really important to try
to educate more jurisdictions on the value of this, and use
maybe some of New York City's or some of Florida's emergency
contract examples of how they can be better prepared.
Senator Scott. I did not make any progress on this bill,
but I proposed a bill--I have been up here 2 years, and I think
it was the first year--that basically said that you are not
going to get reimbursed if you do not do that. I mean, why
should we--it is not that hard to go get a contract for debris
pickup, right? I mean, you just go put out a bid, and there is
a whole process you can do. FEMA actually has a process here
they are required to do anyway, right?
Why wouldn't we mandate that if they want to get reimbursed
to do that, so we do not sit and put ourselves in a position
that after the fact, that somebody can come in and say, ``Oh,
now I am really busy. I want a higher price.'' I mean, why
wouldn't we do that? Why wouldn't we mandate that? Doesn't it
seem to make sense?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator. Again, I believe it is really
important that we do everything we can to help communities be
prepared, but again, I also think that we have to have a
balance between what their own capacities are, and some
jurisdictions have less capacity than others. But I do believe
it is important and, if confirmed, would work to help educate
and use some of FEMA's resources such as their procurement
disaster assistance teams to help people understand how to
better put those types of tools in place to help them.
Senator Scott. One thing that surprised me up here, and,
the Inspectors General have different reports, and GAO has
different reports about waste, fraud, and abuse. I mean, you
can call it all different things. We saw a lot of it in the
debris pickup.
When you were at FEMA, do you use that stuff to try to get
rid of the waste, whether it is waste or fraud, whatever it is,
to try to reduce the cost for the taxpayers, that we have
found? Has that been helpful at all, the Inspectors General and
GAO reports?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, I have read some of the Inspector
General reports and GAO reports, and, if confirmed, I look
forward to working with the leadership at FEMA to better
understand their goal, or where they are at in implementing
them. I have found, again, during my personal experience in New
York City, of bringing in the Department of Investigations, the
City's version of Inspector General, to help issue spot and
identify ways that we can put measures in place to help prevent
fraud, waste, and abuse ahead of time. If confirmed, I am
committed to really looking at where we are at and then what we
can do to continue to improve that process.
Senator Scott. So you guys do a good job with the problems
in Florida. I mean, your teams always were there early, and,
they were always very responsive. Everybody wants everything
done like that, but, I mean, FEMA has done a good job.
I worked a lot with Brock Long, because that is what my
head and my heart thinks. But Gracia Szczech, I hope she sticks
around, because she did a great job.
Ms. Criswell. I have worked many disasters with Ms.
Szczech, and you have a great resource there.
Senator Scott. Good luck.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Scott. Ms. Criswell, as
I mentioned, people are coming and going. We have a series of
votes going on during this hearing. I am going to have to leave
to vote now. Senator Hassan will now preside over the hearing,
and you are also recognized for your questions. Thank you,
Senator Hassan.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HASSAN
Senator Hassan [presiding.] Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to
thank you and our Ranking Member, Senator Portman, for
convening this hearing. I also want to thank Ms. Criswell for
coming before the Committee today, for the service you have
already provided to this country and your community, and for
your continued interest in doing this kind of work and serving.
As our country grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is
critical that this Committee and the full Senate work quickly
to confirm a FEMA Administrator so that the agency has the
leadership it needs to make our country more resilient to all
hazards and threats, including pandemics, natural disasters,
and terrorist incidents.
Before I proceed to my questions I just want to say, too,
that I echo Senator Portman's sentiments about ensuring that
schools may receive FEMA funds for personal protective
equipment (PPE) dating back to the beginning of the pandemic.
This is truly a bipartisan issue, and I really look forward to
working with FEMA on it.
So now turning to my questions, Ms. Criswell, to put an end
to this pandemic the Federal Government must, in partnership
with State governments, quickly and comprehensively distribute
vaccines to all parts of the country. To that end, I am pleased
that FEMA has begun standing up the first of 100 federally run
vaccine sites across the country, which are supported by
Federal personnel and additional vaccine supply. However, based
on its site selection thus far it is unclear what analysis FEMA
is conducting when making decisions about site locations.
Ms. Criswell, if confirmed, will you commit to ensuring
that FEMA equitably considers locations in smaller States, like
New Hampshire, for these vaccination sites supported by Federal
personnel and additional vaccine supply?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, thank you for that question. I think
one of the things that we have seen with COVID-19 is that it
has truly had a disproportionate impact on our underserved
populations, and as we continue to roll out the vaccine it is
incredibly important that we continue to strive to reach those
communities and help them recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
I know in New York City, we have taken that very seriously,
and as the city has rolled out vaccine, taken a look through
the social vulnerability index to identify the areas that can
be used, or the areas that need to have vaccine sooner rather
than later. I understand FEMA has also used the same index in
some of their decisionmaking.
If confirmed, I am committed to working with the leadership
team at FEMA to better understand how they are making
decisions, but I also think it is really important that the
engagement with State and local is part of that conversation,
because they know their communities best. They know where these
vaccine sites should be, or the resources that they may need to
support their communities. I am committed to working with you
and your team and this Committee to better understand the needs
of communities and using FEMA resources to address those.
Senator Hassan. I thank you for that. I appreciate it. One
of the points I want to make, though, is sometimes the Federal
Government just makes calls on where to send resources based on
sheer population, and in a small State, we have 234 towns for
1.3 million people, right, so there are going to be population
centers that really need the help that do not meet certain
thresholds if the analysis is not careful.
I just would urge you to look at that. I would look forward
to working with you on that. The other point I would make is
sometimes what happens is State partners are doing their best
in some of these places, and then, at times, the Federal
Government will come in and essentially supplant but not
supplement what is happening. I think it is going to be really
important to work closely with your State and local partners to
make sure that you are not undermining the efforts that are
already there, which I know you would not want to do, but just
sometimes it happens.
Ms. Criswell. I understand that completely, Senator, and
again, if confirmed, I am committed to making sure that all
efforts should be coordinated with the State and local partners
to understand their needs and their requirements, and not
pushing those requirements that may not meet their current
situation.
Senator Hassan. Thank you for that.
Now I want to turn to the topic of the Strategic National
Stockpile (SNS). When it comes to ensuring that the Strategic
National Stockpile is adequately stocked, maintained, and pre-
positioned geographically, the Department of Health and Human
Services is the lead agency. However, what we have learned in
the COVID-19 pandemic is that there have been deficiencies in
the availability and distribution of the assets in the
stockpile.
Given FEMA's experience in managing and distributing
supplies during natural disasters, FEMA is a partner that could
provide valuable advice to improve management of the Strategic
National Stockpile before the next national crisis. Will you
commit to coordinating with HHS to improve management of the
Strategic National Stockpile?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator. The Strategic National
Stockpile was a great resource for New York City during the
beginning of this, and we understood the limitations of it as
we were starting to see cases increase. I believe FEMA has
always had a great partnership with HHS, and, if confirmed, I
am committed to continuing to work with them to see how we can
improve that resource to make sure that we have better
preparedness in place and ready for the next pandemic.
Senator Hassan. Thank you. Last question. Early in the
pandemic, lack of clarity in the Stafford Act delayed FEMA from
providing Federal assistance and funding to States and
localities to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Toward that end,
there has been some discussion in the emergency management
community to clarify the definition in Federal statute of
emergency eligible for Federal funding and assistance.
During yesterday's Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight
Subcommittee hearing, which focused on preparing for future
crises, we heard testimony from General Votel and other members
of the Business Executive for National Security Commission on
the national response enterprise, and they were advocating for
updating the Stafford Act.
Ms. Criswell, do you support updating Stafford Act
emergencies or disasters to include pandemics or major
cyberattacks?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, FEMA is an all-hazards agency, and
they continue to respond to hazards, whether it is a pandemic
or a natural hazard or a manmade event. I would welcome the
opportunity, if confirmed, to working with Congress to see what
authorities could help us do our job better, so we can, again,
make a more prepared and resilient nation and help people.
Senator Hassan. Thank you for that. I would look forward to
that too. It is both the type of disaster and the extent of
disasters that we have to be prepared for, I think, and realize
that some of the situations on the ground are changing. I look
forward to working with you very much.
Now I can turn to Senator Ossoff, who is ready to take his
round of questions next.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR OSSOFF
Senator Ossoff. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that,
and thank you, Ms. Criswell. I enjoyed the conversation that we
had, discussing some of the most urgent concerns in Georgia,
when it comes to emergency management. I just, in the interest
of everybody's time, have one question for you, which is, Ms.
Criswell, will you commit that in your first year in this
position, should you be confirmed, that you will join me in
Georgia to meet with the farmers who are impacted by Hurricane
Michael, and to engage in planning with local leaders and local
officials to ensure that we have the plans in place to get
swifter aid to Georgia's agricultural sector if and when
another devastating tropical storm or hurricane strikes our
State? Thank you.
Ms. Criswell. Senator, thank you. I appreciated the
conversation that we did have about the variety of challenges
that Georgia faces, and, if confirmed, I would welcome the
opportunity to come meet with you and your staff and better
understand the challenges that you are facing across the
variety of communities that you serve.
Senator Ossoff. Thank you, Ms. Criswell. I look forward to
welcoming you to Georgia, and, Madam Chair, I yield back. Thank
you.
Senator Hassan. Thank you very much, Senator Ossoff. We
have a couple of other Members of the Committee who are trying
to make it back from other committee hearings and votes,
because they would like to touch base with you. While we see if
those logistics work, why don't I ask you this.
You have been through, over the last year of this pandemic,
this critical frontline role in New York City. You have been
talking with a number of Senators as you prepare for this
nomination hearing and for taking on the work, if you are
confirmed. Are there things we have not touched on yet, that
you would like to bring up to the Committee, or update us on?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, I appreciate that opportunity. New
York City was really at the epicenter of the COVID-19 response
from the very beginning, and I think it is important to
understand that as we were going through that response in March
and April, before it started to improve in May, is that, we
were responding to the situation when we did not know how bad
bad was going to get, and making decisions, literally, at times
of, each day, do I have enough staff, do I have enough people,
do I have enough resources to get through the next 72 hours?
As we have discussed with the Strategic National Stockpile
and other preparedness efforts, I think that we have such a
great opportunity right now to learn so many lessons of the
beginning days of this pandemic and how we can invest in
preparedness going forward. I think, the Nation did a great job
of investing in preparedness for terrorist attacks after 9/11,
and I think we have another really great opportunity to invest
in preparedness against a future pandemic.
Senator Hassan. As the pandemic evolved in New York City,
and as you had to make decisions on the ground in real time,
thinking back to that experience now, are there ways of using
technology now that you would like FEMA to work on, that would
allow you to be more nimble in the field?
Ms. Criswell. I think, Senator, technology is an incredibly
important tool for us to use, and I think what I would say,
what we have learned from the pandemic and the ability to do
more of the work remotely, I think that there is also a really
great opportunity right now to continue some of those lessons
learned on how we can use technology to be more efficient in
our support to State and local communities. If confirmed, I
really want to look at some of the benefits that happened and
how we can institutionalize those going forward, so when we
have more efficient deployment of resources and we are serving
communities better.
Senator Hassan. Thank you for that. I appreciate it very
much. I now see that Senator Lankford has joined us, and I will
turn to Senator Lankford for his round of questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LANKFORD
Senator Lankford. Thank you. It is good to get a chance to
visit with you again. Thank you. Thanks for the time we could
already spend before, to be able to talk through several of
these issues. I appreciate you making yourself available, to be
able to go through those. Let me talk through a couple of
things we had talked about before and some additional things to
be able to talk about.
My State, we are overachievers with FEMA. We get frequent
flyer points, because we have tornados, we have floods, we have
wildfires. We are not a hurricane State, in the sense that you
are going to hit a major urban area. It is hitting a lot of
rural areas, and so there are some different dynamics there.
But I want to zero in on a couple of things.
One is the flooding issue, and specifically the issue of
hazard mitigation. We have areas that are repetitive flood
areas, and they would do buyouts except the process on a buyout
takes 12 to 18 months, at least. Even when my State wants to be
able to partner with the Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) disaster relief funds (DRF), and to be able to also
partner out with some of the buyouts, the timelines are
different on it. To be able to figure out how to be able to
pull that together makes it incredibly challenging.
What I am looking for is not what has been done in the
past. How do we fix an issue where we have a neighborhood that
is going to be flooded out, that it is obvious we should buy
out this whole neighborhood, but we tell people, ``We will talk
to you about buying this neighborhood out in 18 months,'' so
basically live in a hotel for 18 months until we figure out
what we are going to do. Does not work. How do we fix that?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, thank you very much for that
question. I have seen first-hand the devastation that flooding
provides, it does to communities across this country, and the
slow recovery initially as floodwaters are trying to recede,
just even delays some of those response efforts initially.
As you and I discussed, even in New York City, we are still
having conversations about how to do buyouts from the
experiences from Hurricane Sandy. I understand that the
programs are complicated, they are cumbersome, and difficult to
maneuver, and the frustrations that people feel.
If confirmed, I am committed to really having a hard
conversation with our mitigation team and understanding how we
can continue to reduce the complexity of those programs and
really help communities reduce their risk earlier, ahead of
disasters, but more potentially, how we can assist afterwards,
as needed.
Senator Lankford. Right. We will get to the earlier part in
just a moment, but the issue still comes back to, at the moment
of a disaster, when people are having to make a life decision--
am I going to rebuild or am I going to try to move to somewhere
else?--if you tell them, ``I will answer your question in 18
months,'' that does not work.
For the local community that is there, that knows, 25 years
from now or so, this is going to flood again so let's buy it
out and figure out how to do this different, people would say,
``Well, you can't yet. We have to wait 18 months before we can
make that decision.'' It does not work for them. It is just
frustrating for everyone, and it definitely damaging for the
taxpayer, because we end up paying for the same thing over and
over again, because we were not able to make the decision the
previous time.
The preparation side is significant. There are some
counties that have not gone through the process of preparation,
the filings for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
There are lots of reasons why on that, but typically in rural
counties especially, it is just personnel and paperwork and
processing. Individuals within that county cannot get flood
insurance because they are in a very rural county that just
does not have the structure to be able to take care of that.
How can we help those counties and those individuals to be able
to finish out the process and preparation for them, so that
those individuals can get flood insurance?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator. Hazard mitigation plans are a
really valuable and important tool for communities to have,
one, not to just help better understand their risk but also to
make them eligible for flood insurance. I do understand that it
is hard to develop those plans, that it takes a lot of time and
effort.
I do believe that there are programs that FEMA administers
that will help with technical assistance and the ability for
them to develop those plans, and, if confirmed, I am committed
to--I would love to work with you and your team to better
understand the communities within your area that are having
difficulty, and what we can do to better assist them to get
those plans done, because it not only helps individuals get
flood insurance, but it helps jurisdictions better understand
their risks so they can take the appropriate measures.
Senator Lankford. Right. In a rural State like mine, we
have some unique challenges. We had a wildfire in the northwest
of our State, as we did several years ago. We not only had a
wildfire larger than the State of Rhode Island. Folks in the
Northeast did not even notice it, though, because it is not
going to be on national news, but it was very significant to
us. A lot of cattle were lost, a lot of grazing land was lost,
a lot of fence line was lost. Thankfully, firefighters in all
those areas worked hard to be able to protect homes, but we had
a tremendous amount of loss.
At the end of it, on the whole, FEMA would say, ``Not
enough homes were damaged so you cannot get help.'' A wildfire
the size of the State of Rhode Island does not count as a FEMA
disaster because it is in a rural area, though there is a lot
of loss there.
We start working to the complexity. What is the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA)? What is an Farm Service
Agency (FSA) piece? What is going to be FEMA issues? What is
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (DR)? And
you start working through all the complexity of that.
Two big questions that I have for you. How do we deal with
this urban-rural challenge, which is getting harder, based on
the redefinition of the size of a disaster and the amount for a
disaster? How do we deal with that complexity, and how do we
deal with the complexity of how many different agencies are
involved in disaster relief, how many different deadlines, how
many different forms, and for a county or a State, you better
be an expert, and you have been on the other side of this. You
better be an expert to be able to figure out how to be able to
navigate all this. How do we help people navigate it, and all
the issues, and how do we help determine what we are going to
do on a rural versus urban assistance?
Ms. Criswell. Thank you, Senator. To your first point, I
understand. Even in my State of New York, the large urban area
of New York City really has an impact on the ability of smaller
jurisdictions within New York State to get assistance. I talked
about the need to have equity in how we deliver programs.
I think that there is an opportunity for us to really take
a look at how those decisions are made and the factors that are
used so we can take jurisdictions' needs into consideration. If
confirmed, I am committed to working with you to better
understand potential ways to improve that analysis and better
serve all communities, so they can get the assistance that they
are eligible for.
On the second part, you are right, there are many different
programs that are out there that provide assistance, and that
is a good thing, right? We want to have different options for
different communities, because again, no two hazards are alike,
and jurisdictions have different needs.
I do remember FEMA had a program called the Federal
Disaster Recovery Coordinator, and one of their roles was to
help bring all of those different programs to bear in a
community that was recovering from a disaster and help
jurisdictions navigate those different resources.
If confirmed, I am committed to seeing where the status is
of that program and how we can better support jurisdictions as
they are trying to maneuver through the variety of different
bureaucratic programs that are out there and make it easier for
them to get the assistance they need.
Senator Lankford. Thank you. Madam Chair, may I ask one
additional question? Let me ask this additional question, just
on keeping the rules consistent. If anything changed last year,
it was everything, so we understand that full well. FEMA was
very engaged in what was happening with the pandemic relief.
But we experienced things with FEMA last year that are
consistent with FEMA before, that is the rules changing midway
through. I am just going to give you an example of what I mean
by this.
When protective equipment, was coming out to local law
enforcement, it was, ``Have PPE. We know that you need it.''
Then a few months it was into, it was, ``No, actually, the PPE
can only be used if you are actually dealing with a COVID
case,'' so you need to document each location to make sure that
it was actually used in a COVID case location. It is a
bureaucratic nightmare for them to be able to do that, and
obviously we cannot test every person to know when we walk up,
so everyone had to assume everyone they interacted with,
especially in the earliest days, was COVID-positive, because
you did not know, and we did not have enough testing capability
in the earliest days. But the change in rules midstream drove
everybody crazy on this.
You cannot answer this question for the days ahead, but I
want to make you aware that if you are an emergency manager in
any State, it is hard enough to be able to manage the
emergency. It is harder to be able to manage the rule changes
midstream during an emergency, and how we are going to respond
back to FEMA--deadline changes, rule changes, what you need to
keep, you need to have a picture of this pre-emergency, you
need to have all this documentation.
Would you be willing to be able to work with us to be able
to make sure we have one set of rules that goes out, and if
there is going to be a change there is enough time,
retroactively, to be able to deal with this and it does not
create the bureaucracy for local governments?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator. I experienced that in New York
City as we were trying to manage the response to COVID-19
through March and April, and, at the same time, really trying
to understand the rules that were coming out from FEMA. I
understand the frustration. We experienced that frustration in
our own response.
If confirmed, I am committed to working with you, and would
welcome the opportunity to work with you and your team to
better understand ways that that can potentially be improved,
and information can be delivered more timely and more
consistently.
Senator Lankford. OK. Thank you.
Senator Hassan. Thank you, Senator Lankford. Now we will
move to Senator Sinema, who will be joining us virtually.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SINEMA
Senator Sinema. Thank you, Chairman. Ms. Criswell, as
Arizona's senior Senator and Chair of the Subcommittee on
Government Operations and Border Management, it is important
that I closely examine the management and effectiveness of
Federal programs.
You are entering FEMA during a time of crisis. In addition
to the natural disasters that FEMA is accustomed to handling,
you will also need to balance those priorities with the
continued impacts of the coronavirus and a growing crisis with
migrants and unaccompanied minors at our Southwest Border.
Given the significant increase in the number of families
and unaccompanied minors coming to our border, there is a
critical need in my State of Arizona for Federal resources and
personnel to manage the challenge, protect our communities, and
ensure that migrants are treated fairly and humanely.
The American Rescue Plan included funds through the
Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) for non-governmental
organizations (NGO's) and local communities to provide
assistance to migrants. If confirmed, will you ensure that FEMA
works with the EFSP National Board to get these funds allocated
efficiently and fairly, ensuring that the program is as
flexible as possible to respond to NGO needs, including
providing advanced funds where appropriate?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, thank you for the question. Yes, if
confirmed, I am committed to better understanding the current
status of FEMA's support through the EFSP program, and welcome
the opportunity to work with you and your staff to understand
some of the challenges you are facing and what might be done to
improve them.
Senator Sinema. Thank you. Secretary Mayorkas has recently
tasked FEMA with stepping in to help manage the challenge of
unaccompanied children arriving at the border. This was a good
decision, and I believe that FEMA's vast experience in disaster
management can help manage other aspects of the crisis as well.
What further actions do you believe FEMA can take to assist
with the ongoing migration challenges at the border, and will
you continue to work with my office to explore opportunities to
make sure that our nation is better prepared, moving forward?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, FEMA is an all-hazards agency, and
they are one part of the team. They have continued to provide
support to other Federal partners and, as in this case,
providing support right now to HHS and CBP in the execution of
their mission.
I have not been briefed on the specific activities of what
FEMA is doing, but if confirmed, I look forward to getting a
better understanding of FEMA's current role, and I would
appreciate the opportunity to work with you and your team to
see what we can do to better assist.
Senator Sinema. Earlier in this hearing, Senator Hassan
brought up the hearing that she held as the Chair of the
Subcommittee on Emerging Treats and Spending Oversight, and the
recommendation that the Stafford Act be expanded to include
pandemics and cyber events. I believe that any such debate
should include humanitarian crisis, such as the migrant crisis
we are facing in Arizona and along our border.
What guardrails would you recommend be placed on any
Stafford Act expansion to ensure that our nation responds
effectively and efficiently to emergencies, while not
overburdening FEMA's response capabilities?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, FEMA is an all-hazards agency, and
they have provided support to humanitarian missions in other
parts of the country and the world as well, and, if confirmed,
I would appreciate the opportunity to work with Congress to see
what authorities could potentially be given to FEMA to help
them with their current mission.
Senator Sinema. During our conversation last week we
discussed the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and the
preparedness grants that are offered through FEMA's grants
directorate. During our conversation, you noted Secretary
Mayorkas' interest in reviewing the entire suite of
preparedness grants to ensure that the United States is
utilizing these programs wisely, and to make sure that we are
increasing resiliency and not simply maintaining the status
quo.
You also noted the need for stakeholder engagement as part
of any review. I would urge you to make sure that communities
such as Phoenix, that utilize these programs, are brought to
the table early and often to make sure that FEMA knows what
works and what does not work on the ground, and to identify
opportunities to increase the relevance of the data utilized in
determining relative risk.
Ms. Criswell. Senator, yes. As we discussed, Secretary
Mayorkas, it is my understanding, has asked for a review of the
risk formula being used for grant programs, and, if confirmed,
I look forward to better understanding the current status of
that review. But again, as we discussed, I think it is
critically important that any part of a formal review like that
should have stakeholder engagement, because those are the
customers, and we need to understand their challenges and their
needs so the programs can be more effectively delivered.
Senator Sinema. On another topic, almost all of Arizona is
experiencing severe drought, and this week the State reported
that it expects fire season this year will be just as bad as
what we experienced in 2020. Now last year, 2,500 fires in
Arizona burned 980,000 acres of land, and worst of all, fire,
tornado, and hurricane seasons all overlap in our country. When
this is layered over our response to a pandemic that has
claimed over 16,800 lives in Arizona, plus a humanitarian
crisis at our border, it is a lot to handle.
If confirmed, how do you plan to utilize the resources at
FEMA's disposal to provide prompt and effective support for
each of these crises while still maintaining sufficient
readiness for additional disasters that could occur?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, it is a really great point, and FEMA
has consistently, across the years, responded to multiple
missions at the same time. If confirmed, I currently do not
understand the current challenges that the workforce is facing,
but it is a priority of mine to make sure that the workforce is
ready for this upcoming hurricane season and the multiple
missions it is currently supporting.
Senator Sinema. Thank you. Mr. Chair, I yield back, and I
thank our nominee for being with us today.
Senator Peters [presiding.] Thank you, Senator Sinema.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PADILLA
Senator Padilla. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I assume you guys
can see and hear me OK.
I want to begin by just echoing and associating myself with
the comments by Senator Sinema vis-a-vis the role of FEMA in
helping address the situation at the border at this present
time. We will be in touch with the agency if there are
additional resources or anything else needed to continue to
make progress there.
But my main questions that I wanted to raise are inspired,
as Senator Sinema just acknowledged for Arizona, by recent
wildfire seasons in the State of California, the recent
wildfire season being the worst on record. In 2020, the State
experienced 10,000 fire incidents, with 4.2 million acres of
land burned, and more than 10,000 structures damaged or
destroyed.
FEMA, specifically Region 9, has been an excellent and
consistent partner with California, not just State government,
but counties as well, to weather repeated, unprecedented
disasters, year after year. In between, what seems to be like
an expanding fire season, we want to take advantage of this
time period to look for increased funding, support, and
understanding of the unprecedented times that we are living in.
After another dry winter, California is entering drought
conditions once again, and expecting another extreme fire
season.
Ms. Criswell, how can we assure that FEMA is not just
responsive to wildfires during and after an event but also more
active in the off-season, in working with State and local
governments, as well as other Federal agencies, to support
mitigation efforts to reduce either the chance of devastating
fires or the devastation, level of devastation from fires that
do occur?
Ms. Criswell. Thank you very much for that question,
Senator. As we have seen, the number and severity of disasters
continues to increase year after year, and the record-breaking
wildfire season that we had last year was another example of
why it is so important right now for us to be able to invest in
pre-disaster mitigation.
I do believe that the Building Resilient Infrastructure and
Communities Grant that was released last year is an excellent
tool for communities to now really have transformational
progress at reducing risk across their communities.
But it is often my experience that the technical assistance
that is provided is only provided when the Notice of Funding
Opportunity is released, and I think we have a real opportunity
to make sure that we are doing outreach and engagement year-
round, on a continual basis, so jurisdictions can better plan
and prepare for these events that are going to happen, not just
next year but 5 years from now or 10 years from now. It takes a
lot of work to put in the planning and scoping steps of these
programs. By providing outreach assistance year-round I think
that communities can build better projects, so when the funding
opportunities are released they can have better projects to put
in requests for.
If confirmed, I am committed to this outreach and
engagement. I think the time is now for us to really take a
very proactive and deliberate approach to how we are reducing
risk and using all the tools that we have available to do that.
Senator Padilla. Thank you, and I think the same spirit can
be expressed in a very similar question vis-a-vis earthquakes,
much less frequent but more devastating, and it is only a
matter of time before California experiences the next big one.
I will assume that your response would also apply for other
categories of natural disasters.
I had another follow-up question. I know Senator Sinema
also mentioned, or made reference to the Stafford Act, which
governs FEMA's disaster efforts, which has not been explicitly
inclusive of wildfires. Due to the unique nature of wildfires,
California communities have too often experienced difficulty
after recent catastrophic wildfires in accessing disaster
assistance due to eligibility language, home insurance, and
relocation assistance.
If confirmed, will you commit to working with my office to
ensure the needs of wildfire recovery and mitigation are fully
supported by FEMA?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator. I believe that we have
opportunity right now to really look at what the authorities
are within the Stafford Act, and I would appreciate the
opportunity to work with you and your team and Congress to see
if additional authorities can be given that FEMA has the
ability to address the current risk and threat environments.
Senator Padilla. OK. Thank you, and just one last comment,
and it is really a question for a lengthy response, but an
acknowledgment that, FEMA has been working alongside the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other
Federal agencies, in coordination with State and local and
tribal and territorial authorities, and private sector partners
to ramp up and improve vaccine distribution. Partnerships have
been critical in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, including
multiple mass vaccination sites in California. But I understand
some of these contracts formalizing the partnerships are due to
expire in the coming weeks. I would hope, if you are confirmed,
and to the extent appropriate prior to your confirmation, we
can count on your help in extending these agreements to
continue the proven success of the vaccination strategy.
Ms. Criswell. Senator, yes. I think, again, we all have a
role to play in getting America vaccinated. It is one of the
most important things we can do right now to move on to
recovery from this COVID-19 global pandemic. If confirmed, I am
committed to working with you and your team to understand the
needs that California is facing, so we can get the resources
needed to help get America vaccinated.
Senator Padilla. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Peters. Thank you, Senator Padilla. Senator Rosen,
you are now recognized for your questions.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ROSEN
Senator Rosen. Thank you, Chairman Peters, Ranking Member
Portman, and thank you, Commissioner Criswell, for your
willingness to serve. FEMA is an extremely important
organization, to every State here in our Nation. I would like
to thank you for talking with me yesterday about the Urban Area
Security Initiative grants. It is a vital program that protects
our people in Las Vegas, our critical infrastructure, and
really our tourism-based economy. As we discussed, the city of
Las Vegas depends on UASI funds as it builds the infrastructure
it needs to defend residents and visitors against terrorism.
You also need reforms to ensure that densely populated
tourist destinations, like Las Vegas, have predictability and
stability in funding over a period of years so it can make
long-term security plans. In 2018, the Nevada congressional
delegation urged FEMA to incorporate visitor and special event
data into the risk assessment profile, to determine how much
funding each urban area receives.
You mentioned during our conversation you believe Secretary
Mayorkas will be taking a look at the UASI program, including
the funding formula. Can you commit to working with us and
using any authority and influence you have to ensure that
grantees and other stakeholders can participate fully and
meaningfully in this process?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator. If confirmed, I look forward to
seeing the current status of the assessment of the risk formula
that is currently underway, and the only way to be successful
with that is to make sure that we are engaging the stakeholders
that are receiving this assistance. If confirmed, I would
welcome the opportunity to work with you and your staff to
better understand your needs and your ideas about how this
could be improved.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. I appreciate that. I am going to
move on to some other issues we have in Nevada, of course, the
wildfires, and Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAGs). Last
year's wildfire season unfortunately was one of the worst in
our history. It burned more than 10 million acres across the
country, devastating communities. FEMA, of course, has several
programs to assist communities, both before and after the fire,
and, in particular, Fire Management Assistance Grants program
has been vital for our communities as they recover and rebuild.
However, I have heard from a lot of my constituents that
the current criteria for FMAG is just too restrictive for our
rural communities. These areas are smaller in population, but
they rely heavily on the land for income through mining,
through ranching, outdoor recreation, and without assistance
from FEMA it is much harder for these communities to quickly
respond and recover from a wildfire.
Will you consider working with me to change the FMAG
formula to make it more accessible, more nimble for our rural
communities that really need this in a time of devastation, and
also talk about what other resources or ways that you might
assist our remote rural communities in dealing with emergencies
such as wildfire.
Ms. Criswell. Thank you, Senator. If confirmed, I look
forward to better understanding more about the FMAG criteria
and the formula that is used, and I would welcome the
opportunity to meet with you and your staff to understand how
it has impacted, helped in the challenges that you face with
the use of the FMAG grant to help you. If confirmed, I would
love that opportunity to work with you.
As far as helping communities help prepare against future
wildfire, again, I believe we really have an opportunity right
now to take advantage of some of the new resources that are out
there, such as the Building Resilient Infrastructure and
Communities grant, to help communities use this to reduce the
risk within their neighborhoods, especially as we continue to
see number of severity of disasters rise year after year.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. I appreciate that. I would like
to move on to, unfortunately we have a rise in domestic
terrorism in our country, and we have a program, our Nonprofit
Security Grant Program, that is really important to folks. Over
the past few years, like I said, we have seen a dangerous rise
in threats and attacks on at-risk communities, including the
deadliest attack on the American Jewish community in modern
history at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We want to
protect houses of worship and other nonprofits against
terrorist attacks and targeted violence.
FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program, it makes grants to
eligible nonprofit organizations for target hardening and other
security enhancement. We know the threats are growing to these
institutions, and the demand for grant money has far outpaced
their availability in recent years. In fiscal year (FY) 2021,
DHS budget, they failed to request a specific funding amount
for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Fortunately, we have
doubled it to $180 million, but, if confirmed, Ms. Criswell,
will you advocate for future funding requests to include
specific allocations for Nonprofit Security Grants for that
program, so that the allocation meets the growing needs of the
communities as domestic terror threats continue to rise?
Ms. Criswell. Yes, Senator. We are continuing to see
increased threats to soft targets, and they are becoming an
increasing concern. I believe that this grant is a great
opportunity to help reach out to those communities and those
nonprofits, to help them improve their preparedness and their
resilience.
I am not familiar with the funding authorities in the past,
but I appreciate Congress' support in getting it funded, and I
understand that funding this year was even increased. I think
it is incredibly important that we continue to do outreach and
engagement with the nonprofit community and the houses of
worship so they understand that this resource is available and
how they can use it, so we can continue to help them build
their own resilience for the future.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. Houses of worship and the
nonprofits, oftentimes they have small staff, and some of these
grants, they are quite difficult, and they require some
technical assistance in order to be able to fill them out
adequately and receive the information.
Do you have plans, or can you talk to some plans that you
might consider to increase FEMA's outreach to these smaller
nonprofits, houses of worship, with limited staff and
resources, to be able to compete and get these grants to
improve their security and safety?
Ms. Criswell. Senator, if confirmed, I look forward to
seeing the current strategies that FEMA has in place for how
they are currently engaging in doing outreach, and working with
them to see if there are ways that we can improve the outreach,
and identify maybe some of the gaps that we might see across
the Nation, of areas that we think could potentially utilize
this but have not taken advantage of this.
If confirmed, I am committed to working with them to engage
with more communities. I think it is incredibly important that
we do outreach so they understand that this resource is
available, but that we also provide the technical assistance,
because the grant programs are complex, and they are cumbersome
and very hard to apply for at times, and not all communities
have the same level of resources to do that. I believe
technical assistance is an important part of this entire
process.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. I appreciate that, because we try
to fund as many grants as we can. FEMA is an important part of
much of our community response in a lot of these disasters, and
having that technical assistance is very important.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Senator Rosen, and Ms.
Criswell, we are coming to the end here of this hearing. That
was the last set of questions. But before I close out the
hearing I just want to pick up on the point Senator Rosen made
about the complexity of these grants and the preparedness
grants. They are so important. The entities that need them the
most, and they are impacted the most, are the ones that do not
have the resources to actually put together the paperwork.
Houses of worship are really a key area, but it is all across
the board, smaller communities, et cetera.
I hear you, if you are confirmed, you have to do a deep
dive. It does not do any good for us to have these grants if
the folks who need it the most simply are unable to jump over
all of the hurdles that you have to jump over to get them. I
look forward, and you can reiterate that you are going to be
focused on that, because I think it is critically important.
Ms. Criswell. Senator, absolutely. I think, those that have
the resources take advantage of these grants all the time, and
the grants have done a great job of increasing the capabilities
and preparedness across the Nation. But I am committed, if
confirmed, to making sure that jurisdictions across the country
get the assistance they need to take advantage of these
resources, and we have a shared responsibility to improve the
resilience and the readiness of the Nation, and the grants are
one way to do that.
Chairman Peters. Thank you, Ms. Criswell. Thank you for
your willingness to serve in this capacity. As I said in my
opening remarks, it is clear from all of the questions you have
this is an incredibly difficult job. It is incredibly complex,
but also of vital importance to our country. Thank you for your
willingness to serve. If confirmed, this Committee is actively
involved with FEMA issues, and we will want to partner with you
very closely to make sure that you are successful in your job,
if confirmed. Your success means success for the country, that
we will be a part of that.
With that I will state for the record, Ms. Criswell has
made financial disclosures and provided responses to
biographical and pre-hearing questions submitted by this
Committee.\1\ Without objection, this information will be made
part of the hearing record, with the exception of financial
data, which is on file and available for public inspection in
the Committee office.
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\1\ The information of Ms. Criswell appears in the Appendix on page
41.
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The hearing will remain open until 12 p.m. tomorrow, March
26th, for the submission of statements and questions for the
record.
With that this hearing is now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:52 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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