2005 IAEM Positions
(as of 02/2005)
Issue: President’s 06 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security for EMPG
- Cuts the funding from 05 appropriated $180,000,000 to $170,000,000.
- Does not retain the program as a separate account
Action Requested: Increase the funding to $280 million and maintain as a separate account.
- The program has been under funded for decades.
- The current estimate of the shortfall is $264 million. A $100 million increase would begin to address the shortfall.
- EMPG called “the backbone of nation’s emergency management system” in an Appropriations Conference Report constitutes the only source of direct federal funding for state and local governments to provide basic emergency coordination and planning capabilities including those related to homeland security. This is a shared cost.
- We need to be building capacity not reducing it
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Issue: FY 03 Budget reduced funding for post disaster mitigation. FY 06 Budget Request would also reduce funding for states with enhanced plans.
- The FY 03 Appropriations bill for VA, HUD and Independent Agencies, which included FEMA, reduced the basis for determining the amount of hazard mitigation funds made available to states and communities from 15% to 7.5% of certain FEMA disaster costs. (effective February 20, 2003). These funds are used to help reduce the costs and eliminate the impacts of future disasters.
- The FY 06 budget request includes legislative language to amend the Stafford Act to reduce the funding available to states who have taken the extraordinary steps to have an approved enhanced plan from 20% to 12.5%
Action Requested:
- Restore HMGP formula to 15 percent of disaster costs.
- Maintain 20% formula for the enhanced HMGP plan. Reject the reduction to 12.5 percent
PreDisaster Mitigation Grant Program Issue: Program expires December 31, 2005.
Action Requested: Support $150 million FY 2006 funding request and support program extension.
Issue: It is critically important that the NWS continue to provide critical information and warning crucial to saving lives. Current actions and proposals by NOAA have created deep concerns within the emergency management community.
- NOAA has ordered changing the name of the National Weather Service and eliminating its distinct logo. These symbols represent 135 years of critical information and warning to the American Public.
- NOAA has been proposing to meld the budget of the NWS into NOAA “cross agency goals”. This would make it much more difficult to track actual funding intended for the NWS and would make it easier to reprogram funds into other less critical areas.
Action Requested:
- Take action to protect the distinct NWS name and logo.
- Maintain the NWS budget as a separate and distinct account so that funding levels for the NWS mission are easily identified and tracked through Congressional oversight.
- Fully fund the NWS.
Issue: A recent IRS ruling called for taxing mitigation assistance provided to victims of disasters. While the Administration supports clarifying this issue, no relief action has been taken. Three legislative initiatives (S. 290, HR 380 and HR 397) have been introduced to correct this problem.
Action Requested: Support legislation to clarify that mitigation assistance is not taxable.
Issue: An error was made when the Stafford Disaster Relief Act was amended in 2000 which resulted in an inadvertent cap on limited home repair. The cap prevents disaster victims from returning to their homes when repair costs exceed the allowable costs and results in costing the Federal government much more to provide temporary housing. A bill (H.R. 3181) passed the House in the 108th Congress to correct this problem but did not have final action.
Action: Address this error and fix the cap on disaster repair cost.
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