**August 1-2, 2007 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project
Report**

\(1\) FEMA:

Strohm, Chris. \"Hill Concerns Persist Over FEMA\'s Readiness for
Disasters.\" Congress Daily, July 31, 2007. At:

[[http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=37617&dcn=todaysnews]{.underline}](http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=37617&dcn=todaysnews)

\[Excerpt: \"House lawmakers said Tuesday they remain concerned that the
Bush administration might not be as prepared as it should be to handle a
catastrophe or multiple disasters that occur simultaneously. Members of
the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee expressed their
concerns during a hearing to assess how prepared the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and National Guard are to handle disasters.\"\]

\[Note: We reported on this hearing in the July 31 EM HiEd Report.
Additional Witness Prepared Statements have since been uploaded to the
Oversight Committee website \--

[[http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1439]{.underline}](http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1439)

\(2\) NATIONAL RESPONSE FRAMEWORK PRE-DECISIONAL DRAFT:

Sullivan, Eileen. \"DHS Achieves Target Weight for National Response
Guidelines.\" CQ Homeland Security, August 1, 2007. At:

[[http://public.cq.com/docs/hs/hsnews110-000002564676.html]{.underline}](http://public.cq.com/docs/hs/hsnews110-000002564676.html)

\[Excerpt: \"The most recent draft of the nation\'s blueprint for
disaster response is slimmer \[the copy I received externally is 71
pages\], easier to read and includes the word \"hurricane\" nearly three
times more than the original version. It\'s also been renamed the
National Response Framework.

The draft obtained by Congressional Quarterly is dated July 27. The
document was previously called the National Response Plan and has been
undergoing revisions for the past year. According to the draft, \"The
Framework is written especially for government executives,
private-sector business and nongovernmental leaders and emergency
management practitioners . . . If the nation is to be prepared for
terrorist attacks and natural disasters, its leaders must have a
baseline familiarity with the concepts and mechanics of the Framework.\"

The Department of Homeland Security released the \"pre-decisional\"
draft to about 100 administration officials involved in the rewriting
process. In a few weeks, the document will be released to state, local
and private sector partners for a 30-day review and comment period,
according to a department official\....\"\]

B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM

Higher Education Project Manager

Emergency Management Institute

National Emergency Training Center

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Department of Homeland Security

16825 S. Seton, K-011

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

\(301\) 447-1262, voice

\(301\) 447-1598, fax

wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov

[[http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu]{.underline}](http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu)

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