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53–839 PDF 2010

S. Hrg. 111–454 

NOMINATION OF RICHARD A. SERINO 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

OF THE

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

NOMINATION OF RICHARD A. SERINO TO BE DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, 

FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF 

HOMELAND SECURITY 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 

Available via http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

( 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

MARK PRYOR, Arkansas 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois 

MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado 

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio 

JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah 

MICHAEL L. ALEXANDER, Staff Director 

BETH M. GROSSMAN, Senior Counsel 

MARY BETH SCHULTZ, Counsel 

KRISTINE V. LAM, Professional Staff Member 

BRANDON L. MILHORN, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

JENNIFER L. TARR, Minority Counsel 

ADAM J. KILLIAN, Minority Professional Staff Member 

TRINA DRIESSNACK TYRER, Chief Clerk 

PATRICIA R. HOGAN, Publications Clerk and GPO Detailee 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Hearing Clerk 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Opening statements: Page 

Senator Lieberman ........................................................................................... 1 

Senator Collins ................................................................................................. 3 

Prepared statements: 

Senator Lieberman ........................................................................................... 17 

Senator Collins ................................................................................................. 19 

WITNESSES 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 

Hon. John F. Kerry, a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts ............... 1 

Richard A. Serino to be Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security ..................................... 5 

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WITNESSES

Kerry, Hon. John F.: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 1 

Serino, Richard A.: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 5 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 

Biographical and financial information .......................................................... 24 

Responses to pre-hearing questions ................................................................ 38 

Letter from the Office of Government Ethics ................................................. 88 

Responses to post-hearing questions .............................................................. 89 

Letters of support ............................................................................................. 98 

(1) 

NOMINATION OF RICHARD A. SERINO 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:04 p.m., in room 

SD–342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Lieberman, Landrieu, and Collins. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN LIEBERMAN 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Good afternoon and welcome to this hearing on the nomination of Richard Serino to be the Deputy Administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

I am glad to see our colleague, Senator John Kerry, here. And 

though I note, Senator Kerry, that you probably would love to hear 

the opening statements that Senator Collins and I have, I also 

know that you are on a busy schedule, so we welcome your introduction first. 

TESTIMONY OF HON. JOHN F. KERRY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Senator KERRY. Well, that is very generous of you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it. You will make sure you send me the opening 

statements. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. I will. [Laughter.] 

Senator KERRY. Chairman Lieberman and Senator Collins, thank 

you very much for the opportunity to be able to introduce a terrific 

son of Massachusetts. Richard Serino is a 55-year-old guy who has 

been at this for a long time, but he still calls himself a kid from 

Dorchester. A lot of people there are proud of him because of his 

many accomplishments throughout his career. 

He is sort of the pride of Massachusetts, in a sense, in the way 

in which he has approached his job. I think President Obama could 

not have made a better choice than to choose him to be the Deputy 

Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

I do know that the call from the White House came as a bit of 

a surprise to him. They asked him if he was interested in the No. 

2 job at FEMA, and he said he would like to talk to a few people 

about it before deciding. And then he was still talking to folks 

about the job when the White House called back and said, it is 

yours if you want it. I think he may have been surprised by the 

call, but those who know something about his work were not surVerDate Nov 24 2008 09:13 Jun 02, 2010 Jkt 053839 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\DOCS\53839.TXT SAFFAIRS PsN: PAT
2 

prised at all, and he has met with a remarkable array of compliments and of support from across the spectrum, from police 

chiefs, fire chiefs, the Mayor of Boston, and everyone who has come 

in contact with him. 

He has worked for the Boston Medical Services for 35 years. He 

began as a paramedic, rising to Superintendent in Chief, Superintendent for Field Operations, and for the past years, Chief of Boston EMS. He is chief of a department, Mr. Chairman and Senator 

Collins, that handles 100,000 medical calls a year, coordinates safety for massive events like the Boston Marathon, and the enormous 

celebrations we have had after the Super Bowl and World Series. 

We obviously now have to find a replacement to manage those celebrations since we anticipate more of those, don’t we, Mr. Serino? 

Mr. SERINO. Yes, we do. 

Senator KERRY. He has been responsible for disaster preparedness, and he literally helped to write the book on how to respond 

to terrorism as one of the authors of a book called, ‘‘In a Moment’s 

Notice: Surge Capacity for Terrorist Bombings,’’ a blueprint for 

other major cities developing disaster response. 

He served as a guest lecturer on homeland security and emergency preparedness at Harvard University, at Boston University, 

as a national faculty member for the Domestic Preparedness Program at the U.S. Department of Defense. He has also participated 

in senior leadership programs in national preparedness and homeland security at the Kennedy School of Government and at the 

Naval Post-Graduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security. 

Mr. Chairman, let me just share with you how he tests some of 

his disaster preparedness. Rather than just running the drills, as 

many choose to do, on an average day in a city, which would make 

the drills difficult enough, he chooses to run disaster plans during 

the major events in Boston, like the Marathon or the Fourth of 

July celebration. That is the kind of thinking that can make a difference when a disaster actually does occur. 

As Deputy Administrator of FEMA, Mr. Serino will be involved 

in building, sustaining, and improving the Department’s capacity to 

prepare for, protect against, and respond to and recover from all 

types of disasters. The only challenge the folks at FEMA may have 

with him, I think, is possibly the same one we have had in Boston 

as Chief of the EMS. That challenge will be keeping him out of the 

ambulances, Mr. Chairman. Once a paramedic, always a paramedic. 

But he is grassroots. He understands the challenges, and I think 

President Obama could not have made a better choice for FEMA. 

I have worked with FEMA for many years, as you both have. We 

know how it takes somebody who really understands what it is like 

to be on the ground and be a part of the local community, if you 

will, and who thinks the way that he does. 

I congratulate the kid from Dorchester in this nomination, and 

I think FEMA is going to do well with his stewardship. Thanks. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks, Senator Kerry. That was really 

a very excellent, thoughtful, and obviously personally felt statement, which is important for the Committee to hear. I thank you 

for your time. 

3 

1The prepared statement of Senator Lieberman appears in the Appendix on page 17. 

2The prepared statement of Senator Collins appears in the Appendix on page 19. 

Senator KERRY. It is my pleasure to be here. I know his wife and 

kids are here, and I know they share that thought. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. It looks like a big crowd behind the Chief 

here. 

Senator KERRY. Absolutely. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Chief Serino, I appreciate your presence 

here. I have just been informed that there are a couple of votes in 

the Senate around 2:30 p.m. I am going to have a little time after 

that, but I will see if we can go through this and allow us to complete the hearing so we don’t have to hold you over and bring you 

back. 

I am going to put my statement in the record as if I had read 

it and just say, echoing what John Kerry has said, that you have 

an extraordinary record.1 It seems to me that you are a great complement to Craig Fugate in his role as administrator, not just 

north-south, but to a certain extent, his experience has quite naturally been in dealing with natural disasters, particularly hurricanes that hit Florida. I don’t mean that is his only experience, but 

it is a primary one, and that is very important to us. 

Your involvement in a big urban metropolitan area has not only 

given you that experience, particularly with, for instance, medical 

emergencies, but the kind of extra dimension of responsibility to 

which Senator Kerry testified about being ready in the case of an 

unnatural disaster, which is to say a terrorist attack. I am really 

grateful that you have accepted this. 

Senator Collins and I, our Committee, have had a longstanding 

interest in FEMA. We did, with Senator Landrieu’s very active support, for obvious reasons, a very intensive investigation of FEMA 

post-Katrina, produced legislation, which was enacted, which we 

feel has really put this agency into a position to give us the kind 

of preparedness and response that we really need. 

So that is all I have to say at this point, and I will yield to Senator Collins. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR COLLINS 

Senator COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am going to follow 

your lead, given the upcoming votes, and put my statement in the 

record, as well.2 I hope that is not the first of the upcoming votes. 

I just wanted to make one point, and that is during the government’s failed response to Hurricane Katrina, there was no deputy 

leader at FEMA. There was no Deputy FEMA Director, and that 

was a major problem as we looked at the flaws in organization as 

well as in the delivery of the response. So the position that you 

have been nominated to fill was created by the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, which we authored, and it was 

specifically to ensure better management and day-to-day direction 

of the agency. So this is an important position. We know that well 

because we created it. 

I am going to put my statement in the record so that we can get 

to questions before the votes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thank you, Senator Collins. 

4 

Let me say for the record that Chief Serino has filed responses 

to a biographical and financial questionnaire, answered pre-hearing 

questions submitted by the Committee, and had his financial statements reviewed by the Office of Government Ethics. Without objection, this information will be made part of the hearing record, with 

the exception of the financial data, which are on file and available 

for public inspection in the Committee’s offices. 

Chief, as you know, our rules require that all witnesses at nomination hearings give their testimony under oath, so I would ask 

you to please stand and raise your right hand. 

Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give to the 

Committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 

truth, so help you, God? 

Mr. SERINO. I do. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. I thank you. Please be seated, and you 

are welcome now to proceed with your statement, including the introduction of family and friends who are here, so long as it doesn’t 

take us past 2:30 p.m. [Laughter.] 

Mr. SERINO. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Collins. 

I would like to introduce my wife, Doreen, who has given me the 

opportunity to embark on this challenge, and I appreciate that. 

There was only one condition, Senator Collins, and that is that we 

can go to Christmas Prelude in Kennebunkport in December, that 

we do every year. 

Senator COLLINS. She is a wise woman. [Laughter.] 

Mr. SERINO. And next to her is my son, Bryan, who came. He is 

Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan and a graduate of Connecticut College. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Great. 

Senator COLLINS. He is covering all the bases. [Laughter.] 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. This is a good move on the Chief’s part 

because we agreed that I wouldn’t ask a question about the Yankees or the Red Sox. [Laughter.] 

Mr. SERINO. And also, my son Peter, who is a high school history 

and psychology teacher in Massachusetts, is here. And unfortunately, my daughter, who is a high school English teacher, Chairman of the English Department at a high school in Honolulu, 

couldn’t be here today. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Understood. Thank you. 

Mr. SERINO. Also, I just wanted to recognize a couple of people 

who made the trip from Boston today. President of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, EMS Division Union, Jamie Orsino, 

and Vice President Bobby Morley, who is also our President of the 

National EMS Alliance, Superintendent Brendan Kearney, and 

Deputy Superintendent Shea, as well as a host of first responders 

and people from the emergency management community are here 

to support me, and I truly appreciate that. So thank you. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks, Chief, and thanks to them for 

taking the time to be here. 

You don’t know this, but in the back, I have spotted Craig 

Fugate, Administrator of FEMA, who is here to perhaps see how 

you do. [Laughter.] 

5 

1The prepared statement of Mr. Serino appears in the Appendix on page 21. 

TESTIMONY OF RICHARD A. SERINO 1 TO BE DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

Mr. SERINO. Well, good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Collins, and Members of the Committee. My name is Richard 

Serino. I am grateful to Senator Kerry for his warm introduction 

and for his years of strong support of the emergency responders in 

Boston, throughout Massachusetts, and indeed across the country. 

I am privileged to appear here before you today as President 

Obama’s nominee for the Deputy Administrator at FEMA. I am 

honored to have the opportunity to answer your questions as you 

consider my nomination. If confirmed, I look forward to working 

closely with the Committee, with Congress, to ensure that FEMA 

performs at the highest possible level in supporting our first responders and our citizens in this ongoing national effort to protect 

against, respond to, and recover from all hazards. 

I began my career, as you heard, over 35 years ago as a volunteer on an ambulance squad, and during that time, I rose through 

the ranks to my current position as Chief of Boston EMS. During 

my tenure as Chief, the paramedics and EMTs have been nationally recognized for the quality of care that they provide, and it 

truly has been my great privilege and honor to lead such a dedicated, hard-working, humble, and accomplished cadre of first responders. 

FEMA’s mission is critical to our Nation’s security and resilience. 

Your leadership and the work of this Committee specifically on the 

Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act and other congressional initiatives have provided FEMA with truly a much-needed compass to ensure that the agency can succeed and bring a 

more common-sense approach to emergency management in the 

21st Century, and I thank you for that. 

I believe I can assist Secretary Janet Napolitano and Administrator Craig Fugate in aligning FEMA’s personnel and resources to 

support our citizens and the first responders so that as a Nation 

we may work together to collaboratively rebuild, sustain, and improve preparedness, protection, response, and recovery capabilities. 

My operational experience as a first responder and the leadership 

roles I have assumed over the past decades have given me the tools 

needed to successfully bridge the gap between the Federal, State, 

local, and non-government officials who must work together. 

As a senior leader in metro Boston’s community of emergency response officials, I facilitated preparedness, response and recovery 

efforts, and worked to forge strong partnerships, not just with the 

EMS, fire service, law enforcement, and emergency management, 

but also with public health, volunteer organizations, and business 

leaders throughout the Commonwealth and throughout Boston. 

A primary theme across all of my emergency preparedness efforts 

has been a dedication to building partnerships, whether they are 

in the businesses, faith-based communities, universities, academia, 

or government departments. In my own experience, these strong 

partnerships have time and time again resulted in enhanced effiVerDate Nov 24 2008 09:13 Jun 02, 2010 Jkt 053839 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\DOCS\53839.TXT SAFFAIRS PsN: PAT
6 

ciency, communications, coordination, response, and recovery efforts. 

Federal, State, and local emergency response officials must continue to reach out to build stronger relationships with each other 

to ensure a properly functioning national system of public safety 

and public health. These officials routinely collaborate in Boston to 

prepare for high-threat, large-scale events, unfortunately, such as 

the recent events honoring Senator Kennedy that we were able to 

pull together. 

I have led emergency medical planning and operations for a 

number of high-threat events that the Senator has mentioned, including the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which was a national special security event. I know firsthand the type of collaboration that ensures our collective preparedness. Each time we all 

work together, Federal, State, and local, we execute an operational 

plan for a high-threat event, increasing our chances of full operational success should we be confronted with a major incident. 

In addition to serving as Chief of Boston EMS, I also currently 

serve as the Assistant Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, where I oversee public health preparedness policy and programs, including city-wide preparedness efforts on H1N1 as well as 

the DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness. I have led efforts to prepare Boston’s responders to address the consequences of 

chemical, biological, and radiological incidents. During my tenure, 

we have dramatically expanded weapons of mass destruction 

(WMD) detection equipment and training, as well as provided responders with critical personal protective equipment and interoperable communications equipment. 

The vast majority of these new capabilities have come as a result 

of crucial Homeland Security grant programs that FEMA manages 

and Congress authorizes and funds. I have seen firsthand the importance of these programs. They prepare our responders for the 

threats our Nation faces. 

In addition to my work in Boston, I have lectured on topics in 

public health preparedness across the country. Like Secretary 

Napolitano and Administrator Fugate, I understand the challenges 

that State and local officials face, and if confirmed, I am committed 

to strengthening partnerships amongst government officials at all 

levels, as well as with members of the business community and 

non-governmental organizations. 

I am committed to galvanizing the dedicated professionals that 

make up the FEMA workforce. We must continue to build morale 

and recognize the contribution that the employees make to our Nation’s preparedness while ensuring they have the training, support, 

and resources that they need to deliver on FEMA’s commitment to 

our citizens and our first responders. 

If confirmed, I will also work with Secretary Napolitano and Administrator Fugate to ensure that Gulf Coast recovery remains a 

top priority at FEMA and DHS. The Secretary and Administrator 

have visited New Orleans and announced detailed additional funding obligated to the State of Louisiana for ongoing efforts. Since 

January 20 this year, over $1 billion in additional public assistance 

funding has been provided to rebuild the public infrastructure 

across the State of Louisiana. 

7 

In closing, I am anxious to bring the more than 35 years of experience that I have to FEMA. If confirmed, I look forward to working 

hand in hand with Administrator Fugate, the entire FEMA team, 

and our partners here in Congress to help strengthen the agency’s 

ability to respond to all hazards, to expand its partnerships with 

first responders, and to build relationships and teamwork that is 

needed for the threats that our Nation faces. 

I thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Collins, and Members of the 

Committee, for the opportunity to appear before you and look forward to answering your questions. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks very much for that excellent 

statement, Chief. 

I am going to begin by asking you the three questions that we 

ask all nominees. First, is there anything you are aware of in your 

background that might present a conflict of interest with the duties 

of the office to which you have been nominated? 

Mr. SERINO. No. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. 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 to which 

you have been nominated? 

Mr. SERINO. No. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. And third, do you agree without reservation to respond to any reasonable summons to appear and testify 

before any duly constituted committee of Congress if you are confirmed? 

Mr. SERINO. Yes. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thank you. You are doing really well so 

far, Chief. [Laughter.] 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. We are going to do a 7-minute round for 

each of us. 

Let me ask you first about a public health crisis—I hate to use 

the word ‘‘crisis,’’—but it is an emergency that we are in the midst 

of with regard to H1N1 flu. Let me ask you to reflect on the work 

you have been doing. As you know, the Department of Homeland 

Security is actually the incident manager for the Federal Government in a situation of this kind. I wanted to ask you if there are 

any lessons that you have learned from the work you have been 

doing to prepare the greater Boston area for the flu that would be 

relevant and useful to FEMA nationally and to other communities 

as they try to prepare for it. 

Mr. SERINO. With the outbreak this past spring in Boston, we 

were significantly hit with the flu in the City of Boston. We had 

over 23,000 cases of H1N1 flu within the City of Boston, and 11 

percent of the student population, age five to 17, also came down 

with H1N1. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Those are much higher numbers than I 

was aware of. 

Mr. SERINO. Right. Boston was one of the more significant places 

that was hit. And one thing that we learned from this outbreak is 

that we have to do this together. We learned some lessons during 

the spring, but over the summer, we did a lot of outreach. We 

reached out to all of our partners, to the business community, 

faith-based organizations, the unions, and other governmental 

8 

agencies. We worked with the schools, the colleges, and the universities throughout the area to actually put some plans in place, to 

actually work with them to develop things that made sense for 

them because one thing that we found early is that getting the 

right information out to the people early on was extremely important. 

We developed a medical intelligence center—it is called the 

Lawlor Medical Intelligence Center—with different Homeland Security and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding, and that is a place where we are able to bring people together 

from across all the different disciplines to share the information in 

a medical setting. That worked out very well. We have weekly 

briefings that bring together people from across the business community, voluntary organizations, the Red Cross, and also Federal 

organizations, specifically the FBI, to share information. 

We found it is very important to have all the players at the table. 

One of the stories is that we had a couple of police deputy superintendents in the room as we were discussing this and wanted to 

know how we could reach out to people, and they came up with the 

idea, what about using crime watch groups, another avenue to 

reach out to people. So I think the more groups that you get together, the more ideas you get and the more ways you are going 

to share the information. 

Educating the public, I think, is absolutely crucial. The simple 

things, like telling people if you have a cough, cover it. If you have 

hands, wash them. Simple things like that, we have the messaging. 

So I think it is a multi-prong approach that you need to do. 

And one of the things that, if confirmed, I can bring to this position is the relationship that I have with people both at CDC in Atlanta and at HHS, people who I have been working with for many 

years, people I have published articles with and who are now in 

other positions that we are going to be able to work together with 

and continue to bridge the gap between the health community and 

the emergency response community, as well. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks. Let me go to a related but slightly different question. I am impressed by the writing that you have 

done on what we all ought to be doing, including at the local level, 

to prepare to respond to a chemical or biological attack. We have 

heard testimony in this Committee, and Senator Collins and I have 

just introduced legislation to attempt to prevent a biological attack 

because the feeling is growing increasingly here that, of the various 

forms of weapons of mass destruction attack, it is probably the 

most likely because of the ease of moving biological material into 

a public place. 

I just wanted to ask you to spend a couple of moments and reflect from the position you had on what you take to be the state 

of preparedness of our public health system, our emergency medical system, in the words of the article, I gather, to surge in the 

case of what we hope never happens but we have to prepare for. 

Mr. SERINO. One of the things that we have been able to do over 

the last number of years is bring together, again, a large group of 

people across the different disciplines, and we worked specifically 

with the hospitals to ensure that they were able to deal with the 

9 

surge capabilities and things that they could do within their hospital and also within the community. 

And one thing that we also did was work with the community 

health centers. In Boston, for example, there are 26 community 

health centers that see a large population of patients. And what we 

want to do is ensure that they are part of the system and able to 

handle any sort of problems that may come if there is a surge because there isn’t going to be one hospital that is going to be able 

to handle it on its own. There isn’t going to be one system. So you 

are going to have to actually work across many different lines to 

bring lots of different people together. 

And also, in a certain incidence, you have to look at other policies 

that you may have to put into effect. For example, in EMS and prehospital care, you may actually have a different standard of care, 

and you should work through the regulatory issues ahead of time 

in case we need to step back and say rather than having two EMTs 

or two paramedics in an ambulance, maybe you are only going to 

be able to have one and you may be able to do something a bit different. One small example is where you could deal with it. And also 

looking at different places to take care of large numbers of patients. 

And also, as we are seeing now specifically with H1N1, another 

example is encouraging people to determine certain times for who 

has to go to the hospital and who can actually be taken care of at 

home. We have done a lot with H1N1, and it actually can be applicable to biological incidents, as well, so you can be prepared to take 

care of people at home and not put as much of a stress on the system. 

So it is a multi-prong approach. There isn’t just one way to address this. You have to do it in many different areas. And as we 

prepare for biological incidents, actually, preparing for H1N1 is 

going to help us as we learn across other areas, as well. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Yes, well said. I appreciate the answer, 

and I hope that, if confirmed, and I certainly hope and believe you 

will be, that you will be able to be proactive, both within FEMA 

and with your colleagues in DHS, to push this level of preparedness that you have strived for in Boston throughout the country, 

particularly throughout the major metropolitan areas, because my 

own impression is that we are not fully prepared. It is tough to be 

fully prepared, but we have a lot of work to do to develop that 

surge capacity. I thank you. 

Senator Collins. 

Senator COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chief, I am very encouraged to hear you talk about the need for 

strengthening collaboration with all your partners. That was so 

missing in the response to Hurricane Katrina. There was not that 

kind of collaboration. There hadn’t been joint exercises. And the 

people of the region paid a real price because of the lack of collaboration and previous training. 

I have seen FEMA really improve in this area. I have attended 

joint exercises in New England and have seen State, local, Federal, 

county, emergency management, first responders, everybody gathering together, and that is exactly what we need. 

10 

But another area where FEMA needs to improve its State and 

local outreach has to do with FEMA’s ongoing initiative to modernize flood maps. Now, I completely support FEMA’s efforts to use 

the latest technology, to gather better data, and to produce more 

accurate maps. These new maps are designed to more accurately 

portray flooding risks. But FEMA must do a better job of working 

collaboratively with State and local officials who are in the best position to know their community strengths, the vulnerabilities, and 

what the impact is going to be. 

Contentious litigation-style appeals are no substitute for the cooperation that FEMA should be fostering with State and local officials in the first place. As an example, FEMA is now revising the 

flood map for portions of the State of Maine, including that of its 

largest city, Portland, Maine. And FEMA and Portland officials disagree on the accuracy of these new maps. It has been extremely 

frustrating to try to get FEMA to sit down and work with local officials and try to go through these issues. 

I am now hopeful that FEMA is going to propose a more cooperative approach for dealing with this particular case, but my point to 

you would be that Portland’s complaints are not unique. They are 

not even unusual. And in fact, I remember Senator Landrieu bringing up the issues of the impact of designating an area as a V-zone 

many times. It has a huge impact on local economic development. 

So that is a long introduction, but the problem is a very real one. 

If you are confirmed, will you commit to establishing a more collaborative process when FEMA is updating its flood maps? 

Mr. SERINO. The short answer to that is yes. I think that you hit 

on some very important points and things that I have believed for 

many years. There was a gentleman who was a member of the 

House from Massachusetts, a number of years ago, who had a saying, ‘‘All politics are local,’’ a gentleman by the name of Tip O’Neill. 

Senator COLLINS. Tip O’Neill. 

Mr. SERINO. Not only are all politics local, all disasters are local, 

as well, and I think that is important, and you have my commitment because I firmly believe that it is important to deal with the 

locals, it is important to build those relationships at the regional 

level, at the State level, and at the local level, and to do that on 

a consistent basis because when a disaster happens, those are the 

first people to be there, and then later on, after everything else is 

over with, the locals are still going to be there when everybody else 

has gone home. 

Senator COLLINS. Absolutely. 

Mr. SERINO. And I have been in that position. I understand that 

position. And FEMA is there to support, as Administrator Fugate 

has said, we are there to support, not supplant, the locals. One of 

the functions I see is to really continue to build those relationships 

across the country with the States and the locals. 

Senator COLLINS. Thank you for that commitment because that 

is absolutely key. These are our partners, not our adversaries. 

You have been the Chief of a Boston EMS Department that represents one of the few major metropolitan EMS departments that 

is not affiliated with the local fire department, and that is unusual. 

You have historically been a strong proponent of keeping EMS systems separate from the fire service. Yet fire service-based EMSs 

11 

currently serve 67 percent of the American population and provide 

more than 90 percent of the emergency medical service to jurisdictions with populations of more than 50,000 people. 

Since your background is not typical, then, of what we see in 

most parts of the country, and since you have been a proponent of 

keeping them separated, I am asking for your assurance that you 

will recognize the importance of the fire department-based EMS 

and that you will be impartial as far as supporting both models. 

Mr. SERINO. I have been a proponent of EMS for many years, 

and I have said many times that I believe that the decision on how 

EMS is provided is a local issue, as we just discussed. There is not 

one set way to provide EMS across the country. It is going to be 

provided best in different cities by different agencies. The fire department has some great systems. The third service has some great 

systems. And that is a local issue. 

But the key part is to provide very good patient care quickly and 

effectively, in a timely manner. That is what is essential and to do 

that with the local input of the local government, and I have been 

a big proponent that it is a medically based system regardless of 

who is the provider, regardless of which patch you wear, and I am 

a supporter of EMS. 

Senator COLLINS. Great. Thank you. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks, Senator Collins. 

There is actually a quorum call, not a vote yet, so maybe we will 

do a couple more questions each. 

Looking at the statute about the role of the Deputy, it is interesting. One thing that we did do that we are pleased about is we 

put some statutory qualifications in for the Administrator. I note 

that we didn’t put them in for the Deputy, but you more than satisfy whatever qualifications we would have put in. 

My point that I want to get to is that we also did not specifically 

spell out areas of responsibility for the Deputy. That in itself is not 

unusual. But I wanted to ask, to the extent that you may have discussed this with Administrator Fugate or you have ideas yourself, 

what your priorities and goals will be and whether Administrator 

Fugate and you have talked at all about specific areas of focus and 

priority that you will carry, if confirmed. 

Mr. SERINO. If confirmed as the Deputy Administrator at FEMA, 

I would first be supporting certainly Secretary Napolitano and Administrator Fugate’s priorities, and specifically two of those have 

been ensuring that we are ready to respond to the next disaster 

and supporting our first responders and citizens. And I believe 

those are the very two top priorities. 

In addition to that, we haven’t discussed this specifically, but I 

see some areas where I have an opportunity to be supportive—one 

is around H1N1, which we discussed earlier, some of the experiences I have had with that, some of the relationships I have with 

people in the medical and the public health community and helping 

to bridge those gaps. 

Also, developing citizen preparedness and looking at how citizens 

become not just prepared, but more resilient in the community, 

where it is not just making sure that they have their supplies, 

which everyone should have, but going to the next step. If there is 

an elderly neighbor next door, checking on him. If there is a single 

12 

parent with three kids on the other side, to check on them. So now 

if everybody were to do that, that helps build a resilient community 

where they are taking care of themselves and taking care of the 

others, as well. I think those are a couple of key areas. 

In addition to that, I am looking at, as I also mentioned briefly, 

developing relationships. One thing I am going to look at is visiting 

all the various regions throughout the country and spending time 

in the regions and getting to know the State directors, visiting 

some of the cities and some of the rural areas and really developing 

those relationships, how we can build a better team. This isn’t 

going to be just about FEMA. This just isn’t about local administrators. We have to do this together as a team. 

And one of the other priorities I see is looking at the workforce 

within FEMA. There are some very dedicated, wonderful, passionate people who work at FEMA, and I, if confirmed, really want 

to look at how we can encourage people to make FEMA a career. 

There are a lot of people who have been there who are passionate. 

There are a lot of younger people who are trying to get into FEMA, 

trying to get into the Homeland Security arena. And how can we 

mentor new people and partner them up with some people who are 

more experienced? 

I had the opportunity to talk with a fairly new employee. He 

didn’t know who I was. We were sitting outside, grabbing something to eat, and I just talked to him and asked him why he got 

involved. And he said, ‘‘I tried for 4 years to get to FEMA. I worked 

for a contractor. and I finally got in,’’ and now he has been at 

FEMA for about a year, and he is thrilled to work here. He has 

his master’s in homeland security. He is really, truly dedicated. 

But one thing that bothered me is, I said, ‘‘Do you wear the 

FEMA shirt?’’ He said, ‘‘No, I stopped wearing that on the Metro 

as a contractor a while ago.’’ One thing that I would really like to 

do is for people to be proud to wear the FEMA shirt and the FEMA 

jacket and the FEMA hat again. I think that is going to take a lot 

of work, but that, to me, is a priority because without having good 

people at FEMA, without giving them all the support, all the training and guidance, and all the work that goes into that, if we don’t 

have good people and support and train them and recognize them 

when they do well, FEMA isn’t going to be able to do its job the 

way it should. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Well said. A final question. One of the aspects of the Post-Katrina Act that I think was most important was 

the establishment of 10 regional offices of FEMA. I would be interested in your overall reaction to the regional offices, if you have 

any anecdotal responses to your own experience with the regional 

office in your area, and any thoughts about what you might do to 

improve the capabilities of those regional offices. 

Mr. SERINO. If confirmed, there are many things that I would do. 

First, in the Region I area, we actually have a good relationship. 

I worked with many of their staff for many years, whether it was 

with the Democratic National Convention, which was a national 

special security event, I worked closely with their staff. They were 

supportive. 

And I think that also as we continue to move forward, we should 

be actually pushing more to the regions. The regions know what is 

13 

going to work in their region better than anybody else. A lot of 

things cannot be managed from Washington, DC. The regional directors, the staff in the regions know their regions. They should 

know and they will know all their State directors if they don’t. 

They will know their governors. They will also know a number of 

the people in the local areas, and I want to continue to work with 

them and to really develop the regional administrators to actually 

be a key, integral part. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Excellent. Thank you very much. Senator 

Collins. 

Senator COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chief, in your response to the questions that we submitted prior 

to this hearing, you indicated your belief that the FIRE Act grant 

program had been successful and efficiently run, and I certainly 

agree with you. I think this is an example of a program that has 

made a tremendous impact with a minimum of bureaucracy. It is 

peer reviewed. My fire departments in Maine love the program, 

and I gather that the Boston EMS, which you lead, has received 

FIRE Act grant funding in the past. 

Could you explain from your perspective on the EMS side why 

you think the program has been successful? 

Mr. SERINO. The FIRE Act grant program for us has been successful. What has been successful about it is the fact that it is less 

bureaucratic than a lot of other programs, and we have applied 

many times. And even the times we didn’t get our grant, we got 

a response quickly, and we got a response as to why, and that, to 

me, was just as important as when we did receive the grant. We 

were able to outfit, in fact, all of our staff with personal protective 

equipment through that grant, which we otherwise wouldn’t have 

been able to do. 

So I think that grant is actually—I don’t want to say it is simple, 

but it is user friendly, and the fact that it is peer-reviewed is helpful, as well. 

Senator COLLINS. I think it is a terrific program. The authorization is due to expire at the end of September. We are working on 

a reauthorization bill. 

I would note, and I am not going to ask you about this because 

I don’t want to put you in a difficult position with the Administration that has just nominated you, that the President’s budget, unfortunately, slashed the FIRE Act grant program below the funding 

level that we had in the previous year, and I think that was very 

unfortunate. I hope that you will be an advocate internally in the 

budget deliberations and that you can bring the personal experience that you have had to the budget deliberations. I doubt a lot 

of the people who are making the funding decisions have actually 

seen firsthand the tremendous good that the FIRE Act grants can 

do, so I hope that you will be that voice as the next budget is put 

together. And you don’t have to answer that. 

Mr. SERINO. Thank you. [Laughter.] 

Senator COLLINS. But I will assume from the twinkle in your eye 

that the answer is yes. [Laughter.] 

I want to follow up with just one final question, and that is about 

other grant programs within the Department. I think that FEMA’s 

grant programs, the Homeland Security grant programs, have done 

14 

a great deal of good. They have allowed countless areas throughout 

our country to build interoperable communication networks. That 

is of great interest to the Chairman and me because we saw not 

only in Hurricane Katrina, but in other disasters that have occurred that the lack of interoperable communications has worsened 

the disaster and impeded an effective response. But we have seen 

the funds go for that. 

We have seen the Homeland Security grant programs being used 

to develop detailed response plans that otherwise would not exist. 

They have been used to train thousands of first responders. I have 

seen in Maine the funds being used for Regional Emergency Operations Centers, for interoperable communications, hand-held radio 

devices, command and control vehicles, mobile vehicles that can be 

used in an emergency. 

Nevertheless, the experience with these programs is not perfect, 

and last Friday, the Sacramento Bee in California published a story 

that exposed wasteful expenditures by the State of California with 

money that it had received from DHS grant programs. In some 

cases, equipment that had been purchased was still in boxes years 

or a considerable time later. 

So it is imperative that FEMA have strict controls to ensure that 

the money is being used to achieve the baseline emergency preparedness that we all agree is necessary throughout the country, 

in big cities and small, and it is imperative that there be a way 

of auditing and checking to make sure that funds are not wasted. 

As Deputy Administrator, if confirmed, what specific actions 

would you take to ensure that these dollars are spent wisely and 

not wasted or lost to fraud? 

Mr. SERINO. If confirmed, one of the things that I would do is 

commit to getting more specifics on that particular event. I have 

read the article. I am going to commit to getting back to you with 

more information as we work together with Administrator Fugate 

to look more in depth at this issue. 

Senator COLLINS. You can, indeed. I would suggest to you that 

working very closely with the Inspector General in your agency is 

one way forward. It is my understanding that the IG has published 

a report with some 21 recommendations that address many of the 

flaws and problems that are outlined in this news story. So that 

is a path forward for FEMA to implement. But fraud in FEMA programs has been a problem. We saw rampant fraud in the wake of 

Hurricane Katrina, sadly, but we also saw it in previous hurricanes, after the Florida hurricanes, as well. 

It is evident that FEMA needs better internal controls, that it 

needs a better system, and that we not let the urgency of responding cause a lapse of internal controls and the suspension of internal 

controls. That is a false choice. You can deliver the aid, whether 

it is emergency assistance in the wake of a disaster or a Homeland 

Security grant, in a timely fashion without making the programs 

vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse. 

Mr. SERINO. And if confirmed, I will make a commitment to 

working to ensure that the taxpayers’ money is spent properly, 

wisely, and to avoid fraud, but at the same time meet the needs 

of the citizens when they need it the most. 

Senator COLLINS. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

15 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks, Senator Collins. 

The vote has begun, but this timing worked out well. I think we 

had a really good discussion. I must say, I am very impressed by 

your answers. Beyond the record that we see in your biography of 

your experience, you are obviously familiar with all that you will 

be asked to do, if confirmed for this position. 

I certainly hope you are confirmed. I think, together with Administrator Fugate, you will constitute really a first-class team to head 

this agency, and you will do it in a way that will lead that employee to be proud to put on that T-shirt with FEMA on it. 

Without objection, the record of the hearing will be held open 

until the close of business tomorrow for the submission of any written questions or statements for the record. We will give them to 

you by then, tomorrow, and ask you to respond in writing to the 

questions. 

With that, I thank you very much for your willingness to serve 

your country. I thank your family for backing you up and doing 

that, and now I adjourn the hearing. 

Mr. SERINO. Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 2:50 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

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