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50–388 PDF 2010

S. Hrg. 111–677 

NOMINATION OF W. CRAIG FUGATE 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

OF THE

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

NOMINATION OF W. CRAIG FUGATE TO BE ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL 

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

APRIL 22, 2009 

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

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

( 


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(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 L. 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 

MARY BETH SCHULTZ, Counsel 

KRISTINE V. LAM, Professional Staff Member 

BRANDON L. MILHORN, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

ASHA A. MATHEW, Minority Senior Counsel 

JENNIFER L. TARR, Minority Counsel 

TRINA DRIESSNACK TYRER, Chief Clerk 

PATRICIA R. HOGAN, Publications Clerk and GPO Detailee 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Hearing Clerk 


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C O N T E N T S 

Opening statements: Page 

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

Senator Collins ................................................................................................. 4 

Senator Landrieu .............................................................................................. 13 

Senator Carper ................................................................................................. 16 

Senator Akaka .................................................................................................. 19 

Senator Burris .................................................................................................. 21 

Prepared statements: 

Senator Lieberman ........................................................................................... 25 

Senator Collins ................................................................................................. 26 

Senator Akaka .................................................................................................. 27 

WITNESSES 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2009 

Hon. Mel Martinez, a U.S. Senator from the State of Florida ............................. 1 

Hon. Bill Nelson, a U.S. Senator from the State of Florida ................................. 5 

W. Craig Fugate to be Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security ....................................................... 7 

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WITNESSES

Fugate, W. Craig: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 7 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 29 

Biographical and financial information .......................................................... 33 

Responses to pre-hearing questions ................................................................ 43 

Letter from the Office of Government Ethics with an attached letter ......... 110 

Responses to post-hearing questions for the Record ..................................... 112 

Letters of Support ............................................................................................. 142 

Martinez, Hon. Mel: 

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

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 28 

Nelson, Hon. Bill: 

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


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NOMINATION OF W. CRAIG FUGATE 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2009 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in room 

SD–342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Joseph I. 

Lieberman, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Lieberman, Akaka, Carper, Landrieu, Burris, 

and Collins. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LIEBERMAN 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Good morning. The hearing will now come 

to order. Today, our Committee will consider the nomination of W. 

Craig Fugate to be Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

Mr. Fugate, I welcome you here this morning, and I particularly 

want to welcome our friend Senator Mel Martinez, who will be introducing you. 

Senator Martinez, if you are under a time pressure, I would be 

happy to have you go ahead right now. 

Senator MARTINEZ. That would be wonderful. Thank you, Mr. 

Chairman. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. I know you would like to hear the opening 

statements that Senator Collins and I are going to offer, but—— 

Senator MARTINEZ. I will be reading them later. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. All right. [Laughter.] 

Very good, my friend. Please proceed. 

TESTIMONY OF HON. MEL MARTINEZ, A U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF FLORIDA 

Senator MARTINEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Senator Collins. I am really honored to be here today to introduce to you a 

great Floridian, and I am really proud that he will be serving our 

country. He is Craig Fugate, who is the Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. All Floridians have benefited 

from Mr. Fugate’s leadership, and I am pleased to know that he 

will soon be serving all Americans at the national level as the next 

Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In 

my view, there is no more qualified person for the job. 

Anyone who has worked with Mr. Fugate—and I have at the 

local, State, and national levels—will tell you that he has forgotten 

more about emergency management than most people will ever 


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know in a lifetime. That is because he has spent most of his lifetime working at all levels in this field. As a volunteer firefighter, 

a paramedic, and later a lieutenant with the Alachua County Fire 

Department, he spent the early part of his life at the local level 

and ended up serving as the county’s emergency manager. 

In 1997, Mr. Fugate was promoted to the State level as Chief of 

the Bureau of Preparedness and Response with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and in this role, he helped to 

build what has become the model emergency management program 

for the Nation. He has helped to manage the response to major 

floods, tornados, wildfires, and hurricanes. One hurricane, Hurricane Georges, resulted in more than 200 days of activation for the 

State Emergency Response Team. 

In October 2001, former Governor Jeb Bush elevated Mr. Fugate 

as Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. As 

you might imagine, preparing for hurricanes and dealing with the 

aftermath is a way of life for us in Florida, but rarely has Florida, 

let alone any other State or region, for that matter, been impacted 

by as many storms as we saw during the 2004—as I was running 

for the Senate, as a matter of fact—and 2005 seasons. In total, 

three tropical storms and eight hurricanes made landfall, including 

Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, Dennis, Katrina, Rita, 

and Wilma. Despite the constant threat of these storms, Floridians 

were prepared and the State was ready to respond, and that is in 

no small measure thanks to Director Fugate’s steady leadership. 

Throughout this time as Director, Mr. Fugate managed 23 declared State emergencies, including 11 presidentially declared disasters, requiring more than $4.5 billion in Federal assistance. It 

was his tremendous ability to coordinate disaster response, recovery, preparedness, and mitigation efforts with each of the 67 counties and local governments that earned him reappointment after 

Governor Charlie Crist was elected governor in 2006. 

Although we, in Florida, will be sad to see him leave, our Nation 

needs him, and we continue to look forward to working with him 

to improve our national response to disasters. 

I want to thank Mr. Fugate for all that he has given in service 

to Florida, and I would urge my colleagues to give him a swift confirmation so that he can be our next FEMA Administrator. 

Thank you very much. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks very much, Senator Martinez. 

That was a very strong statement, and certainly it means a lot to 

the Committee. Senator Collins and I will have copies of our statements on your desk by the time you return. [Laughter.] 

Senator MARTINEZ. Thank you very much, yes. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thank you very much. When Senator Bill 

Nelson arrives, we will obviously be honored to hear from him as 

well. 

Let me begin my opening statement and say that the extraordinary record of experience in emergency management that Mr. 

Fugate has is, of course, very important, and I want to say how 

historically important it is to this Committee and put it in some 

context. 

The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, which 

Senator Collins and I were honored to co-author and the ComVerDate Nov 24 2008 08:16 Nov 02, 2010 Jkt 050388 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\DOCS\50388.TXT SAFFAIRS PsN: PAT

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mittee was good enough to report out, aimed at addressing the failures uncovered by this Committee’s investigation into the response 

to Hurricane Katrina. The law requires that the FEMA Administrator have a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency 

management and homeland security and at least 5 years of executive leadership and management experience. 

Now, you would think that would be kind of normal to request 

that of the FEMA Administrator, but that was not the case prior 

to the adoption of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, and the obvious fact is—and I note this with much appreciation—that Mr. Fugate has a background that not only meets but 

far exceeds these requirements. 

Obviously, the ultimate test of a leader, an Administrator in this 

case, is the qualities that the person brings personally to the task, 

qualities of leadership, ability to work with others. But it seemed 

to us that we had to at least guarantee that the person going into 

this position, so critical to the lives and safety of Americans at 

times of emergency, have had the basic experience to give us the 

confidence to believe that he could do this job. And again, I note 

with great pleasure, Mr. Fugate, that you more than satisfy those 

requirements. 

The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act also 

strengthened FEMA in many different ways, giving it both new 

and enhanced responsibilities and missions. A very important aspect of that Act was the decision to keep FEMA within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I must say that since passage 

of the Act, FEMA has come a long way, showing steady improvement year by year. FEMA’s successful responses to Hurricanes Ike 

and Gustav in 2008 were proof of the agency’s progress. And I 

think few now dispute that FEMA is a stronger agency, much 

stronger than it was before Hurricane Katrina. I particularly hope 

that the career public servants who are in FEMA now appreciate 

the fact that we appreciate what they have done and what the 

agency has done in the last couple of years. 

Last April, Department of Homeland Security Inspector General 

Richard Skinner testified before this Committee that FEMA was 

better prepared for a catastrophe now than it was when Hurricane 

Katrina struck and that actions taken to implement the Act have 

resulted in a much more muscular agency. More recently, Mr. 

Skinner testified that FEMA is stronger now than it has ever been 

in its history as a result of its cooperative relationships within the 

Department of Homeland Security, the implementation of PostKatrina Emergency Management Reform Act, and other improvements made as a result of the lessons learned from Hurricane 

Katrina. Additionally, Mr. Skinner reported in February of this 

year that removing FEMA from DHS would be a mistake. 

So I take all those to be encouraging signs, and I hope they are 

the death knell of the attempts to remove this important agency 

from the Department of Homeland Security, though I would like to 

ask you about that during our question and answer period. 

Although FEMA has come a long way, if you are confirmed as 

the new Administrator, Mr. Fugate, as you know, you still will face 

some tough challenges. Among the top priorities will be accelerating the full recovery from Hurricane Katrina, developing a 


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long-term recovery strategy and improving FEMA’s recovery programs, completing plans to respond to future large-scale disasters, 

working with States to ensure that they are better prepared for response and recovery responsibilities, and better tracking where our 

homeland security grant dollars are going to ensure they are being 

used most effectively to strengthen our national preparedness. 

The next FEMA Administrator, of course, will be responsible also 

for continuing to implement the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act so that FEMA really does become the world-class 

standard for emergency management, which we want and need it 

to be. 

I want to say for the record that Mr. Fugate has the support of 

his peers, having been endorsed by the International Association of 

Emergency Managers, the National Emergency Management Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National 

Sheriffs Association, and even by Florida Governor Charlie Crist. 

So I look forward to your testimony this morning and to working 

with you, if you are confirmed. 

Senator Collins, do you want to proceed? 

Senator COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. And then we will go to Senator Nelson. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR COLLINS 

Senator COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will be very brief 

in my remarks, given the presence of Senator Nelson. 

I just want to join you in welcoming Craig Fugate to the Committee. This Committee’s comprehensive investigation into the 

flawed response to Hurricane Katrina was the most extensive investigation this Committee has ever done, and it produced this 

very lengthy report. I am, of course, going to quiz the nominee to 

make sure he has read every single page of the report. [Laughter.] 

But in all seriousness, the Committee’s investigation revealed 

fundamental problems with our Nation’s preparedness for catastrophic disasters and also, following up on the point the Chairman 

made, a lack of qualified leadership at the top levels of FEMA. As 

a result of our Committee’s work, as the Chairman has noted, Congress passed the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform 

Act, which the Chairman and I authored, and as a result, our Nation’s ability to prepare for and respond to all disasters has improved dramatically. And I will say, Mr. Fugate, that I was disappointed that in your prepared remarks you did not discuss this 

landmark law and the impact that it has had in improving our Nation’s emergency preparedness. 

Perhaps the most significant of all the reforms that we implemented was the requirement that the FEMA Administrator have 

substantial emergency management experience. Mr. Fugate brings 

8 years of experience as the Director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management. During those 8 years, he oversaw the response 

to 11 presidentially declared disasters. So, clearly, the Administration has followed the requirement in the law that the head of 

FEMA bring this sort of experience to the position. 

I also am impressed with the widespread bipartisan support that 

Mr. Fugate’s nomination has garnered. Clearly, this should not be 

a political post. It should be a nonpartisan post that is filled by the 


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most experienced individuals that we can find. So, Mr. Fugate, it 

does speak well for you that both of Florida’s Senators of two different parties have taken the time today to be here to endorse your 

nomination, and I look forward to hearing your testimony and 

hearing from Senator Nelson, whose words will be added to those 

of Senator Martinez. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks very much, Senator Collins. 

Senator Bill Nelson, it is an honor to welcome you to the Committee for the purpose of introducing the nominee. 

TESTIMONY OF HON. BILL NELSON, A U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF FLORIDA 

Senator NELSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And as you know, 

our lives here often have conflicts. I have been chairing a meeting 

of the Armed Services Committee, and thank you for scheduling it 

so that I could temporarily recess that committee to come here on 

behalf of Mr. Fugate. And everything that you have said already 

about Mr. Fugate is true, and I can testify to that because I have 

been sitting by his side in the Emergency Operations Center of the 

State of Florida since 1995 and have seen him perform under very 

difficult circumstances. 

I have referred to the two of you as either ‘‘Madam FEMA’’ or 

Mr. FEMA.’’ You certainly have the knowledge of this organization, 

its deficiencies, and, therefore, you have corrected a number of 

those deficiencies by what we have seen, the mistakes in the past. 

So thank you for what you have contributed in the reform of 

FEMA. Now you have to have the personnel that can take the law 

as you crafted it and have this country respond to the natural disaster or other manmade disasters in a way that the American people have come to expect. And that, of course, is a huge task. That 

causes all the resources of government to be brought together and 

coordinated, and you have to have somebody on the ground who 

does that and somebody who is a professional in doing that. And 

you all in your reports and your hearings before have chronicled 

the mistakes that have been made. Well, I can tell you that now 

you have a professional before you for confirmation. 

In addition, his personal training is that he has been in these 

emergency responder positions before he assumed these leadership 

positions. He has been a firefighter. He has been an emergency 

medical services (EMS) person. And then when he graduated to the 

ranks of leadership, he was right there on the job ever since we got 

hammered back in the early 1990s with the monster hurricane, 

which we had to figure out how to get through. And we had a very 

bad experience because the emergency responders did not respond. 

And there was chaos in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 

1992. 

In the decade that followed, FEMA got its act together, and then 

we saw, with the experience of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA did not 

have its act together, and we knew that in Florida the year before 

when four hurricanes hit Florida in 2004 within a 6-week period. 

At first, you could say FEMA certainly was going to be overwhelmed with four hurricanes. That is true. But then you saw that 

the professional expertise coordinated from the Federal level was 


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not there. It was a precursor, it was a warning of what was to 

come. And, finally, that happened, to the knowledge of everybody, 

in 2005 in the Hurricane Katrina debacle. 

So you have a knowledgeable professional to whom, under his 

leadership, we have seen Florida respond. His style of leadership 

and the Emergency Operations Center that he coordinated, and the 

response, became the role model for the rest of the country. That 

is who you have here in front of you today. 

He has a homespun Florida way of describing how he handles his 

professional duties. He calls it ‘‘the Waffle House test.’’ After a hurricane, if the Waffle House is open, it means that there is power 

and there is water, and so you keep going. But if the Waffle House 

is closed, something has shut them down, and you have to start 

getting it open. And if they are open and they have a limited menu, 

it means that power has been out for a while because everything 

in the freezer that was frozen has now melted and you are facing 

that kind of a situation. 

So I want to commend him to you. As I said, I have had the opportunity to sit by him. I will never forget when Hurricane Charley 

suddenly took a right turn and surprised everybody, coming right 

up Charlotte Bay and hitting Punta Gorda head on. The good news 

was it was a confined hurricane with the hurricane force winds 

only 10 miles in diameter. The bad news is that it hit people, surprisingly, because it was supposed to go further north, a lot of people who had fled Tampa were in Punta Gorda. And you can imagine the ensuing chaos, during which in the middle of the hurricane 

the Charlotte County Emergency Operations Center roof gets 

blown off and they have to evacuate the Emergency Operations 

Center in the middle of the hurricane. You can imagine the scene 

at which Mr. Fugate arrives a few hours after the hurricane in the 

Mobile Emergency Operations Center and starts to take charge. 

And this is a skilled, experienced professional. It is what this Nation needs. It is what Florida has been fortunate to have. And I 

commend him to you for your consideration, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks very much, Senator Nelson. I will 

tell you that is one of the most compelling statements we have had 

made by a colleague on behalf of a nominee because it is so personal and based on experience. I appreciate it very much. 

I also thank you for giving us a Florida definition of ‘‘the Waffle 

House test.’’ Usually around here, ‘‘waffling’’ means something else. 

[Laughter.] 

Let me say, in your opening statement you did not waffle. Your 

introduction was very clear and strong. We appreciate it very 

much. Thank you. 

Senator COLLINS. Mr. Chairman, before Senator Nelson departs, 

I want to acknowledge that he was the first person to come to me 

when I was Chairman to point out problems with FEMA, long before Hurricane Katrina struck. And, indeed, this Committee, when 

I was Chairman—back in the good old days—in May 2005, held a 

hearing looking at FEMA’s response to the 2004 hurricane season. 

And you brought to my attention the widespread fraud that, unfortunately, became prevalent after Hurricane Katrina as well. So I 

just want to acknowledge your longstanding leadership in this 

area. Thank you. 


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1The prepared statement of Mr. Fugate appears in the Appendix on page 29. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks, Senator Collins, for pointing that 

out. Thanks again, Senator Nelson. 

Mr. Fugate 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 offices of the Committee. 

Our Committee rules require that all witnesses at nomination 

hearings give their testimony under oath, so, Mr. Fugate, 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. FUGATE. Yes, sir. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thank you. Please be seated. 

Mr. Fugate, we would be honored now to hear your statement 

and the introduction of any family members or guests that you 

have with you today. 

TESTIMONY OF W. CRAIG FUGATE 1 TO BE ADMINISTRATOR, 

FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, U.S. 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

Mr. FUGATE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Collins, and 

Senator Landrieu. Senator Nelson and Senator Martinez were very 

kind, and having worked with them, I know that they are outstanding people, and I have always enjoyed my relationship with 

them. But I also have somebody else here, Mr. Chairman, that is 

probably the most important person in this room to me, sir, and 

that is my wife, Sheree, who is joining me in this endeavor. I could 

not be here without her, and it is, as we all know, families first. 

There are other people here representing a variety of groups: My 

good friend Max Mayfield, former Director of the National Hurricane Center; Mike Walker, who has served this country in numerous capacities but, most importantly, is here to remind me of somebody that has passed, and that is Lacy Suiter, who was once described as the ‘‘best Director FEMA ever had,’’ and often times is 

my guidepost when looking at difficult situations. I go back to the 

question, ‘‘What would Lacy do?’’ 

There are others representing various organizations from the 

International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Emergency Managers Association, and the International Association of Emergency 

Managers. 

Mr. Chairman, I come before you today as the nominee for Administrator of FEMA. I am honored that the President has asked 

me to serve in this capacity. I have a statement. The Senators have 

already provided much of that information, so if it would please 

you, I would just like to enter my statement into the record. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Without objection, so ordered. 


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Mr. FUGATE. And I just want to hit on a couple of things, less 

about my past, about which much has been said, but what I see 

as the challenges. 

Senator Collins is absolutely correct that the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act is one of the most monumental 

things to come about in emergency management. Many people forget that much of what was assumed about FEMA was never actually codified. There are oftentimes very gray areas in roles and responsibilities. And we were oftentimes welded to the Stafford Act 

as the determining factor of what our roles and responsibilities 

should be. 

Some of the things that the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act has done have made it clear that FEMA is part 

of the Department of Homeland Security. It has made clear that 

the Administrator reports to the Secretary and serves as the emergency management advisor to the President and Homeland Security Council under the Secretary. It lays out responsibilities that go 

beyond just administering the Stafford Act to ensure that this Nation is prepared for all hazards, not just those natural hazards that 

many of us have experienced, not just the threats that may come 

about because of acts of terrorism, acts of violence, or failures of 

technology, but prepared for those disasters and those events we 

may not have experienced yet, and to build a team that is not just 

based on FEMA. 

I think sometimes we talk a lot about what FEMA’s role is and 

we forget what we are really talking about is how the Nation is 

going to prepare to respond. And that is how I really look at this 

opportunity. As much as we have a lot of work to do within FEMA, 

and there are many things from the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act that we still owe this Committee, as well as 

the recovery that we are still responsible for after Hurricanes 

Katrina and Rita and the rebuilding of the Gulf, we also need to 

recognize that we have to build a national focus on the next disaster, some of which we can forecast. There is a lot of reference 

made to hurricane season, which starts June 1, 40 days away. Mr. 

Chairman, the next disaster that could be a catastrophe could 

strike today. We do not have the luxury of always knowing what 

the next disaster will be, nor will there always be a disaster that 

there is a forecast for. 

That responsibility means that we have to begin looking at our 

citizens as a resource, not as a liability in our plans; that we have 

to integrate and build capacity and capability at the local, State, 

and Federal levels; that it has to incorporate the volunteer, faithbased, and community-based organizations and the private sector; 

that we cannot look at some of our challenges and basically try to 

determine what we will do based on our capabilities, but based on 

what the challenges are. 

We cannot forget that many of our citizens who, because they do 

not have the resources, face additional challenges. That cannot be 

an afterthought in our planning. You cannot write a plan for disability preparedness after you write your main plan. It has to be 

incorporated as a core element of how we make sure that our most 

vulnerable citizens are taken care of. 


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When you read the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, you find the answers to many of the questions that have 

been out as far as what should be the Federal role, how should 

FEMA integrate, and what is the purpose of this organization. Previously these questions were addressed through funding, appropriations; they were addressed through an interpretation of the Stafford Act. I truly believe that the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act has finally defined what this Nation expects from 

its emergency management program, what FEMA’s role is in that 

program, and our task to go forward to build that team that can 

respond to the next catastrophe. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thank you, Mr. Fugate, for a very 

thoughtful statement. I am going to start my questioning with the 

standard questions 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. FUGATE. Mr. Chairman, the only thing that I am aware of 

is that as the Emergency Management Director of the State of 

Florida, I serve as the signature and governor’s authorized representative on currently open disasters as well as the State administrative agency for homeland security grants. I have met and will 

be, if confirmed, signing an ethics agreement which will clearly 

state that I will recuse myself from any of those activities involving 

my previous job as State director for open disasters or open homeland security grants. But other than that, no, sir. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Very well. That is acceptable. 

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. FUGATE. No, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. 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. FUGATE. Enthusiastically, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. I hope you continue that level of enthusiasm as you go on. [Laughter.] 

We are going to start the first round of questions with 7 minutes 

each. 

Your far-reaching opening statement leads me to ask you a question that I had not planned to ask you first, and I do not expect 

that you will have a full answer to it, but I appreciated what you 

said. This is an emergency management job, and we naturally 

think of it first in terms of natural disasters—hurricanes, tornados, 

the like. And now we have come to think of it in terms of unnatural disasters—terrorist attacks—and we will get into these—biological, chemical. But this Committee and, I would say, the Congress have a rising interest in and concern about the danger of 

cyber attacks. In fact, there is a report expected any day now from 

the White House about possible reorganization of roles. 

There is a Cyber Security Center within the Department of 

Homeland Security. The Homeland Security Department has a natural responsibility for protecting the nondefense elements of the 


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Federal Government’s cyber systems and, most critically, working 

with the private sector to beef up their defenses and their capacity 

to respond to a cyber attack. 

I have no idea whether you have given any thought to this. I 

want to just put it in front of you to see if you have, and frankly, 

I had not thought about it before, but it seems to me that FEMA 

and you, if confirmed, really ought to be at the center of the Department of Homeland Security’s planning for both prevention and 

particularly response to a cyber attack. 

Mr. FUGATE. Mr. Chairman, as the Emergency Management Director of the State of Florida, I am well known for doing no-notice 

exercises, which we call ‘‘Thunderbolts.’’ We have actually done exercises involving critical failures in our communication infrastructure through various cyber attacks, such as shutting down a central office where all Internet traffic, phone traffic, and cell traffic 

would be disrupted. 

I think that, again, our role in FEMA is to be prepared for the 

consequences. If the power goes out, it is really not relevant what 

caused it to go out if the impacts are now affecting health care critical infrastructure, and what those impacts could be. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Right. 

Mr. FUGATE. So I think our role in FEMA is, again, not so much 

always focusing in on the things we know, but looking at what 

would be the consequences if that attack occurred, if the utilities 

were shut down, if phone line and cell communication was disrupted. We have seen a few examples of this. Once when a satellite 

shut down, we lost all pager capacity across the Nation for about 

90 percent of the hospitals and other folks who depend on pagers. 

We would look at the consequences of that. We would want to 

look at what kind of vulnerabilities and systems could be affected. 

And I think our role at FEMA is, again, looking at the impacts and 

consequences and building capacity and capability to address that. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Well, that is excellent. I did not know 

that you had done any work on that in Florida. That is very encouraging. And I think we are going to have to really spend some 

more effort and resources. I believe Secretary Napolitano is committed to this as well in the area, unfortunately, of cyber defense. 

But you are right. If there was an attack on our power systems, 

for instance, a cyber attack, the role that you would have through 

FEMA would be not so much the focus on how it happened, because hopefully the power companies themselves would have spent 

some time on that so that they would be able to get the system 

back up, but you would have to deal with a cyber attack just as 

you deal with any other power failure. 

Let me briefly ask you, without belaboring the point, but it is an 

important one to us on the Committee. I know that in the past you 

have made public statements that you thought it would be a mistake to take FEMA out of the Department of Homeland Security. 

Do you still hold that position? 

Mr. FUGATE. Mr. Chairman, yes, I do. I believe that the next confirmed Administrator of FEMA needs to be focused on the next disaster, and being focused on that means that the debate, as far as 

I am concerned, is over. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. I appreciate that answer. 


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One of the things that I think we did in the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act that was most significant—I hope 

it is, and I want to get your view on it; I think it has begun to 

work—is to really beef up, to establish these 10 regional FEMA offices, give significant new responsibilities to the FEMA Administrators, to put in one place in each of the 10 regions representatives 

from a very wide range of Federal response organizations, including, incidentally, in every one of them now a Department of Defense representative to coordinate the response and to train, as 

much as one is able, for the particular disasters, certainly the natural disasters, that are more likely to occur there. Obviously, in the 

Gulf Coast you train for hurricanes and the like. 

I wanted to get your view on what the role of the regional office 

is, as you see it, in enabling FEMA to achieve its critical mission. 

Mr. FUGATE. I believe the role of the regional offices is to be the 

principal interface with the States in building that team. I believe 

very much that we should be delegating down to those administrators the ability to deal with much of the day-to-day issues and the 

response that they may have supporting a State and to build those 

partnerships prior to the next event. 

There has to be accountability. There has to be responsiveness. 

But I think we will be best able to achieve that by using the regional structure so that we can address, as you point out, the 

unique aspects of the threats that those regions face, their capabilities, and the geographical distances that have to be covered. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Do you think there has been adequate involvement of State and local emergency management with FEMA 

up until this time? And, if not, what would you do to improve it? 

Mr. FUGATE. Mr. Chairman, I think that there has been that dialogue, but it oftentimes comes at the point when many of us felt 

decisions had already been made and we were just being asked to 

validate that decision. 

My approach is to bring the stakeholders in to help us come up 

with the solutions and answer the questions, not present them with 

the solutions to ratify. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. So would you do that exclusively through 

the regional offices or do it yourself from Washington, or moving 

out of Washington yourself? 

Mr. FUGATE. I believe we have a variety of options there. We 

have the National Advisory Council. We have our regions. But I 

also believe that the responsibility of the Administrator is to go 

meet people at conferences and go to their States and go to the 

local governments because only through that process can we really 

see the challenges we are facing. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thank you very much. Senator Collins. 

Senator COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Fugate, you and I have talked about the tension between 

making sure that aid gets out to the potential victims or the actual 

victims of a disaster as quickly as possible and yet ensuring that 

waste, fraud, and mismanagement are not permitted, and in the 

wake of Hurricane Katrina, we unfortunately saw not only a failure to aid the victims in an effective way, but widespread and in 

some cases completely preventable waste and fraud. 


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This tension, however, is not unique to a large hurricane like 

Hurricane Katrina. Back in 2005, when our Committee looked at 

the 2004 hurricane season in Florida, we found significant problems. We found that the Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Center reported that the damage from Hurricane Frances was minimal 

and that, in fact, Miami-Dade County did not incur any hurricane 

force winds, tornados, or other adverse weather conditions that 

would cause widespread damage. And yet what happened in this 

case is FEMA designated this county as eligible for the individual 

assistance programs without first conducting, as it should have, a 

damage assessment to determine whether Federal assistance was 

warranted. And this was the issue that Senator Nelson first 

brought to my attention, and our Committee found that these two 

goals of quick and effective aid and yet preventing waste, fraud, 

and abuse are not mutually exclusive. 

I would like you to comment on what happened in that case, 

whether you played any role in encouraging the designation, and 

what can be done to ensure that we are not pouring millions of dollars into aid to a region that simply did not meet the threshold. 

Mr. FUGATE. Yes, ma’am. Senator, I was the one that in the request for the major presidential disaster declaration placed the 

names of the counties that I thought were going to experience hurricane damage prior to landfall. At that time, what we felt was the 

most appropriate route to receive assistance and have FEMA release resources to us was to ask for a major presidential declaration at the landfall of Hurricane Frances, and that would preclude 

having any damage assessments to make that determination. We 

were basing it on the forecast. That and the fact that we were also 

a relatively small agency trying to administer that response meant 

that we did not have any controls or oversight within our response 

to monitor that in real time. 

Post that 2004 hurricane season, we saw FEMA begin addressing 

this through a clear policy of when they would issue or when they 

would solicit a request from a governor for a pre-landfall emergency declaration. This is important because, previously, without 

the emergency declaration or major presidential disaster declaration, prior to the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform 

Act, FEMA could not release or actually turn over resources to the 

State to respond. So we were driven more by ensuring that we had 

the capability to respond to that disaster and trying to get as much 

of that done under the tools we had. 

In retrospect, the emergency declaration is actually a preferable 

route because it does not provide long-term complete assistance to 

people but addresses the most critical emergency needs in the immediate pre- and aftermath of a threatening storm or other type 

of disaster. So that gave us a new tool with more guidance on when 

to ask for that versus defaulting back to asking for a declaration 

at landfall. 

Senator COLLINS. I think we need to strike the right balance. We 

want to make sure and indeed our Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act provides for the authority for FEMA to preposition assets. That is absolutely essential. That did not happen 

with Hurricane Katrina. Disaster struck, and it was very difficult 

to get the needed supplies into the area. But, on the other hand, 


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we do not want to trigger individual assistance programs and the 

expenditure of millions of dollars to individuals who did not suffer 

harm because that takes away from our ability to provide assistance to those who do suffer harm. So that is an issue on which I 

look forward to working with you and making sure that we strike 

the right balance. 

I would like to turn to another issue. This Committee has had 

a series of hearings chaired by Senator Lieberman to look at how 

government and other private sector and nonprofit organizations 

communicate with our citizens when a disaster strikes, and one of 

the most important services that government can provide before 

and during an emergency is notifying citizens of impending danger. 

Technologies are now available so that we can target the notification to a geographical location through Reverse 911, text messaging, and E-mail. And we can give people notice of impending 

danger as well as instructions on what to do. 

FEMA has been experimenting with various parts of an integrated public alert and warning system that would take advantage 

of these new technologies. What are your thoughts on how we can 

improve communication? And will you make it a priority to move 

this project forward? 

Mr. FUGATE. Senator Collins, absolutely. Here is the bottom line: 

If we cannot reach the population at risk with the information on 

which they need to act on a Sunday morning at 3 a.m. when nobody is watching TV or listening to the radio, the system fails. You 

have to define the outcome and then apply the process and technology to achieve the ability to warn people when they are not prepared, when they are not paying attention, when they may not 

know a threat exists. 

Senator COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks, Senator Collins. 

Senator Collins’ last question is a very important one, and I appreciate your answer about communication to the public in a disaster. I cannot resist saying that you have behind you one of the 

great all-time communicators to the American people in disasters 

in Max Mayfield. I must say it makes me feel comfortable just having him in the room. [Laughter.] 

It is an honor to have you here. 

Next is Senator Landrieu. As you know, Senator Landrieu chairs 

the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery that we created 

that has specific jurisdiction with regard to the Stafford Act and 

emergency management generally. In that capacity, I am happy to 

call on her now. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LANDRIEU 

Senator LANDRIEU. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and let me add 

my compliments to Max Mayfield. His is a wonderful face to see, 

and we in Louisiana so appreciate his voice at probably the most 

difficult time our State has ever faced. And without his persistent 

notification, we may have lost even more than the 2,000 people 

that we did lose in that storm. We thank him and look forward to 

continuing to work with him. 

Mr. Fugate, I am very impressed with your background, and of 

course, Senator Nelson has commented to me many times about 


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the confidence that he and the people of Florida have in you. Based 

on our several meetings and your responses to the 36 questions 

that I have submitted prior to this hearing, I am convinced that 

you are the right person for this job. But I will say, Mr. Chairman 

and Madam Ranking Member, that we still have a tremendous 

amount of work to do, despite the great work of this Committee, 

which you mentioned in your opening statement. And I am happy 

that my office helped to inform a lot of those discussions about 

what has gone into the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act and the good work of the Chairman and the Ranking 

Member. I think this area is still ripe for aggressive reform. And 

I am pledging to work with you today to help to get a better, 

stronger FEMA and to identify the right team members to 

strengthen that team so that we never have to see and experience 

what happened in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, let alone what you 

have experienced in Florida. 

I have six questions. I am probably only going to get to three of 

them, and I will try to stay for the second round, if I can. And 

these are very Louisiana and Gulf Coast specific, so forgive me, but 

we still have our eyes on this recovery. 

Mr. Fugate, on the question about the V–Zones as we build out 

from a catastrophic disaster, these are coastal high hazard areas 

known as Velocity Zones. I agree that construction and development should follow sound flood and storm surge data. As you know, 

the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA are conducting a review 

of our levee system in the country. New flood maps are being 

issued. 

However, some of these actions have left viable Louisiana communities, most notably in Cameron Parish, which is home to small 

but very longstanding communities that are working communities—oil and gas, commercial fisheries. There are other areas in 

Plaquemines Parish. I am sure this is happening in parts of Texas, 

and along the Alabama and Mississippi coasts. 

Federal regulations permit FEMA to authorize construction in a 

V–Zone if no practical alternative sites are available. Will you use 

your authority to approve some construction for fire stations and 

police stations in communities that obviously need those basic protections? 

Mr. FUGATE. Senator Landrieu, if I am confirmed, one of the 

things that in our discussion I wanted to be able to do is look at 

V–Zones and make sure we are pragmatic in our decisionmaking. 

Obviously, when a community is at risk and we can move that community and minimize that risk to their lives and property in the 

future, we should achieve that. But there are times when that is 

not practical, and we need to look at what are the potential options 

through engineering or other types of mitigation techniques that 

we can use to mitigate that hazard. 

Senator LANDRIEU. Can I ask you how many communities you 

have moved in your experience? 

Mr. FUGATE. Generally, the ones in Florida that have been 

moved—Caryville is one from the Tropical Storm Alberto floods— 

have been small. 

Senator LANDRIEU. And how large was that community? 

Mr. FUGATE. Relatively small. 


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Senator LANDRIEU. Like how many, approximately? 

Mr. FUGATE. Approximately, I believe, the total was less than 

100 structures. And, again, in Florida we are facing a very similar 

concern around Lake Okeechobee with the dike and the areas there 

that have now found themselves being upgraded as to risk if something happens to Lake Okeechobee. 

Senator LANDRIEU. And I just want to bring this to the attention 

of this Committee, that moving communities is an option if the 

communities are small enough to move and if they are not contributing to the Nation through intrinsic links to significant infrastructure. If it is a retirement community, if it is a community of condominiums that just were built in the wrong place, that is one 

thing. But, Mr. Chairman, to move communities of several thousand people who are maintaining the river systems, pipelines, infrastructure, and ports is a whole other issue. And this is a very 

important rebuilding aspect this Committee has to focus on, and I 

am glad to see that this nominee is focused. But a tremendous 

amount of work is going to have to be done. 

Let me ask you about arbitration. As you know, after years of 

trying, we finally succeeded at putting a system in place that could 

bring to an end the endless disputes between FEMA and local governments about the costs associated with rebuilding. There are 

legitimate differences of opinion sometimes, but nonetheless, communities need those differences to be resolved. Do you support implementing the law that is now in place for some type of arbitration panel? 

Mr. FUGATE. Senator Landrieu, if confirmed, absolutely. I also 

want to look at that arbitration process as an opportunity to look 

at repeated issues and see if there are patterns or trends that we 

need to address through policy and rulemaking. Again, if these are 

similar issues, time and time again, this may be an opportunity to 

look at those, identify them, and look at what the remedy is so they 

do not become a continuing issue for other jurisdictions. 

Senator LANDRIEU. I asked you also, if you would, about the community disaster loan program, and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why more of my colleagues do not appreciate just the numbers on this. But you indicated that in some instances you did not 

think that the $5 million cap on community disaster loans was adequate, with which I agree, and that you would consider other options. But I want to bring to the Chairman and Ranking Member’s 

attention, the fact that the budget of the City of New Orleans is, 

as I recall, $264 million a year. How could a $5 million loan be 

anywhere near adequate if a city of that size is either completely 

or half destroyed? Could you comment? 

Mr. FUGATE. Senator Landrieu, the City of Miami is probably all 

by itself in Miami-Dade County one of the largest economies in all 

of the State of Florida—— 

Senator LANDRIEU. What would a $5 million loan do for Miami 

if half of the city was destroyed? 

Mr. FUGATE. I doubt we could make payroll on a monthly basis. 

Senator LANDRIEU. I doubt you could pay—— 

Mr. FUGATE. Weekly. 

Senator LANDRIEU [continuing]. One department 2 weeks for $5 

million. 


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Mr. FUGATE. Absolutely. 

Senator LANDRIEU. So I am urging this Committee to understand 

that in a major catastrophic disaster, the current amounts on the 

books are wholly inadequate to maintain basic operations and that 

our fire departments, police departments, teachers, and public 

school system are at tremendous risk because of it. 

On your staff turnover, which is also very troubling, we are reviewing right now the 1,400 people that are in the office in New 

Orleans. We are going to find out how many are full-time FEMA 

employees, how many are contract employees, and how many are 

part-time employees. 

One of my goals is to get a highly qualified and well-trained reserve force for this Nation. The people who are at risk, at their 

time of need, do not want to see green recruits. They want to deal 

with trained professionals, like when the National Guard shows 

up—someone that they can rely on. Can you promise us that you 

will make that a priority issue in rebuilding and retraining your 

force and developing creative ways to build a trained—even though 

they may be temporary—but qualified workforce for the people who 

may be subject to multiple disasters as we move forward? 

Mr. FUGATE. Senator Landrieu, if confirmed, to the best of my 

ability, we need to address the disaster assistance cadre and make 

sure those people are ready to go and serve their citizens if they 

are called to be activated. 

Senator LANDRIEU. And do you have at least one specific suggestion about how you could do that? 

Mr. FUGATE. Yes, ma’am. Using similar techniques from the Incident Command System, we need to make sure that they are typed 

and trained to the capacity when they deploy. Obviously, we do not 

want to put people with little experience running major components in a large disaster. We want to make sure our most experienced people are leading, and we bring people in to train them and 

gain that experience, but not at the expense of trying to manage 

a disaster. 

Senator LANDRIEU. Mr. Chairman, I am going to conclude and 

submit some more questions for the record. This nominee will have 

my support, but I want you and the Ranking Member to know that 

I am going to be working weekly, as we rebuild our region in the 

Gulf Coast, with both of you to get a better system because while 

we have made great improvements, we have quite a significant way 

to go. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thank you, Senator Landrieu. I could not 

agree with you more, and I think the work goes on, and your role 

in it is very important. Thank you. 

Senator Carper, welcome. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARPER 

Senator CARPER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

The first question I want to ask of our witness is what does the 

‘‘W’’ stand for? 

Mr. FUGATE. The ‘‘W’’ stands for William. I was blessed by a 

mother who called me by my middle name from the time I was 

born, and so I always went by Craig. It was not until kindergarten 


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that I found out I had a first name when the teacher kept calling 

me ‘‘William’’ and ‘‘Billy’’ and ‘‘Bill’’ and could not understand why 

I did not answer. [Laughter.] 

Senator CARPER. I understand your wife is sitting right behind 

you? 

Mr. FUGATE. Yes, sir. 

Senator CARPER. Welcome. Thank you for your willingness to 

share this guy with us, and we will return him to you in 4, 5, 6, 

or 7 years. All right. In the meantime, hopefully you can E-mail, 

or you can text message, or whatever they do. 

The experience we had in Delaware with FEMA even in the 

worst of times has been pretty good, and they have been there for 

us to work with the Delaware Emergency Management Agency 

(DEMA). You probably know some of our folks at DEMA. They 

send their best, and you have some people in our State who know 

you and have enjoyed working with you and admired you. 

I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you during vote-arama down by the Ohio clock. We could not find a place that 

worked, so we found a quiet corner and met there, and I went back 

and forth about every 10 minutes to vote. But I came away impressed with your credentials, and I think we are fortunate that 

somebody with your credentials and background is willing to serve 

our country. 

Every one of us has worked in organizations where the morale 

has been real high, and we have worked in organizations and been 

part of a team where the morale was real low. And during the time 

I have been around, I have seen morale at FEMA pretty high, and 

I have seen it pretty low. 

I think FEMA continues to struggle with a number of internal 

issues that are contributing to, still in some cases, the low morale 

of folks in the organization. Some people say it is the absorption 

into the Department of Homeland Security. Some say it is the 

backlash from a bunch of hurricanes, including Hurricanes Katrina 

and Rita, that have contributed to this. 

What lessons have you learned along the way in the leadership 

roles that you have played? What do you bring to FEMA, particularly from the Florida Department of Emergency Management, 

that will help to improve the human capital side of FEMA? 

Mr. FUGATE. Senator Carper, you alluded to my friend Jamie 

Turner, the Director of Delaware Emergency Management, a great 

person to have as your friend and to work with. 

Senator CARPER. It is a small world. His daughter was my scheduler, used to tell me where to go every day. A lot of people would 

like that job. 

Mr. FUGATE. In any organization that faces the challenges that 

FEMA faces, it is oftentimes easy to not always have a clear picture and understanding of roles and responsibilities. I have always, 

from personal experience, felt that I really was happiest when I felt 

that I was doing my job, when I clearly understood what my role 

and responsibility was, when I was given the leadership to empower me to do my job, when I had the resources to do my job, and 

when I had leadership that backed me up when things did not go 

perfect. 


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I think that sometimes we have to understand that as much as 

we try, things will not always turn out the way we wanted it to. 

I think that too often, it is not easy for the leadership to stand up 

and take responsibility when the team did not meet the expectations, or to make sure that when the team does do well, that the 

team gets recognized; that it is not about an individual, it is about 

the team effort. 

And I think that when I have been a part of those teams, people 

felt they had actual ownership in the process. They were not just 

told what to do, but they knew why they were doing it, and they 

bought into that vision. And it was clear and unwavering where we 

were taking the organization and focusing on outcomes, and we did 

not sacrifice individuals when things did not go well, but the leadership took the ownership and responsibility and bore that, but the 

team when we did well, got the recognition. 

Senator CARPER. Those are my rules, too. Those are great rules. 

Thank you. 

We talked a little bit about this when we met privately, but let 

me just ask you for the record: If confirmed, what would be some 

of your top priorities on taking over as Administrator? Are there 

any current policies that have not worked in your mind that you 

plan on modifying or reversing? For example, some former agency 

leaders recommended, I think, that FEMA get out of the long-term 

housing business and transfer that function over to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). That is just an 

idea, but give us some thoughts that you have, some of your key 

priorities, please. 

Mr. FUGATE. Well, I think obviously the priority is being prepared for the next disaster, whatever that may be; continuing the 

recovery that we currently have underway with Hurricanes 

Katrina and Rita and rebuilding the Gulf Coast. And the challenges then are from the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act—what is our national strategy for recovery and our national strategy for housing. 

I think one of the things we have to define is what are we really 

talking about as far as numbers. I know that with a hurricane in 

Miami, we would be looking at about half a million housing units, 

and that would not be an 18-month to 24-month program. So we 

naturally have to build the team of Federal, State, and local government agencies and groups that have the resources to address 

what would happen in our case, looking at Florida. But when we 

look at other States, whether we had, again, a storm come up the 

Mid-Atlantic States or if we had the New Madrid earthquake, look 

at what would be the potential number in a worst-case scenario. 

And then I think we start going back to our programs and say, 

‘‘Where are the gaps at?’’ I think too often we try to take our programs and build up to a number, not really having an expectation 

that the number may be so large that the process will not get us 

where we need to go. And I think that will give us better clarity 

as to the roles and responsibilities of FEMA in the immediate term, 

as well as HUD in the long term, because if we lose half a million 

units in Florida, I can assure you that the need for affordable housing will be there long after the Stafford Act programs would have 

sunsetted. 


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Senator CARPER. I have heard folks complain that FEMA has too 

much bureaucracy and red tape in responding to disasters, which 

slows the pace of recovery. That has not been our experience in 

Delaware. But do you agree with that assessment? And if so, what 

ideas do you have on how to streamline FEMA’s recovery programs? 

Mr. FUGATE. I think we need to go back and look at our policies 

and procedures and make sure that they are not an impediment to 

the intent of the Stafford Act or to CFR 44, which was the intent 

of this body and the Congress in order to support State and local 

governments. I think that the dispute resolution panel that we are 

looking to support in the Gulf Coast may give us some indicators. 

Those issues that we are seeing repeatedly, we need to address in 

that process. 

Senator CARPER. All right. The last word, there is a necessity to 

try to align the agency and the work that you all do with the law. 

Also, I think you have a responsibility—I think certainly with the 

leadership of this Committee, an opportunity—when the law does 

not make much sense to come to us and say this does not really 

make a lot of sense and here is why, and just suggest that we 

change it, and I think you will get a pretty fair hearing. 

Mr. FUGATE. Senator Carper, my approach is let us make sure 

FEMA has not put limitations on itself that the law did not intend, 

and then if we find that it still does not address the challenges and 

it does not get the outcome we want, then that is when we would 

want to come back and provide that information, which may require additional legislative action to address. 

Senator CARPER. Good. Thanks so much. Thanks for your willingness to take this on. If confirmed, we look forward to working with 

you. I think you might be confirmed. Good luck, sir. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thank you, Senator Carper. Next is Senator Akaka. 

Senator Akaka, wherever you go, you bring the warmth and 

tranquility that I associate with Hawaii, but today you bring an 

extra measure of the beauty of the islands. Is there a special occasion? 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR AKAKA 

Senator AKAKA. Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I 

have some visitors from Hawaii, and these are students, and they 

adorned me with the lei that I have on. The lei is a symbol of inclusion, saying that we belong together. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Hear, hear. 

Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to 

thank you very much, and the Ranking Member, Senator Collins, 

for holding this hearing and for moving on with trying to confirm 

the people that we need to operate our government. 

First, I want to congratulate you, Mr. Fugate, for your nomination, and thank you so much for coming to visit me. We had a 

chance to chat about what you might be doing. And I also want to 

thank you for bringing your wife, Sheree, and your other loved ones 

who are here with you today at this hearing. I know how important 

their support is for you and will be in the future as you head 

FEMA. 


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1The prepared statement of Senator Akaka appears in the Appendix on page 27. 

As you know, FEMA’s primary role in a disaster is to provide 

State and local entities with critical Federal support and, of course, 

to help the people of that particular State, and you will be charged 

with leading these efforts. And FEMA must have strong, experienced, and capable leadership. 

And after chatting with you, I believe that you will be able to 

provide the kind of leadership that FEMA needs, and that is, the 

confident leadership and vision that it needs for its current time 

and also the future. 

I want to encourage you to reach out to the stakeholders and engage their perspectives, too, and to be a strong advocate for ensuring that FEMA has its resources. 

Before I move on to my questions, Mr. Chairman, I want to ask 

that my full statement be included in the record.1

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Without objection. 

Senator AKAKA. Mr. Fugate, according to the Partnership for 

Public Service, FEMA places 211 out of 222 agencies on its most 

recent ranking of the best places to work in the Federal Government. Are you aware of this? 

Mr. FUGATE. Yes, Senator, I am. 

Senator AKAKA. Well, then, you know that team work, effective 

leadership, strategic management, training and development, and 

support for diversity are among the areas where FEMA was rated 

particularly low. You spoke about your human capital priorities, 

but I would like you to discuss how you will address these specific 

concerns. 

Mr. FUGATE. Well, in looking at that and also having read the 

memo from the union that represents many FEMA employees and 

their concerns, I think that we oftentimes find ourselves in the 

roles that we are placed in emergency management without clear 

guidance, clear direction, and authority to do our jobs. And I know 

of nothing else that would sap morale faster than to be put into 

a situation where I was not allowed to solve the problems given the 

rules and regulations under which I operate. I think that part of 

it has to go back to building a team based on empowering people 

to make decisions to carry out the tasks they are assigned, giving 

them the resources they need to do it, and providing the support 

from the leadership of the team that says we are going to move forward, we are going to address these issues, and we want to empower our staffs to do their jobs through the regional structures, 

through closer partnerships with local and State governments. 

I think that doing our job well, doing it with respect for each 

other, and building a team that understands roles and responsibilities is the way to build that morale versus trying to address it 

from the standpoint of case by case. I think we have to look at the 

overall efforts within the organization and make sure that we are 

one team supporting our State and local governments and meeting 

the needs of disaster survivors, that our members are treated with 

respect, are empowered to do their jobs, and have a clear mission 

and outcome and the expectation to do a job well, and that the 

leadership supports them in that process. 


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Senator AKAKA. You also mentioned in our chat the importance 

of working together, coordinating activities, and fostering partnerships, and as you mentioned, personnel that can support these efforts. As FEMA’s Administrator, you will be responsible for assisting States with all Federal resources, including coordinating assistance for other Federal agencies. Coordinating all of these agencies 

takes a great deal of planning and leadership. 

What steps will you take to ensure proper coordination among all 

agencies? 

Mr. FUGATE. Again, Senator, if I am confirmed, I plan to meet 

with the various components of the Federal response family. In 

particular, I would like to schedule early on the opportunity to 

meet with the National Guard Bureau, with NORTHCOM’s leadership. And I want to take a little bit different approach. I think too 

often we look at our team and say, ‘‘What can you do to support 

my mission?’’ 

The reality is that FEMA’s mission is to ask them what we can 

do to make sure they are successful in meeting the needs of our 

citizens during a disaster. And I want to take an approach that 

when we sit down and talk, it is not about what they are going to 

do for us or how FEMA is going to be in charge. The way I want 

to approach and build that team is by asking how do we support 

them? Where do they need FEMA to be strong in order that they 

can be successful in their mission? 

Senator AKAKA. Yes, and I am glad you are describing it that 

way. It is a two-way street, and we need to use the capacities of 

other agencies as well to help with FEMA’s efforts. So with that 

type of leadership, it will be great to have you confirmed in this 

position. 

I want to wish you well, and your family as well, and to tell your 

family that you are depending on their support in fulfilling your responsibilities. 

Mr. Chairman, I thank you very much for this opportunity. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks very much, Senator Akaka. 

Senator Burris, good to see you. Welcome this morning—even 

though you are not wearing a lei. [Laughter.] 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BURRIS 

Senator BURRIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Madam Ranking 

Member, and Members of the Committee. 

Mr. Chairman, if I were to check the record, I think that the 

agency that I worked for as a young law student at Howard University in 1962 was the Office of Emergency Planning, and we were 

then doing all the planning, primarily in case there was a nuclear 

attack on the country. And I am glad to be able now to talk with 

a potential Director of the agency that used to be my employer. So 

just as a kind of historical and personal note, Mr. Fugate, I do not 

think you will have much problem with this Senator in reference 

to your confirmation vote. 

Of course, I also remember seeing you on television quite a bit 

as you were battling all those Florida issues, and you were very articulate, very precise, and you had a no-nonsense attitude. Now, 

that certainly impressed me. I did not know that someday you 

would be sitting here seeking to give your service, time, and talent 


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to the whole Nation. And at this time, we are going to need you. 

So we are just hoping, of course, that everything will go all right 

with your confirmation. And coming from the heartland of the 

country, we have some major problems, two of which are earthquakes and flooding. I think that we must certainly be prepared to 

deal with what we have coming down the Mississippi River out of 

North Dakota and Minnesota when that thawing occurs, and I just 

hope that our State preparedness agency will be ready to work 

with you and that FEMA will be able and prepared to respond. 

I would like to ask you, though, if you have been able to assess 

the personnel situation in the agency operation? Have you really 

been able to look at what the needs might be? Is there understaffing? Are there, from your limited knowledge at this point, turf 

problems with other agencies or within the agency itself? And this 

story about wanting to take FEMA from Homeland Security, could 

you give me some insight on what your current knowledge is of this 

situation as you walk into this, I hope, challenging position? 

Mr. FUGATE. Well, Senator Burris, thanks for the kind words. As 

a nominee, my interaction with staff has been minimal. I have been 

getting a lot of staff briefings. But my one observation is this: I 

cannot give you percentages, but my sense is I can divide FEMA 

staff into three groups: Those who are doing their jobs and working 

to the best of their ability and know what their role is; there are 

some who would like to see FEMA outside of Homeland Security; 

I even believe there are some who have joined the agency that perhaps would like to see themselves outside of FEMA. 

My message to all of them is, obviously, if you are still thinking 

about other things, you are not focused on our primary mission: 

Are we ready for the next disaster? I think that is the message we 

have to send loud and clear, which is that we have a job to do. We 

need to build that team. We need to utilize the folks who are there 

and empower them to get the job done. And we need to stay focused on our mission because I do not know where the next disaster is going to be, and I know because I am from a hurricaneprone State that there is a lot of reference made to hurricane season. But I also understand as an emergency manager that a disaster is a come-as-you-are event. It does not matter what you are 

planning to do next year, how many people you are going to have 

on board 2 years from now. All that matters is when disaster 

strikes, are we ready to coordinate on behalf of the President the 

assistance to a governor in his time of need, and that requires a 

team effort. And at that point, if we are still having internal debates, if we are not good partners within our Federal family within 

DHS and with our other partners, then we are going to fail. And 

we have to focus on our mission making sure we are ready for the 

next disaster, and we have to build those relationships and partnerships not only with our Federal partners but with our State and 

local partners. We cannot do this as an agency response. We have 

to be a team. 

Senator BURRIS. That is certainly the proper attitude to take, 

and I understand also that during the Hurricane Katrina crisis, 

HUD had offered help for housing, and there was just no type of 

response. I just hope that when you get there, you will have the 

opportunity to work with the cross-support of other agencies that 


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will be able to lend their expertise. And, of course, also looking at 

that New Orleans situation, how are we going to deal with those 

trailers that had formaldehyde in them, where people are now living in those conditions? I do not know whether or not Congress has 

to do something about that or whether or not it is the Administration, but we cannot put our citizens, even in emergencies, in temporary housing in more danger than the disaster itself. So I hope 

that some of those issues will be addressed. 

Have you given any thought to those circumstances? 

Mr. FUGATE. Yes, Senator Burris. In regard to the options and 

types of products we can use for housing, I think some steps were 

taken by my predecessor, Dave Paulison, to look at how we could 

specify products that did not have a formaldehyde risk. I am not 

advocating that there is any particular best solution. But I think 

when you look at what we are facing, we have to make sure that 

we are able to address the housing situation both in the immediate 

aftermath of a disaster as well as what the long-term outcome will 

be so we can assure that communities are able to survive a disaster 

and that we are not left with the option of only being able to move 

people away from their community for an extended period, if not 

sometimes permanently, when a disaster strikes. 

Senator BURRIS. Mr. Fugate, we are looking forward to your confirmation. We hope and pray that we will have no disasters in my 

State, which we know will not be the case. But I certainly will be 

looking forward to FEMA’s response when the Mississippi River 

starts overflowing and the New Madrid fault starts acting up and 

my constituents get shaken up by earthquakes and flooding. 

Good luck to you, and I am pretty sure that now you have gotten 

yourself into it; I hope your family is ready to kiss you good-bye 

and see you in about 4 years. [Laughter.] 

Mr. FUGATE. Thank you, Senator. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks very much, Senator Burris. 

I am going to ask that, if Members of the Committee have additional questions, we submit them to you in writing. It has been a 

very good hearing and exchange. We actually, unusually, are going 

to adjourn in a moment and then reconvene immediately to hear 

the nomination of John Morton to be the head of Immigration and 

Customs Enforcement at the Department. 

Is there anything you would like to say, Mr. Fugate, in conclusion? 

Mr. FUGATE. Mr. Chairman, it has been an honor to be here. I 

ask for your support. I want to be part of the team that can support our local governments and States. 

Again, I would like to see the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act be fully implemented. I believe it is our way forward. But I also understand it cannot be done by one organization 

by itself. It requires full partnership, and it needs to be a team effort. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Well, thanks for that. You will certainly 

have my support. I hope to move this nomination as quickly as possible so we can get you into the office where I know the Secretary 

and the American people need you to be. We are going to keep the 

record open until tomorrow at 12 noon for submission of any written questions or statements for the record. 


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Senator Collins, would you like to say anything in conclusion? 

Senator COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to wish 

our nominee well. I, too, am impressed with his background and responses this morning, and I look forward to working with him. 

Chairman LIEBERMAN. Thanks, Senator Collins. 

Before I officially adjourn, I am going to ask—this is a little unusual, so if you are staying, stay. If you are leaving, try to leave 

as quickly as you can. We are going to bring Mr. Morton on. 

With that, thanks, and all good wishes to you. This hearing is 

adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:23 a.m., the Committee adjourned and proceeded to other business.] 


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A P P E N D I X 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LIEBERMAN 

Good morning. The hearing will now come to order. Today our Committee will 

consider the nomination of W. Craig Fugate to be Administrator of the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency. Mr. Fugate, welcome. I also want to welcome my 

friends and colleagues, Senators Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez, who will be introducing the nominee. 

Senators Nelson and Martinez have worked closely with Mr. Fugate in his capacity as Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, a position he has 

held since October 2001 and which has provided essential preparation for the post 

to which Mr. Fugate has been nominated. 

Before being appointed Director, Mr. Fugate was the Division of Emergency Management’s Chief of Preparedness and Response. Before that, he served for 15 years 

in local government, including 10 years as the Emergency Manager for Alachua 

County, 3 years as a Lieutenant with Alachua County Fire Rescue, and many years 

as a volunteer firefighter and paramedic. 

In each of these positions, Mr. Fugate has provided strong leadership, helping 

guide the State of Florida and relevant local governments through a range of challenges, including several devastating and deadly hurricanes. 

The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act—authored by Senator Collins and myself in 2006 to address the failures uncovered by this Committee’s investigation into the response to Hurricane Katrina—requires that the FEMA Administrator have a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and 

homeland security and at least 5 years of executive leadership and management experience. Mr. Fugate’s background far exceeds these requirements. 

The Post-Katrina Act strengthened FEMA, giving it significantly new and enhanced responsibilities and missions. A very important aspect of the Post-Katrina 

Act was the decision to keep FEMA within the Department of Homeland Security. 

Since passage of the Post-Katrina Act, FEMA has come a long ways, showing 

steady improvement year by year. FEMA’s successful responses to Hurricanes Ike 

and Gustav in 2008 were proof of the agency’s progress and few now dispute that 

FEMA is a stronger agency than it was before Hurricane Katrina. I particularly 

hope the career public servants in FEMA appreciate the fact that we appreciate 

what they have done and what FEMA has done over the last couple of years. 

Last April, Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Richard Skinner 

testified before this Committee that FEMA was better prepared for a catastrophe 

now than it was when Hurricane Katrina struck and that actions taken to implement the Post-Katrina Act have resulted in a more muscular agency. More recently, 

Mr. Skinner testified that FEMA is stronger now than it has ever been in its history 

as a result of its cooperative relationships within the Department of Homeland Security, the implementation of the Post-Katrina Act, and other improvements made 

as a result of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. 

Additionally, Mr. Skinner reported in February this year that removing FEMA 

from DHS would be a mistake. 

Despite clear signs of FEMA’s improvement and the Inspector General’s assessments, some continue to advocate for taking FEMA out of DHS. When we drafted 

the Post-Katrina Act we thought it would be a serious mistake to remove FEMA 

from the Department and sever its cooperative relationship with other DHS assets. 

Our Hurricane Katrina investigation found that FEMA had never been capable 

of handling a hurricane the magnitude of Katrina, even when it was a stand-alone 

agency. And we are certain that stripping FEMA from DHS now would undermine 

the positive developments of the past few years and once again throw FEMA and 

its employees into turmoil. 


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Although FEMA has come a long way, the new Administrator will face many 

tough challenges. Among the top priorities will be kick-starting what has become 

a stalled recovery to Hurricane Katrina; developing a long-term recovery strategy 

and improving FEMA’s recovery programs; completing plans to respond to future 

large-scale disasters; working with states to ensure they are better prepared for response and recovery responsibilities; and better tracking where our homeland security grant dollars are going to ensure they are being used most effectively to 

strengthen our national preparedness. 

The next FEMA Administrator, of course, will be responsible for continuing to implement the Post-Katrina Act so that FEMA really does become the world class 

standard for emergency management that we want and need it to be. 

Everything I know of Mr. Fugate’s record suggests he is the best man for this job. 

Furthermore, he has the support of his peers, having been endorsed by the International Association of Emergency Managers, the National Emergency Management 

Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Sheriffs Association, and Florida Governor Charles Crist. 

I look forward to your testimony this morning and working with you in the coming months and years if you are confirmed. 

Thank you. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR COLLINS 

I join the Chairman in welcoming two nominees: Craig Fugate to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency and John Morton to lead Immigration and 

Customs Enforcement. 

This Committee’s comprehensive investigation into the flawed response to Hurricane Katrina revealed fundamental problems with our nation’s preparedness for catastrophic disasters. As a result of our Committee’s work, Congress passed the PostKatrina Emergency Management Reform Act in 2006. Our nation’s ability to prepare for and respond to all disasters has improved dramatically due to this legislation. 

Perhaps the most significant of our reforms, however, was the requirement that 

the FEMA Administrator have substantial emergency management experience. Mr. 

Fugate brings eight years of experience as the Director of the Florida Division of 

Emergency Management to the office. During those eight years, Mr. Fugate oversaw 

the response to 11 Presidentially Declared Disasters. 

The logical combination of all-hazards prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery underscores the need to keep FEMA within DHS. Detaching FEMA in the 

vain hope of recapturing mythical halcyon days would weaken its effectiveness, reduce the ability of DHS to carry out its all-hazards planning mandate, cause needless duplication of effort, and foment confusion among state and local first responders during a disaster. 

It is my expectation that Mr. Fugate will see the clear benefit of keeping FEMA 

within DHS, particularly given the strong views of our nation’s first responders in 

favor of this structure. 

Turning to our other nominee, John Morton has been nominated to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is tasked with enforcing our nation’s immigration and customs laws. ICE faces huge challenges, not the least of which is the 

fact that the United States has an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants within 

its borders. ICE plays a vital role in coordinating interior enforcement to detain and 

remove those who have violated our immigration laws. 

ICE also conducts complex investigations of human, drug, weapons, and cash 

smuggling networks. This role has recently received significant attention because of 

the impact of increasingly violent Mexican drug cartels on our southwest border. 

The agency also combats the use of fraudulent documents and practices to obtain 

visas and other immigration benefits. 

To accomplish its mission, ICE must forge effective partnerships with state and 

local law enforcement. ICE stands on the front line against numerous threats to our 

nation. It helps ensure that we continue to let our friends in while keeping our enemies out. 

To enhance the nation’s border security, Secretary Janet Napolitano recently announced the appointment of a border czar that will focus on the cross-border flow 

of humans, drugs, weapons, and cash. I will be interested in hearing from Mr. Morton about how he would anticipate working with the new border czar and what authorities that czar will have over ICE policies and operations. 


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OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR AKAKA 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Fugate and Mr. Morton, I want to congratulate 

you on your nominations. I also want to thank your family and loved ones for making the trip to be here today. I know how important their support is through this 

process. 

Mr. Fugate, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this Committee worked to improve FEMA’s ability to meet its preparedness and response mission. The Committee’s investigation of the response to Hurricane Katrina found a critical failure of 

leadership. FEMA must have strong, experienced, and capable leadership. 

If confirmed, you will face many challenges as FEMA Administrator. Hurricane 

season is around the corner, pandemic influenza continues as a serious public health 

threat, and man-made disasters could strike at any time. In Hawaii, we have had 

six disaster declarations over the past nine years due to severe storms and flooding, 

mudslides, and earthquakes. Major flooding in December caused the current disaster declaration, which FEMA is responding to on the islands of Oahu and Kauai. 

Within my home state, we also have one of the most active volcanoes in the world, 

the Kilauea Volcano. FEMA has done a good job of working with the State Civil Defense Office to monitor and support Hawaii when disasters hit. However, Hawaii’s 

isolated location and unique geography require greater planning and preparation for 

disaster preparedness and response. 

FEMA’s primary role in a disaster is to provide state and local entities with critical Federal support, and if confirmed you will be charged with leading those efforts. 

I believe that you will provide FEMA with the confident leadership and vision it 

needs to meet current and future challenges. As a life-long public servant, you have 

a depth of experience at the state and local level handling small and large-scale 

emergencies. You know first-hand how the Federal Government can work with 

stakeholders, and you have seen FEMA’s strengths and weaknesses. 

I encourage you to reach out to all the various stakeholders and engage their perspectives. I also hope you will be a strong advocate for ensuring that FEMA has 

the resources it needs. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) likewise needs strong leadership 

that will direct the agency in a way that makes it more cohesive and effective. 

Mr. Morton, many problems that were a result of the merger between the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Customs Service still plague the agency 

today. ICE has struggled with poor morale and creating a cohesive ICE culture. Additionally, ICE has a wide range of responsibilities, making it especially important 

to manage the agency’s resources efficiently and to properly coordinate and 

prioritize its activities. I know you will use your contacts at the Department of Justice to the agency’s advantage, and I hope you also will develop close working relationships with the DHS components including Customs and Border Protection and 

Citizenship and Immigration Services, as well as other agencies, to coordinate ICE’s 

efforts and eliminate duplication. 

I am pleased that improving immigration detention standards and refocusing 

worksite enforcement on employers are priorities of yours. As you know, ICE has 

been criticized for poor detainee treatment and healthcare, detaining families with 

children in prison-like facilities, and mistakenly detaining legal residents. I look forward to seeing the changes that you will bring forth, once you are confirmed. 

Finally, I urge you to review Federal Protective Service (FPS) operations, in particular whether FPS relies too heavily on contract security guards. There are limitations to what contract security guards can do, which can weaken security at Federal 

buildings. The challenges that FPS faces require your focused attention and support. 

I look forward to working with both of you to meet these challenges. 


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