When Pinal County’s Emergency Services Manager Pete Weaver woke up on March 11th, he never expected his day to turn out the way it did.
Weaver was attending the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) annual conference on behalf of the state’s emergency managers in Washington, D.C.
“I’m the president of the Arizona Emergency Services Association, which picked up the tab for the trip to the nation’s capitol,” Weaver said. “I was there to represent the group at the NEMA conference. This is an important conference since Congress relies on NEMA to give them direction on Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) funding.
A hot topic at the NEMA conference is a proposal by FEMA & the Bush Administration to halve Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) funding.
“People may wonder why is funding EMPG so important,” Weaver suggested. “The reason it’s important is that the local jurisdictions rely on that money to help fund their emergency management activities. For instance, EMPG funding accounts for 50% of our emergency preparedness budget.”
President Bush’s 2009 fiscal year budget has proposed funding EMPG at $200 million which is $100 million below last year’s enacted level. The money is the only direct federal funding to provide emergency management & planning at the state & local level.
Tuesday morning’s session at the NEMA convention tackled the issue of EMPG funding & the effect of the proposed cuts for local emergency providers.
“I was unexpectedly called upon to give a realistic assessment of what the cuts would do to our local emergency management infrastructure,” Weaver recalled. “There were a lot of federal emergency managers on hand to hear what the EMPG funding provides at the local level.”
The minute Weaver was done giving his assessment to gathering of emergency managers, he was stopped by a representative of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).
“I was walking out of the session when I was approached by IAEM Government Relations Manager Martha Braddock,” Weaver said. “She asked if I would get in a cab with her & go to Capitol Hill.”
Wondering why he was needed on Capitol Hill, Weaver was stunned to learn why he was summoned.
“FEMA Director David Paulison is testifying before a Congressional Subcommittee on Appropriations & you need to talk to him,” Weaver recalled Braddock telling him.
Those who know Pinal County’s Emergency Manager, know Weaver to be like the Energizer bunny, always on the go. For the normally ready Weaver, this call to a Congressional Subcommittee took him completely by surprise.
“I was in the taxi heading to the Rayburn Building & I had no idea on what to say to the director of FEMA,” Weaver said.
Braddock told him that he needed to inform Director Paulison on the need to keep EMPG funding in the upcoming budget. It needed to come from someone who is dealing with emergency management on a day-to-day basis & not a lobbyist.
“So we are taken to a back door of the Rayburn Building & the next thing I know, we are in a small room where the subcommittee is meeting. The room only held 45 people & there were about a hundred wanting to get in.”
Before the subcommittee hearing began, Weaver had 5 minutes with Director Paulison.
“He was looking for information on what the effects of cuts to EMPG funding would be,” Weaver said of his quick meeting with Paulison. “I told him the Feds needed to keep the funding steady & consistent. The roller coaster ride would mean that smaller & more rural counties would not be adequately prepared to respond. Having trained & qualified staff is critical. Training people & then having to let them go because of funding cuts defeats the purpose.”
Weaver was then seated behind Paulison & had a front row seat to an event not many are privileged to attend.
“The hearing lasted about 2 hours with a couple of breaks for the Congress members to return for a vote at the Capitol,” Weaver stated. But I can honestly say it was exciting and eye opening.”
In his opening remarks in the hearing, North Carolina Congressman David Price, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, asked that the EMPG funding be kept at the $300 million level.
“When I talk to emergency management professionals, they continually cite this as perhaps the most important grant program because it is focused on coordinating an all-hazards approach to preparedness & response at the state & local levels,” Chairman Price said.
Weaver said he hopes that the EMPG funds are kept at the same level or increased.
“We are really doing some good things with our local partners,” Weaver said. “I would like to keep it going so we can help protect the public in the case of an emergency. It is very important & I hope we were able to make our case before FEMA and the Congress.”
Weaver was attending the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) annual conference on behalf of the state’s emergency managers in Washington, D.C.
“I’m the president of the Arizona Emergency Services Association, which picked up the tab for the trip to the nation’s capitol,” Weaver said. “I was there to represent the group at the NEMA conference. This is an important conference since Congress relies on NEMA to give them direction on Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) funding.
A hot topic at the NEMA conference is a proposal by FEMA & the Bush Administration to halve Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) funding.
“People may wonder why is funding EMPG so important,” Weaver suggested. “The reason it’s important is that the local jurisdictions rely on that money to help fund their emergency management activities. For instance, EMPG funding accounts for 50% of our emergency preparedness budget.”
President Bush’s 2009 fiscal year budget has proposed funding EMPG at $200 million which is $100 million below last year’s enacted level. The money is the only direct federal funding to provide emergency management & planning at the state & local level.
Tuesday morning’s session at the NEMA convention tackled the issue of EMPG funding & the effect of the proposed cuts for local emergency providers.
“I was unexpectedly called upon to give a realistic assessment of what the cuts would do to our local emergency management infrastructure,” Weaver recalled. “There were a lot of federal emergency managers on hand to hear what the EMPG funding provides at the local level.”
The minute Weaver was done giving his assessment to gathering of emergency managers, he was stopped by a representative of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).
“I was walking out of the session when I was approached by IAEM Government Relations Manager Martha Braddock,” Weaver said. “She asked if I would get in a cab with her & go to Capitol Hill.”
Wondering why he was needed on Capitol Hill, Weaver was stunned to learn why he was summoned.
“FEMA Director David Paulison is testifying before a Congressional Subcommittee on Appropriations & you need to talk to him,” Weaver recalled Braddock telling him.
Those who know Pinal County’s Emergency Manager, know Weaver to be like the Energizer bunny, always on the go. For the normally ready Weaver, this call to a Congressional Subcommittee took him completely by surprise.
“I was in the taxi heading to the Rayburn Building & I had no idea on what to say to the director of FEMA,” Weaver said.
Braddock told him that he needed to inform Director Paulison on the need to keep EMPG funding in the upcoming budget. It needed to come from someone who is dealing with emergency management on a day-to-day basis & not a lobbyist.
“So we are taken to a back door of the Rayburn Building & the next thing I know, we are in a small room where the subcommittee is meeting. The room only held 45 people & there were about a hundred wanting to get in.”
Before the subcommittee hearing began, Weaver had 5 minutes with Director Paulison.
“He was looking for information on what the effects of cuts to EMPG funding would be,” Weaver said of his quick meeting with Paulison. “I told him the Feds needed to keep the funding steady & consistent. The roller coaster ride would mean that smaller & more rural counties would not be adequately prepared to respond. Having trained & qualified staff is critical. Training people & then having to let them go because of funding cuts defeats the purpose.”
Weaver was then seated behind Paulison & had a front row seat to an event not many are privileged to attend.
“The hearing lasted about 2 hours with a couple of breaks for the Congress members to return for a vote at the Capitol,” Weaver stated. But I can honestly say it was exciting and eye opening.”
In his opening remarks in the hearing, North Carolina Congressman David Price, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, asked that the EMPG funding be kept at the $300 million level.
“When I talk to emergency management professionals, they continually cite this as perhaps the most important grant program because it is focused on coordinating an all-hazards approach to preparedness & response at the state & local levels,” Chairman Price said.
Weaver said he hopes that the EMPG funds are kept at the same level or increased.
“We are really doing some good things with our local partners,” Weaver said. “I would like to keep it going so we can help protect the public in the case of an emergency. It is very important & I hope we were able to make our case before FEMA and the Congress.”