Thank you, Mr. Chairman for holding this hearing.

Early this decade, our country faced two major incidents that reinforced the need for emergency preparedness.  On September 11, 2001, our country was attacked in a blatant act of terrorism, as the World Trade Centers in New York fell, and the Pentagon burned.  First responders were called to action, and a nation mourned.  Again in 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast with an unprecedented fury.  People’s homes were flooded or ripped apart, and major evacuations occurred.  The Gulf Coast is still rebuilding today.

Since the attacks of 9/11, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has held 4 hearings on the subject of emergency preparedness.  The last hearing was held on August 26, 2004.  Today, we will re-examine the role performed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in emergency preparedness and its response to national crises and whether that role continues to need serious updating and reform.  In particular, we will focus on the VA’s role during wartime, natural disasters, or major terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.

While the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tend to take the lead role when an emergency occurs, one cannot deny the large importance of emergency preparedness at the VA.  With 153 hospitals, and hundreds of outpatient clinics spread across the country, VA stands in a unique position to provide emergency medical assistance in the event of an emergency.

VA has defined roles currently in both the national disaster medical system and the National Response Framework (NRF) in the event of national emergencies.  Among the specialized duties of the VA are conducting and evaluating disaster and terrorist attack simulation exercises, managing the Nation’s stockpile of pharmaceuticals for biological and chemical toxins, maintaining a rapid response team for radiological events, and training public and private National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Medical Center personnel in responding to biological, chemical or radiological events.   Among the Emergency Support Functions (ESF) assigned to the VA which relate directly to the mission of the VA are ESF #6, which includes Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services; and, ESF #8, which includes Public Health and Medical Services.  I am interested in discovering today what VA has learned from the events of 9/11, Katrina and Hurricane Isabelle, and how their role relates to the overall emergency response mechanisms.   

Following Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, the Speaker of the House called together a Select Bipartisan Committee to investigate the preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina.  The report, A Failure of Initiative, was issued on February 15, 2006.  I understand that Ranking Member Buyer had been selected as part of the Committee that worked on the report, and one of our own Subcommittee staff, including Mr. Wu, had been detailed to work on the Bipartisan Investigative Committee.  I expect that we will hear from the Department improvements that have been made following this report, as well as on the recommendations made by the report from the Office of Inspector General issued in January 2006.  I am also curious as to what VA’s commitment is to Emergency Management in both dollars and manpower.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate you holding this important hearing.  It is my hope that this will be a good news hearing, and that the VA is much better prepared to handle emergencies that come up in the future.  I yield back my time.