Related Legislation

H.R. 5316, the Restoring Emergency Services to Protect Our Nation from Disasters Act of 2006 (the RESPOND Act)

Introduced by:  Rep. Don Young (R-AK), Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

Cosponsors:  113

Brief Summary

The bill was referred to T&I, the House Government Reform Committee and HSC. It has been amended and approved by T&I and Government Reform; no action has occurred in HSC, which has its own bill (see H.R. 5351, below). This is the bill that Rep. Tom Davis decided to support, and it has double the cosponsors of the HSC bill.

As amended, H.R. 5316:

• establishes FEMA as an independent cabinet-level agency reporting directly to the President;
• authorizes FEMA to coordinate an all-hazards emergency management system that includes federal activities related to preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation for terrorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies;
• authorizes funding for grants to states, catastrophe planning, and a new grant program to help states and localities meet planning requirements.

Human Capital Provisions

As amended by the House Government Reform Committee, H.R. 5316:

• directs the head of FEMA to develop a human capital strategy “to ensure that the Agency has a workforce of the appropriate size and with the appropriate skills and training to effectively carry out the mission and responsibilities of the agency…”;
• authorizes the head of FEMA to pay recruitment and retention bonuses;
• establishes a “disaster workforce cadre” to meet the agency’s surge requirements during periods of emergency, which would enable the temporary employment of annuitants, require employment protections for reservists, and include various other requirements; and,
• establish that the FEMA workforce be “subject to the appointment, compensation, and other provisions of title 5, USC, to the same extent and in the same manner as any other officer or employee, as defined by chapter 21 of such title…” and not subject to DHS’s MaxHR system.

Links

Restoring Emergency Services to Protect Our Nation From Disasters Act of 2006 (the RESPOND Act)
May 9, 2006