Note: This is a Sunday Kos short series exploring the Federal disaster response plan, now known as the National Response Framework, released this month in draft form for comment. We will explore a bit of the complex framework, primarily designed for public officials, and in a later post explore the role that families and individuals have in disaster preparation. Much of the background work for this was done by my colleague SusanC at Flu Wiki Forum.
From the overview document, About the National Response Framework:
The purpose of the National Response Framework is to establish a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response. The Framework presents an overview of key response principles, roles and structures that guide the national response. It describes how communities, States, the Federal Government and private-sector and nongovernmental partners apply these principles for a coordinated, effective national response.
Let's say we have a major hurricane in Florida, or a flood in the Midwest, or even an earthquake in CA that causes widespread damage and causes the vacationing Governor to ski into a tree. For these events, local and state officials are supposed to deal with things as best they can. If they can't, then and only then are they supposed to turn to the Feds for help. But who asks for help? Who is in charge? How does the federal government envision itself responding to an emergency bigger than locals can deal with? What if there are varying degrees of local competence or the local command structure has been severely disrupted? And how would it work, at least theoretically, for something as widespread as a pandemic?
After Katrina and before the next disaster, wouldn't you want to know what to expect both from your state and from the Feds? Here's a bit of a simplified look at a complex question. From Flu Wiki Forum:
As we have noted previously on this forum, preparing for and responding to disasters have always been not just the responsibility but the domain of State and local government, the Feds having no right to intervene even to assist a State except at the request of the governor. Over the course of the 20th century, the federal government became increasingly involved in disaster responses as requested by states, so much so that it has become more-or-less the expectation that in any large scale disaster, some federal assistance will be forthcoming. Nevertheless, the principle that State and local resources need to be utilized first before federal assistance can be requested was reiterated firmly by various administrations, notably Truman in 1952 and Nixon in [19]73.
The main legislation providing for federal disaster response is the Stafford Act, which establishes a mechanism for state governors to request assistance from the Feds when they are overwhelmed. It authorizes the President to declare disasters/emergencies and to appoint a Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) who is responsible for coordinating the delivery of resources from other agencies and entities and generally to administer disaster relief, as requested by the State.
The important points to note here are that:
- the states have to identify what they need and make specific requests
- the FCO (and FEMA, after it was formed in 1978) is not the operational provider of federal support. Rather FEMA coordinates the response and resources provided by other federal agencies.
- such aid is delivered to the State who is then responsible for distributing it locally to those in need. There is no mechanism for FEMA to directly administer aid on the ground.
This 'pull' system, ie States drawing resources from the feds as needed, works for most situations when state and local governments are sufficiently functional, but broke down completely in the case of Katrina, when there was basically no functioning government on the ground for this mechanism to work.
Here, from the draft revision of fed-to-state plans within the government's mother of all disaster plans, the National Response Framework, is how the Stafford Act support to states might work (click for bigger pic):
Note in the Stafford Act chart that it's the Governor, who asks FEMA, who asks the President to declare a Federal disaster or emergency so as to free up funds and relief that through the National Response Framework can be delivered to the states. If the Governor does not or cannot ask (i.e in a catastrophic situation), things may slow down, but FEMA, through the FCO, can help smooth over that process if a FCO has been appointed. If not, other catastrophic mechanisms outside the Stafford Act may need to apply. That's a post-Katrina lesson that is clearly in need of implementation. This implies that FEMA is running the show, though, and under DHS' complex hierarchy, that is far from clear.
Since trying to dissect any Federal document requires a glossary, let me provide one. If you look under P, you'll find this very important designation: the Principle Federal Official.
Principal Federal Official (PFO): For major incidents that require an extraordinary level of coordination across multiple disciplines and functions and overlapping Federal and State authorities, the Secretary of Homeland Security may appoint a PFO to assist the Secretary in executing his or her responsibilities as the overall domestic incident manager. Acting on the Secretary’s behalf, the PFO will coordinate the activities of other Federal officials, acting under their own authorities, to ensure consistency of Federal support as well as the overall effectiveness of the Federal incident management. The PFO will serve as a member of the Unified Coordination Group and provide a primary point of contact and situational awareness locally for the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The PFO answers to the Secretary of DHS (Mike Chertoff) and is a major coordinator for big events that cross sector and jurisdictional lines. In fact, according to the framework, the PFO is the overall domestic incident manager in place of the Secretary (usually this will be the Vice-Admiral of the Coast Guard or some such experienced official) for complex events.
But wait... wasn't the FEMA FCO in charge? Look in our glossary under F:
Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO): For Stafford Act events, upon the recommendation of the FEMA Administrator and the Secretary of Homeland Security, the President appoints an FCO. The FCO is a senior FEMA official trained, certified and well experienced in emergency management, and specifically appointed to coordinate Federal support in the response and recovery to emergencies and major disasters. The FCO executes Stafford Act authorities, including commitment of FEMA resources [that's an important responsibility, because that's where the money is!] and the mission assignment of other Federal departments or agencies.
So, the FEMA FCO who is a "senior FEMA official trained, certified and well experienced in emergency management" is appointed by the President, but the Secretary is the overall domestic incident manager and the PFO assists the Secretary. They appear to have similar roles, but there are differences (one major one is that FEMA's FCO disburses the money; the Secretary's PFO can't do that). Does the presidential FEMA appointee outrank the Secretary's designee (i.e, is it Michael Brown or Michael Chertoff running the show)? Are the roles clear? In a major catastrophe like Katrina, the FCO might be in NOLA running the Fed show and disbursing resources while the PFO coordinates in DC. For smaller-scale disasters, the roles are not so clear-cut (and whether they might step on each other remains to be seen). In fact, this is one of the murkiest parts of the draft plan.
The Framework (again, still in draft form) is trying to work these kinks out. If you're a state or regional disaster or emergency manager, it'd really help to establish who is in charge and who you will deal with. That's especially important in a large scale disaster like a pandemic, where the PFO is likely to play an important role. Critics of the plan, including congressional oversight committees, have noted this, as has the GAO (more about this in Part II, next week):
...the Secretary of DHS has designated a national Principal Federal Official (PFO) to facilitate pandemic coordination as well as five regional PFOs and five regional Federal Coordinating Officers. Most of these leadership roles and responsibilities have not been tested under pandemic scenarios, leaving it unclear how they will work.
Part of the solution is practicing and drilling the potential disasters so as to better get used to working with each other (and that's just DHS. Adding HHS into the mix, the lead agency on pandemics, makes it even more imperative to drill, drill and drill some more. Think of how naturally and easily your doctor and fire chief would work together – or not – had they never met. HHS and DHS have very different mindsets).
Next week, we'll also talk about Emergency Support Functions, and how the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza fits into this (and what HHS is doing), as well as the role of individuals and families (you won't find enough mention of that on the mess maps). In the meantime, take a look at this from the CDC Pan Flu Operational Plan and see if you can find the following terms on the chart: PFO, FCO, and the CDC Senior Medical Officer (SMO) (hint: look for a familiar marker) and see if it's obvious in a pandemic who reports to whom.
And if it isn't crystal clear yet, there's a reason you should do your own preparations independent of whatever the feds are up to.