As the U.S. marks the ninth anniversary of 9/11, I wanted to post some ideas that I think would help raise citizen preparedness and engagement. The recommendations come from discussions that I have had with people involved in all aspects of the issue, my own experiences as a parent and CERT member in New York [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Congress'
As Nation Marks 9/11 Anniversary, 20 Ideas To Improve Citizen Preparedness & Engagement
September 13th, 2010 · 3 Comments
Tags: Business Preparedness · CERT · City Preparedness · Congress · County Preparedness · Cyber Security · Department of Homeland Security · Federal Emergency Management Administration · Fire Safety · Government Education Programs · Media · Non-Profit Organizations · Preparedness 2.0 · Preparedness Ideas · Preparedness Incentives · Preparedness Models · Preparedness and Business · Risk Communications · See Something/Terrorism Tips · State Preparedness · Volunteer Opportunities
A Job Opening That’s ‘Ready’ To Be Filled Immediately: Elected Official Needed To Take Lead On Citizen Preparedness
August 24th, 2010 · 2 Comments
During the time that I have covered the topic of citizen emergency preparedness, one of the most surprising things I’ve found is that there is no major elected official who has taken the lead on the issue.
It’s surprising for a number of reasons: natural disasters and terrorism dominate the headlines and will continue to for [...]
Tags: Congress · Preparedness Ideas · Volunteer Opportunities
One Way Citizens Can Help Strengthen U.S. Homeland Security? Tell Their Senators & Reps. To Streamline DHS Congressional Oversight
July 22nd, 2010 · 1 Comment
When it comes to the subject of what citizens should be doing to improve their disaster preparedness too often the focus is solely on emergency supplies or plans. Less attention is paid to what each of us can do as citizens to improve our community’s and nation’s preparedness by participating in the political process as [...]
Tags: Congress · Department of Homeland Security
New Congressional Legislation Would Require Government To Better Inform Public On WMD’s
June 11th, 2010 · No Comments
A bill, co-sponsored by a bi-partisan group of members of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee and introduced yesterday, would require the U.S. government to better inform the public about weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Those provisions are part of comprehensivelegislation addressing the WMD threat which is based largely on the recommendations of the Commission on the [...]
Tags: Biological Terrorism · Congress · Nuclear Terrorism
Top DHS Official Says U.S. Has “To Start Thinking Very Seriously About What We Would Actually Do The Day After [A Nuclear Or Biological] Attack” — And Explain To Public We Could Recover
June 10th, 2010 · 3 Comments
A top Department of Homeland Security Department official said yesterday that the U.S. has “to start thinking very seriously about what we would actually do the day after [a biological or nuclear] attack” and explain to the public that we could recover from such an incident.
The speech was reported in an article by Martin Matishak [...]
Tags: Biological Terrorism · Congress · Nuclear Terrorism
At Hearing, House Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Cuellar Asks FEMA For New Preliminary Plan To Increase U.S. Community, Citizen Preparedness
October 5th, 2009 · No Comments
I attended a very interesting hearing on Capitol Hill late last week, “Preparedness: State of Citizen and Community Preparedness,” held by the House Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response which is chaired by Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX).
At the hearing, Bill Jenkins Jr. from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) presented a preliminary report, Emergency Management Preliminary Observations on FEMA’s Community Preparedness Programs Related to [...]
Tags: Congress · Preparedness Events · Preparedness Reports · Public Opinion · Research Studies
New Bill Would Require U.S. Provide Better WMD Terror Threat/Evacuation Info To Public; Legislation Would Codify Recommendations Of Commission
September 8th, 2009 · 3 Comments
A bill introduced today by the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee’s Chairman, Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), and its ranking Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), offers several initiatives to improve the government’s information and planning for the public in the event of a terrorist attack from weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
“The Weapons of Mass Destruction Prevention and Preparedness [...]
Tags: Congress · Preparedness Ideas
“Citizen and Community Preparedness Act of 2008″
May 17th, 2008 · No Comments
A bill that would bolster the public’s involvement and engagement in their own homeland security advanced in Congress this month. This is particularly important to this blog as it is legislation specifically focused on citizen preparedness – in fact, ‘citizen preparedness’ is even in the name.
“H.R. 5890, the Citizen and Community Preparedness Act of 2008″ passed the Homeland Security Committee’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Subcommittee, chaired by [...]
Tags: Congress
House Homeland Security Committee Hearings: Resilience and Citizen Preparedness
May 17th, 2008 · 2 Comments
The House Homeland Security Committee has been holding an important series of hearings called “The Resilient Homeland”. ‘Resilience’ is an increasingly important concept in the homeland security world. In its initial press statement, the Committee defined resilience as ”an approach to ensure the Nation’s ability to quickly and effectively bounce back from large scale disruptions.”
Thanks largely to the excellent [...]
Tags: Congress
Senate Nuclear Terrorism Hearings Highlight Need For Public Emergency Communications Overhaul
May 15th, 2008 · 2 Comments
The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has been holding a very interesting series of hearings on nuclear terrorism. Though the hearings have covered many aspects of the nuclear threat, one of the most important themes that has emerged is citizen preparedness.
In fact, though yesterday’s hearing was called “Nuclear Terrorism: Providing Medical Care and Meeting Basic Needs in the [...]
Tags: Congress · Nuclear Terrorism