Promoting Resilience and Efficiency in Preparing for Attacks and Responding to Emergencies Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3853, the Promoting Resilience and Efficiency in Preparing for Attacks and Responding to Emergencies Act, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3583, the Promoting Resilience and Efficiency in Preparing for Attacks and Responding to Emergencies Act, also known as the PREPARE Act.

Before I begin, I would like to commend former Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee Chairperson McSally and Ranking Member Payne, Jr., for their close collaboration in developing this legislation.

H.R. 3583 is the product of extensive bipartisan oversight carried out by the subcommittee and will make communities better prepared to respond to manmade and natural disasters.

In particular, this measure makes a number of improvements related to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's administration of the Homeland Security Grant Program, authorizes activities of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium and the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium, and addresses ongoing interoperability challenges both within the Department of Homeland Security and the State and local level.

A provision I authored at the full committee to improve the Homeland Security Grant Program is also included. That provision directs FEMA to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the DHS' Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties regarding policy and guidance in the Urban Areas Security Initiative and the State Homeland Security Grant Program.

Under current grant guidance, grantees are permitted to use funding for activities related to countering violent extremism.

By requiring FEMA to consult with DHS' Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in developing its grant guidance related to CVE, we will ensure that the activities carried out by the grantees do not target ordinary citizens simply because of their religion or ethnic background.

Additionally, to address shortcomings of the National Incident Management System, commonly called NIMS, revealed at a series of full committee hearings examining the heroic response of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, the committee accepted an amendment I authored requiring FEMA to review and revise NIMS once every 5 years.

Regular review of NIMS will ensure that its protocols are responsive to the current threat environment, incident management requirements, and lessons learned from previous incidents.

Finally, the bill includes important provisions to improve Federal interoperable communications capabilities added by Subcommittee Ranking Member Payne, Jr.

To improve interoperable communications on the State and local level, H.R. 3583 includes Mr. Payne's Statewide Interoperable Communications Act, which facilitates coordination of emergency communication purchases and policies within a State.

The bill also addresses interoperability challenges at DHS by requiring that the Undersecretary for Management verify that all radio users at the Department receive initial and ongoing training in the use of DHS' radio systems.

I commend Ranking Member Payne, Jr., on his work on the bill and his ongoing efforts to address the interoperability challenges that continue to hamstring Federal, State, and local first responders.

H.R. 3583 will go far in helping first responders do their job better and safer and will make our communities better prepared and more resilient.

I urge my colleagues to support the PREPARE Act.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3583 seeks to resolve gaps in the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to build State and local capabilities to prevent, protect against, and respond to manmade and natural disasters.

Again, this bipartisan legislation is a product of careful oversight and significant stakeholder outreach. I urge my colleagues to support the PREPARE Act.

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