a government centric approach. . . of all u.s. government approach to disaster response including at to guard and reserve along

side are federal, state and tribal local partners. we started in the are planning this year well into dance of the past, we stand ready to assist the primary federal agencies in responding quickly to man-made and natural disasters on directed by the president or secretary of defense. when requested and approved by per but federal officials in accordance with national response framework we supports civil authority is by providing specialized skills and assets to save lives, reduce suffering, and restart infrastructure in the wake of catastrophic events in the homeland. and last year during one of the most destructive hurricane seasons on record we supported the department of homeland security and the federal emergency management agency in responding to three major hurricanes thomas hurricane gustav, hannah and hurricane ike in 13 days. we continue to take significant steps in improving our response capabilities.

first of all, who have incorporated the joint staff standing execution order tuesday my defense and supports civil authorities with an operational planning for the 2009 hurricane season. in this joint staff execution order perrine's u.s. northern command commander of the authority to establish operational staging areas, federal mobilization centers, national logistic support areas and department of defense base support installations to support fema here in addition are 10 full-time defense corning officers and their staffs coordinating and planning continually with their fema regions and in collaboration with the department of defense and homeland security, we have also developed a priest of the mission assignment for fema, 24 of those approved crowley and provides a menu of response capabilities with the cost to fema so they can quickly respond and request to those mission

assignments. based on anticipated requirements were a medical evacuation, damage assessment and commodity distribution to mention just a few and finally in 2009 we co-host of the first national guard and in northern command hurricane planning conference in february with in south carolina with. thought it brought together the generals from the eastern and gulf coasts states along with the chief of the national guard bureau and my boss was to the opportunity to look at caps and also work with fema and other inter agencies and provide a list of shortfalls that we anticipate based on current deployments for the 2009 hurricane season. and with the additional planning for the 2009 hurricane season included discussions with u.s. transportation command on aeromedical evacuation, general population evacuation coming discussions with the department of homeland security and also

fema. health and human services and our service component demand, all of these are planning conferences and tabletop exercises a conducted in preparation for the season. if and when call the northern command continues to stand ready to provide robust support of civil authorities to in the 2009 hurricane season. thank you for the opportunity to present today and why and i am ready to answer questions. >> thank you, general, we very much appreciated. senator burris. >> thank you madam chairman, and our distinguished panel a good opportunity to listen and learn what we are preparing for. mr. fugate, we know that we can wasn't quite a tornado and we hear about hurricanes but inland a hurricane is a tornado and as we get in the illinois. my home, as a matter of fact, is in tornado alley down in

southern illinois. and we just hand in a big storm that came through a few weeks ago that it wasn't quite as the tornado leveled that caused who a tehran were some new name they call for the high rent that reaches 70 miles per hour -- is that correct mr. fugate, is that what they call it? >> that is a one-term, yuma, i also hear a microburst. my experience has been if you lose your roughead is kind of academic paths. >> is a hell of a storm. [laughter] i am hoping this sissons will be forthcoming because unfortunately in southern illinois there is a lot of party -- party and does not that many resources so i hope we can get assistance on that and are you familiar with that request for southern illinois at?

>> no, sir, i am not, it could still be at the region. >> it was about six weeks ago. >> and may have already been through, i've been on the job two weeks and three days so if i haven't seen it i will find out or is that can i check it out for us, in general, i was down one at my national guard and huang ability down in late in the other day when we were talking about coordination of the disasters of water national guard does. we also have another issue called flooding him with the of the mississippi river that ends up in new orleans but it comes down the illinois boring like a mack truck doing 90 down the i55 and it leaves in its wake a lot of flooding and i was wondering how best north, born in may with the national guard in terms of the disaster coordination? does it go to the national guard first or who really is in charge there?

mw. >> senator to answer your question our coordination is with the national guard bureau but the first responses with the national are supporting the state and local officials. we go immediately upon indications there is a disaster pending will continue, began to coordinate with us national guard in case there are gaps in the capability to respond and i talked with the national guard chief of operations daily die. looking across the country, looking at where the have forces deployed so we're prepared to respond if the have gaps. we recently responded to the flood in the red river of the north and north dakota working with the national guard and minnesota and what can we provide and how some active duty forces. >> them up and request of the fema and we position the six aircraft. >> you send your request came from fema to you? does that originated at the same

level -- at the state level. >> senator, process by which we would activate northcom would be at the request of the state and we would not have assets within either of your national guard or other federal assets, we would mission test kit to the folks at northcom to provide assistance and one of the things we have done and the issues madam chairman raised previously, a lot of times and these would be requested we have not plan ahead of time. what we have done is after krajina and then after the hurricanes last year, we have developed what we call a priest of the commission which is essentially we put together the tops of things which would be likely asking for from northcom, right decisions out very clearly what we're trying to accomplish. northcom identifies the resources and trains them and pass that ready to go so rather than try to describe our call a peace is to do something we can

activate a mission package that northcom can execute and support of our mission which is working through the states so if it exceeds the capability of the national guard, we have oftentimes to build these packages for the threats we know about so that weather in was a flood fight or support mass care or to support commodity distribution or bring in specific equipment, these are the types of things that we have written down here and i believe there are over 230 missions that we have our eighth -- 260 some missions and we have written out and that is in addition to capabilities before can do in addition to support from the federal family were things we have not written on and one of the things we have done in our reports his capture anything that when different wu that we needed to adjust the mission were needed to acronymish and support for soledad is a constantly evolving process each time i go to a disaster. >> gentleman, which we, i have

been a civilian for so long coming back into the government here and i think the general public has no idea of the preparation and planning that goes into these disasters. what i am certainly saying is now a public official is good i know this and i hope we can get a message out to the people that we are really prepared to assist in these situations. which leads me mr. fugate to another question, are you familiar with the university of illinois has with the supercomputer they are assimilating with tornadoes and hurricanes and some who assimilating disasters on the use computer models? i was down at the university of illinois which has the fastest computer madam chairman in the whole country and what they showed me demonstration of a is a simulated tornado and they can then study the us and then antley prepare based on that atmospheric condition taking

place in the development of the various wind velocities of all the other elements that make up for that. and as well as simulating floods and disasters will in the city of chicago. they had a computer design that if there is a disaster in chicago, where is evacuation routes. you know of any other facility where this is being studied computer wise or are these assimilations taking place? >> i know there are a lot of different programs out there and not directly -- i don't know directly about this but i'll ask my staff to be briefed on it. >> we would certainly like to let you all know when illinois is coming up in terms of who the simulations and the preparations. >> thank you, senator. i'm aware of and a place like that in illinois -- louisiana, i don't of our computer is that mass but we will save. we will have the battle of the

computers between illinois and louisiana but i am very impressed with what several of our universities have done on the heels of katrina and rita then using technology that was there and build a strategic partner so let's explore the opportunity because there may be real expertise now they're mr. fugate, i've seen in at the university of lafayette and perhaps senator paris has a suggestion as well. i like to get to my line of questioning mr. fugate, what are your top three priorities. if you could for this committee because we like to work with and we are going to push, we're going to work with you but push to get the very best systems we can, so what are your top three priorities as you are stepping in to an agency with that has really been of the front-line in

many ways these last few years? had to use you're top three priorities and i am certain that you discussed this with the secretary and the highest levels of this administration, so would you outline that for us now? >> yes, ma'am, they are rather broad and easy to communicate and require a lot of moving pieces and their simple -- my first and greatest priority is to increase and the responsibility and participation of our citizens to prepare for disaster. i truly believe that far too many of us to do not get prepared oftentimes but are also vulnerable citizens in jeopardy as we prepare for those resources and in looking at these large scale with disasters and i know that the more that those of us who can be ready and prepared, the more successful the team will be. it's too, i really have come into this job with the understanding in our response to the immediate needs to a state

income under we need to be focused on what the outcome we are trying to achieve and not necessarily look a process. unchallenging the team as we have been participating in hurricane exercises to not merely define a response by our capabilities but to find a response by what is needed to support what an impact of state and local government recognizing there are many parts of that partnership with but as an example it doesn't seem to me to be very and search and rescue operations that if we're not reaching the answer quickly demobilizing staging in assessing and is still three days into the event and have a rich people, we haven't changed that outcome. so i would rather take the approach of fighting with the outcome should be, was then working partnership is a rather than wait for a disaster and bring it from the outside that we build the capability within the communities within the state's and where the federal government response, had we do that, but stabilization has to be based upon not what we can

build capability to and say that is what the response will be a look at what could happen and know if that does have we got all the parts the team working together including air support from the national guard from our and give to the reserve components to achieve that with and not merely go we're going to incrementally improve something. i think times getting back to the crux of your issues you raised in the challenges we had in 2008 such as hospitals we haven't gone and the generators preplanned for and need to do that had of time because it isn't a generator began in the hospital back on-line in that a new generator, electrician, mechanic and if you like it one piece of it you didn't get the outcome which was getting the hospital back on-line so you don't have to evacuate it. that is one of the things i learned in continue to record so that response based upon changing outcomes. the third piece in this is the one i have seen which much of what you have a been trying to get in testimony in a much of

what you have been writing about, is one is recovering? we keep talking about long-term recovery and trying to build it and keep walking away from it. i am not sure that all the pieces understand what we're trying to do and i certainly recognize the stafford act all by itself will not achieve what we need to achieve but if we don't have some focal point the says this is where we are going that i think we get lost in our housing programs and lost in the solutions because they are not tied to the outcome so it is a very simplistic approach but it helps me when signed an outcome that i can articulate and began looking at the right resources we have the federal level supports state and that is re-establishing a tax base in a community within a timeframe that i would say no greater than five years equals or exceeds the taxpayer's prior to the event. and this is recognizing you don't want to just take five years but an event like to know where we have so much rebuilding to. sometimes people say may be income be a simplistic measure

but having been in government tax bases are a good indicator of the health of the economy, tells the summit also have, tells me businesses are buying permits in people buying cars, tells me i can provide for the services such as schools and other components and gives me a chance to start looking and programs that can come in such as hd development gramm, training dollars from the department of labor, working with congress and other groups and s.p.a. to make sure that sometimes disasters happen as a committee is planning economically and it doesn't make sense if you don't recognize just putting a ' change the economic out, and we still end up with a failure. so looking at something that may not be the best week in certain cases but from the standpoint of giving us a focal point to start driving recovery and not just merely administering the stafford act and getting to the point where community has their tax base intact which is a good indicator that it can continue to have services, we have been

successful and housing mission getting schools open provided public safety setting the stage for business to thrive. helps me articulates a view that says as much as we work as a team to respond to the governor in a disaster in is not fema, we are a particular and the on behalf of the president and team approach of our federal agencies. that approach and recovery was to mean one of the things that you cannot have a great response and not recoverable and is still a failure. gives us a better opportunity to start looking at illicitly what federal first we have and what authority is we have an even though fema may not have the programs, helping provide the focus of the stafford act in parts of the program doing what it can also bring into whether the family that help the local government and state reestablished that government and tax base which in turn is a reflection we have been able to achieve the things such as housing, jobs and maintaining the community infrastructure. >> let me say mr. fugate would

you just outlined is music to my years and the people i represent will be very grateful to hear such a clear and passion and is unwilling panache of what is needed and mine has been lacking and your focus on citizens and empowering them to make decisions that help us make all of us much better even though these are very difficult challenges whether it is hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes are great floods, your focus on results as opposed to process i cannot tell you how happy that makes the senator who. and your focus on that which is something that i had not even thought of the and really a challenge by what you just said about trying to define what recovery is because i myself as search for that and your focus on identifying it as restoring with the tax base either

100 percent or 120 percent are dissatisfied with 80%, whenever we decide it is at least it gives us a goal that we all know what we're working for and i think that as a very excellent vision who then you have outlined and i mostly can appreciate the significance. let me ask a question which i have to bring up, the tough issue. can you take a minute to explain to the country what any v zone is, how many parts will be affected and why we are struggling right now with one we rebuild and don't rebuild because i am going to press -- press you i am happy fema released 60% of $33 million that we have tied up in this issue

that affects the building and fire stations, police stations along the coast of louisiana and mississippi and the coastal communities from texas to mississippi to florida are going to be a factor in and i understand and i'm going to get a map of the u.s. with all the v zone on and so people can understand, you may find yourself in one of the v zone and a tornado comes and destroys areas on the v zone their reimbursement the committee thinks they may getting is not necessarily going to happen. so i'd like mr. fugate to take a minute and i'm going to press you on how we can try to resolve this microstate. >> madam chairman, these losses rezones referred to the flood insurance program and determine a risk that these are areas that have the highest risk and we have had as a policy within the nation and who to direct new

growth away from the most honorable and most hazardous areas. that policy makes sense. the challenge though, however, as we go back and remapping identify the areas where oftentimes finding that we have many communities that were built in the v zone and historic we are there and as we developed our policy of passively directing construction now there, and not wanting to put new growth there, but when you had a disaster if something was damage their would relocate. there probably are opportunities in a smaller than where we had a few homes that relocation would make sense, but when you are dealing with the challenges we find across the gulf coast and other places when you look at the new data that was just as high velocity or high risk area, merely using the passive approach of removal and the rebuilding that totally destroyed but allowing repairs to damaged buildings but

mitigating really did not recognize that we still have to ask a question that is good stewards we do not want to promote growth and a hazardous area, but if it is already there can we not look and engineering. i understand madam chairman you have just come back from where they do a lot more active engineering, to protect property that we would look at as being in a vulnerable zone so i think we're reaching a point as we come back and discuss the reauthorization of national flood insurance program in the good v zone we have the immediate issues you're facing in your district that we're working under our current rules and regulations in, but also looking at as we go forward and be it is a time to recognize there are many places on what goes the committees that will face the same challenge and a disaster that we have to recognize if we are going to allow your. to occur if we mitigate why would a destroyed building not also be considered is a factor and should we not be looking at we can engineer a solution that

keeps the public safe and reduces the future damages does not commit to new growth in these areas but allows the historical committees to rebuild as they were but better and not damaged. that is something we have to ask ourselves as a country and this will be again to your leadership and the process of congress looking at reauthorization that we want guided on why but i think we have to recognize that have far too many areas that a passive approach every location only does not provide options i communities need to continue. as you pointed out during alternative projects for a fire station far away from the community is supposed to protect us and make any sense. >> i want the public to understand this, the significance of this issue. right now we have communities that have been in place for hundreds that are vibrant communities, by all communities that are shipping communities that have been designated as v

zone in the current law says fema you can repair your home, but we won't build a fire station and will build a post office, we won't build a library so the question then becomes how viable the kine remain without a fire station, without a police station, without any library and that is a big question and when this matter is put up which i don't have today, that is going to show all the v zone in the country and how many millions of people, millions and millions of people live in the v zone which is in the senator's state and my senator state, i can promise you this is going to be a major debate on this reauthorization of flood insurance. as you know i have a hold on that bill, that is going to remain until this issue gets resolved in a way that i believe our my committee, i am only one senator, but this committee is going to work very closely with you to find a rational approach

which is part of what motivated me to go to the netherlands because i think they have an extremely rational approach to this issue which is a whole different system. we won't get into at this hearing but we will have some more. hearings on the subject. i have been joined by my ranking member and out like to recognize him now because as i was pointing out he and i have quite a challenge and that's why i love having up on my committee. when i pointed this map out he said, yes strom thurmond was there the most of days. [laughter] he didn't miss many of them. so he is ready to work side-by-side with me with and then the correct myself i pointed out earlier, senator, the blue is actually the route of the hurricane rita which was on the second largest i thing storms of all of these. katrina was yellow and i said the reverse and i a portion of the patterns better than anyone so when hurricane rita was in

the blue white and katrina was the yellow dot and this was done before haworth hurricane ike because it really ran smack into the allyson and i'm sure you has a major storms in your time. senator, let me recognize you at this time. >> thank you madam chairman, that would be interesting modern art, scary that represents hurricanes. hurricane hugo came to south carolina and was very devastating so i appreciate the work of the chairman of this committee. i have never met anybody in the entire congress who are dedicated to a cause and then to the subcommittee. i'm trying to stay up with you, but south carolina certainly is in harm's way and i want to thank all the posts of state, local and federal level will help our fellow citizens with disaster in myrtle beach which a huge fire. the fire did a lot of damage to myrtle beach, not just hurricanes, the red cross was there some hurricanes are what we're talking about today but also committed these can be hit

in many different ways. it ron osborn, the director of the reasons he management division, madam chairman, could not be here today but he prepared a report one about hurricane prepare ness and out like to submit it to the record in. if they are doing an exercise in south carolina today but ron is a very smart guy and now like to put this into the record. >> without objection he met in one final thought as you talk about when you go down to the coast of south carolina when, bland is obviously very valuable. where there are a lot of minority committees and where they go? when i mean, there are people who have been there literally generation after generation after generation, and where did they go and what did they do? from someone that may live in nebraska or the upper part of south carolina were hurricanes are not such a factor, i think

we want to make sure that our coastal residents one can get help. i mean, people are not being irresponsible, not living in areas where there are mudslides. there are so many people in our country that live along the coast and it is a rich tradition culturally, the call a culture in south carolina, and i want to hang onto it and make sure that we have that rational approach. so madam chairman come i will help to any man i can to make sure that when a community is hurt the community is rebuilt and the community includes fire stations, libraries and other aspects of the community because of you're not willing to invest in those things you have lost a community in these are worth hanging onto. >> thank you very much. let me ask the general a question if i might, you said that the exercises you have recently conducted identified some gaps become a general, in the organization between northcom and