exchange and do you have a resource that you ought to have as we discuss this, the real effective part of the coordinating has been going on in regions and we've had tremendous participation. routinely epa, coast guard, different manifestations from mms to parks and what have you. the real strength has been at the regional level and my team has repeatingedly commented on people p, again, the federal family, but how state and local have been steppinging up to be engaged. just like anything that comes ashore in part of the coast, so

all of them have to be b prepared too, so it's not just ultimately the states that have issues. >> mr. kennedy, in your testimony that with respect to contingency planning, is well underway in hawaii and washington, that the process is yet to start in oregon and california and alaska. how long does that process in planning require zm. >> what it requires is a complete willingness of all of the appropriate parties. you've got to have everybody to want to be at the table to actually put the workshop together and develop it. so there have been various states of interest and that's why these others are still evolving. what we have been able to do is kind of develop now a pretty standard protocall for the basis.

it includes everything from g getting together to talk about within a region, who are the federal and state and local entities that need to be engaged. who would you call if you started to have debris. how are we going to look and make sure we have radiation under control. if there's hazmat, how are we going to get the state and folks. all of that is part of a package. is. >> is there recognition in these states across the board about the potential, the magnitude of this problem? >> i think it varies a little, but again, i have, i don't do this day-to-day. so i would defer. certainly, we know that alaska and washington are very interested. and the others know they're within the realm of potential

impact, but washington and alaska, and hawaii for that matter, we know clearly they have interest. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this is the chart that we had gotten from the university of hawaii. and shows migration. basically, a trajectory right towards the west coast and you can see by the size of the marine debris field that we're talking about large scale debris. so when you say no one's looking and you don't see anything, this is what your partners come up with. i hope that after today, we can get the information, get it to the partners and come up with again some assessments about what we're doing because what our constituents see this, when they go online and see this,

they're very concerned. i think we have to, which brings up one very basic point, which is we have you know, one of our local communities, mayers to be here, but i think because of the scheduling of the committee couldn't move, accommodate a second panel, so one of the thing ss they want to know, 911 operators want to know what to tell people when they're called about this marine debris. so when somebody calls and says we see hazardous, we see cans, personal belongings, styrofoam, these have been -- what are operators supposed to tell people? >> i can't give you specifically what they're supposed to say, but that's been part of the discussion as we worked on this issue in most of the states. it's certainly part of the

discussion that has been in the contingency plan developed. if we need to educate people, but i think that's been part of what has been covered. we'll get you something for the record, but we're work wg the loc local responders on this and the university of hawaii is working with us on the model that we are updating every two weeks and did we get one of these to you folks? i don't think we have completing models. we've tried to make sure we've had anybody that's involved in this to develop this model at least as a consultant. >> long beach is a very beautiful part of our state and i wish we had a map of our state right now because you would see that it's the very exposed part

on the coast of our state. a very large tourism area and the fact that the mayor is kind of giving us this is very important. i know we're out of time, mr. chairman, but another aspect of this concern is our migratory fish, the tuna, great part of our ocean species that migrate and oftentimes, they migrate along these paths of debris. so what do you think the risks are there to our tuna and salmon populations. >> i think you've stumped me. my fisheries colleagues probably need to answer that question for you. i've not heard it in the context of our deliberations on the tsunami and what the impacts are

there. >> i think just with what happened with deepwater horizon, people wanted the answers about the impacts on the fisheries there. so again, hopefully something we'll get an answer later for the record. again, we just want an assessment if that kind of debris field and if there are patterns where these follow. >> thank you. first, admiral, thank you for your attendant and i know more records -- ten days for -- >> thank you. so, you know, there's a lot of concern. i know you understand it and

probably my guess is, i'll just put words in your mouth, but i'm sure you'd like more resources to do more and more opportunities. there's a huge demand and this be an opportunity to highlight what the needs are for the component of what you're doing within noaa. second, you made a comment, i want to take you up on that offer in that is the issue of the low, the medium, the high risk analysis. you know, this is probably ever quarter, i'm going to ask this question. my hope is that it's not at a point where we're looking at these photos enlarged because the amount of stuff is now really piled up. so i hope that you can get the administration to respond on that issue and then the last is recognizing that noaa has a certain role, but i know in the situation, maybe it's an analysis of how noaa responds to

these issues. maybe it is a larger allocation to these ngos that are doing work on cleaning up the beaches and so forth, but now, we're in a different ball game and will be in it as that one diagram shows there. many years. and maybe noaa needs to rethink how they're approaching debris, not just monitoring and reporting, but a more active role because we have now a stream that's not just incidental. again, the record will be kept open for ten days for additional questions and i have a feelinging we'll continue to have a great discussion about debris. thank you all very much. hearing is closed. >> thank you.

when people are saying to him, don't take the vice presidentsy. right now, you are the most, you are powerful majority leader. don't take the vice presidency. you won't have any power. johnson says power is where power goes. meaning i can make power in any situation. about his whole life, i said nothing in his life previously makes that seem like he's boasting. because that's exactly what he had done all his life. >> sunday night, the conclusion of our conversation with robert caro in the years of lyndon johnson. his biography of the 36th president. sunday night on cspan's q and a. >> even though job opportunities are scarce in the economy, it's not for nothing that you've

spent this time preparing. jerry fall well senior observed that you don't determine a man's greatness by his talent or wealth as the world does, but rather by what it takes to discourage him. america needs your talent and skill. >> so don't accept somebody else's construction of the way things ought to be. it's up to you to right wrongs. to point out injustice. to hold the system accountable. and sometime, upend it entirely. it's up to you to stand up and to be heard. to right and to lobby, to march, to organize and to vote. don't be content to just sit back and watch. >> president obama and mitt romney delivered commencement addresses in the past few days and you can watch them online anytime at the cspan video library and over the next few weeks, look for others on the cspan networks, which you can clip and share.

now, a house hearing on a division of fema that researches fire prevention, trains firefighters and educates the public about fire safety. the administrator was among the witnesses at this hearing. it's just over an hour. >> good morning. welcome to today's hearing entitled working for a fire safe america. examining fire administration priorities. in front of you are packets containing the written testimony, biographies and truth in testimony disclosures for today's witnesses. i recognize myself for five minutes. today's hearing is being held to

review the priorities for the future of the united states fire administration. the usfa was established following the 1973 report on fire prevens and control which recommended the creation of a federal agency to provide support and their efforts to reduce fire deaths, injuries and property loss. it is a substantial public safety mission. although the fire death continues to decline, it is higher than more than half of the industrialized countries. it prepares first responders and health care leaders. it supports the efforts of state and local governments providing training for first responders, educational programs and targets outreach for communities and conducting the development of technologies for the fire service. the usfa also assists with data collection, analysis and dissemination of best practices for the nation's fire prevention

and control in emergency medical services activities. in recent years, there's been an escalation of severe wildfires resulting in home and property loss. this can be attributed to expanding development in wildfire areas which include burnable brush and trees. 2011 was an exkepgsal year and major blazes affected by home state of arizona. in late may of 2011, a wallow fire raced across arizona forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and burning more than 4burn ing more than 469,000 acres. over 4,000 firefighters were assigned to the fire. currently, there are firefighters working to contain four blazes in central and eastern arizona. this represents a fraction of

the firefighters who risk their lives every day. the usfa supports these individuals. they don't take the responsibleties lightly and i as an authorizer of -- neither do i. the testimony of our witnesses this morning should help the members understand the priorities of usfa and -- to reduce fire deaths, injuries and property loss. we thank our witnesses for being here today and we look forward to our testimony. i now recognize the gentle lady from arizona, miss edwards, for her opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman and thank you for calling this morning's hearing to examine the activities and priorities of the united states fire administration. very pleased to welcome chief mitchell and our other witnesses here today to hear more of that, his vision for the administration, particularly good to welcome my good friend kevin o'connor as well as the

other witnesses. thank you for taking too time to be with us. the administration was created in 1974 to reduce the number of of deaths. through the good work of the fire administration and our first responders, we met this goal in 1988. the number of fire related deaths continues to decline, but unfortunately, our country's fire related death rate is still one of the highest in the industrialized world and it's estimated that in 2009, fire cost the united states over $331 billion in economic and human losses. chairman coil just spoke about the loss in his state. it is the responsibility for improving fire departments under the country to respond to fires safely and effectively through research and firefighter training and through public education and awareness. certainly, fires are still a

major problem in our country and the fire administration's continued leadership is critical. however, we can't ignore the fact that our firefighters are not just fighting fires anymore. on any given day, our firefighters are rushing to the scene on calls that range from a house fire to a car crash to a hazardous materials spill to a medical emergency. the truth is that our firefighters are our first responders in all types of emergencies including terrorist attacks and natural disasters and range of training and education they need to be successful must expand to reflect this reality. as part of the reauthorization in 2008, we emphasized the need to advance training in emergency medical services and hazardous material response. i'll be interested in hearing about the status of those advances and learning from our witnesses weather the fire administration's training

courses are meeting all needs of today's fire service. in emerging research areas or existing gaps and how the fire administration is contributing to these efforts. i'd also like to learn more about how the fire administration prioritizes its resernl and investments and how it coordinates activities with other entities engaged in fire related research. and the science and technology directorate within the department of homeland security. more importantly, i'm interested in hearing suggestions about what ought to be included in the next reauthorization bill. as you're aware, the current authorization expires in just over four months. i'm pleased that we're holding this hearing today and i think it's an important first step and i sincerely hope the decision to call this hearing is an indication there there are plans

to draft and move a reauthorization bill through this committee in the coming weeks. i hope the chairman will be able to provide insight into these plans this morning. as you may be aware, our colleagues in the senate passed a bill just yesterday. i believe we have an opportunity to ensure that the fire authority continues uninterrupted and i look forward to working with the chairman. again, thank you for holding this important hearing. the fire administration plays an essential role in ensuring that our firefighters who are so critical to the safety of our nation have the tools they need to protect us and keep us out of harm's way. i'm looking forward to hearing from our witnesses about the tools congress can provide the fire administration that will allow them to effectively assist fire departments across the country. i yield the balance of my time. >> thank you.

if there are additional e members who wish to submit statements, they will be added. our first witness is chief earnest mitchell jr. an substantiate administrator at the -- in charge of the united states fire administration at the department of homeland security. next, from dr. john hall jr. dr. hall has been ak neviaeh fire analysis and research for nearly 35 years. our third witness is chief jim critchley. chief critchley represents the tucson fire department in arizona and serves as the president of the western fire chiefs association. our final witness is mr. kevin o'connor. thank you again for to our witnesses for being here today. as our witness, no spoken testimony is limited to five minutes each. after witnesses have spoken.

members will have five minutes to answer questions. i now recognize earnest mitchell. >> good morning, chairman quyale, ranking members. it is indeed an honor to appear before you today to discuss the u.s. fire administration. the fire administration is committed to providing national leadership to fostering a solid -- stakeholders in prevention, prepardness and response. in my testimony, i will share an overview of the core functions, major priorities, present activities and goals. despite making progress over time, have been higher than in most of the industrialized world. this has held true in both fire deaths and dollar loss rates.

thousands of americans die each year and thousands more are injured. average annual fire losses greatly exceed those from floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters. the fire administration provides fire safety and prevention programs to help decrease tragic losses. we also lead the way in preparing communities to respond. we are supporting communities a federal fire prevention and control efforts and coordinates information about fire programs throughout the country. there are four traditional stars of the administration and one relatively new or budding star that we have initiated more recently. one is data collection. the national system for collecting, analyzing and disseminating data and

information on fire and other emergency incidents to state and local governments and the fire community. two is through education and awareness. the fire service, the media and other groups and the delivery of fire safety programs. three is training. the national fire academy offers education opportunities for the advanced professional development of the mid level and fire officers and alleyed professionals. four is research and technology. through research and testing, the fire administration works with public -- research and special studies are conducted on fire detection, suppression and notification systems as well as issues related to health and

safety. it's a recent -- in developing a strategy. the mission's purpose is to establish an overall multidisciplined response for fema by establishing a structured approach to the fire and medical services skill sets there by expanding the capacity for responding with faster and coordinated efforts to contain and minimize losses of property and life during disasters. it is essential we work on multiple levels and with a wide variety of partners. we engage government and private stakeholders in evaluating programs that will address the fire and response teams. one example is our collaboration with the fire protection on the home fire sprinkler coalition and the mission is to inform

consumers about life saving benefit of installing home fire spri sprinkler systems. the more recent star has been utilized at this point to respond to disasters. as a result, to some success. we provided technical expertise during the development of all hazardous management teams. we have responded to and demonstrated effectiveness in the 2011 flooding in colorado, alabama, georgia and during this april's tornados in texas. graduates of hur programs have contributed to and participated in these events. we will continue to pursue these goals while evaluating issues and instituting new initiatives

relating to our current and future climate. thank you, mr. chairman, for giving me this opportunity to appear before you today. your continued support the greatly appreciated. i will be glad to answer any questions you might have. >> thank you very much. i recognize dr. hall to present his testimony. >> my name is john hall and i'm here to communicate our very strong support for the reauthorization of the u.s. fire administration. next year marks the 40th anniversary of america burning. of the 90 recommend dayses, the first was to provide a national focus for the problem unquote. it also identified tasks in what would continue to be a local responsibility. quote, technical and educational assistance to state and local governments, collecting and

analyzing information and providing financial systems when adequate fire protection lies beyond unquote. the usfa has maintained this focus. the report also set a goal saying quote a reduction in deaths, injuries and property losses is quite possible within the next generation, unquote. how has america done on this goal? civilian deaths declined by about 60%. fire injuries by about 40%. firefighter injuries by about a third and direct property damage adjusted for inflation by about one quarter. even so, we have some of the highest fire rates in the developed world. we know how far we have come, but we know how much better we can do. and thanks to the national fire, used with the nafp survey, we

have a greater ability to target problems and to design and evaluate programs than any other program in the world. in the years since the usfa was founded, the fire service has transformed into a task force. reported fires have been more than half since 1980 and medical aid calls have more than tripled. imagine a gasoline tank truck rolling over on a highway. the truck was built and loaded in other states and crashed on an interstate maintained by the federal government. in accord -- compliance with national consensus standards. it is far from easy to find a local responsibility in such an incident. now add in natural disasters, terrorist attacks and fire

scenarios unheard of two decades ago such as a burning building covered with solar power cells. we have asked our fire service to perform more -- when ever something goes wrong. they have responded to every challenge and everything we have asked of them. but it takes a nation to save a village. they need our help. for nearly 40 years, the usfa has been there. cent surveys of fire service needs conducted by nfpa in cooperation have found the foll following. the fire service has extensive needs for every type of resource. fire departments surveying the smallest communities are most likely to have needs. although they are still great, there has been great progress. the america burning idened