mr. fugate made? >> i can say i agree as well. the difference in -- between ports and transit are very -- the needs are very much different. and it needs to be separated at path we carry over 250,000 passengers a day. we're a wide open system. and there is a tremendous threat and risk associated. but it's a different type of risk. and we need to be able to compare projects accurately and be able to prioritize them, and do so across different modes or industries makes it that much more complex and difficult. >> and if i may say one last thing, this idea of lumping grants together presumes that there is some overarching methodology that exists, that i can determine whether a suicide bomber at the mall of america or in one of my colleagues' transit facilities is more or less risky than something happening in the port. and up to this point, i don't think that overarching methodology exists. so if you're trying to put everything together and devi it up, you have the presumption that there is some methodology you're going to use to do t

fugate, thank you for being here. i look forward to a frank discussion here today. >> thank you, mr. price. mr. fugate, we look forward to your comments and thank you for being here. >> well, thank you, mr. chairman and ranking member price, members. first, this year i think this is the fourth time i've presented the budget for fema and based bob the work done and the budget stabilization act we're requesting the funding for the drf based upon what we estimate our total costs will be, including the previous catastrophic disasters as well as the activity we'll expect in fy 13. the overall budget request again, is a reduction. part of that is reflected in what we have looked at is to reduce cost of the fy 13 response. that is isn't may of the costs spended in the last year expended for tornados and at large scale dalss will be paid out this year and therefore, there will be further reductions based upon the long-term building. so we're pro-rating this baited on what we consider the work to be in opening disasters as well as factoring in the cost for the responses we expect. the caveat is in future

mr. fugate, for being here. as i mentioned earlier we are convening a panel to discuss homeland security grants and related issues. i would like to introduce the panel, mr. ross ashley is with us this morning. he is executive director of the national fusion center association, and he's representing the news infusion center association this morning. mr. jeff canyon, he is president of the houston texas professional firefighters association, represented the international association of firefighters. captain john holmes, deputy executive director for the port of los angeles and representing the american association of port authorities. jim mullen, who is the current president of the national emergency managers association. and also the director of the washington department of emergency management. he is representing the national emergency managers association. and last but certainly not least, mr. michael depalo who is the director and general manager of the port authority trans hudson corporation. representing the

mr. fugate, these are some issues which you're very familiar. you have seen these issues from the local, state and now federal level. i look forward to your thoughts and your, on these issues and problems, and what progress you have made in the last year as well as the challenges that remain. i'll -- as your written testimony will be placed in the record, i would ask to check five minutes or so, summarize it for the committee, but before i begin that i would like to call upon the ranking member, mr. price, for his opening comments. >> thank you, mr. chairman. administrator fugate, i'm glad to welcome you back to our subcommittee today. the work that the federal emergency management agency does is critical to helping our country prepare for and mitigate against and recover from disasters. in 2011 alone we had 99 major disasters. so that's a hefty job, and one you've performed admirably. when you arrived at fema the agency was in a rebuilding mode trying to recover not just lost capacity, but the lost confidence of the american people. your lewd a

mr. fugate is well recognized and has done a great job at fema. the first point is that there is a difference between coordination and control. it is easy to make it sound like we do not work with the states, but we work closely with the state of california doing risk assessment and identifying port needs. we would not be keen on allowing them to have control of the funding. there's a big difference between corning -- coordinating with the states and allowing them to control your funding. we coordinate with a lot of people but do not let everyone handle our money. i think that is not a good decision. the second thing i would say is i am not sure what kind of time constraints that would add to a system that as you heard from myself and my colleague already is a cumbersome and time- sensitive system. by adding another step in the process, i am not sure i could identify the value added. with respect to the comments of grants should be together, and cannot speak for all the grants. i can speak to ports. historically, their largely federally controlled

mr. fugate, i look forward to your comments and, again, thank you for being here. >> well, thank you, mr. chairman, and ranking member be price, members. first, i, you know, this year i think this is the fourth time now i've presented a budget for fema, and based upon the work that was done in the budget stabilization act, we are requesting the funding for the drf based on what we estimate our total costs will be including previous catastrophic disasters as well as the activity we would expect in fy-13. the overall budget request is a reduction. part of that is reflected in what we have looked at as the reduced cost of the fy-13 response. that is that we see many of the costs expended in the last year for tornadoes and large-scale disasters are those expenses we expect will be paid out in this year and, therefore, there'll be further reductions based upon the long-term rebuilding. so we're prorating this out based upon what we expect permanent work to continue in these open, catastrophic disasters as well as factoring in the costs for the responses that we would expect. again, the caveat

mr. fugate to a few moments ago a possible example. i wonder if you would elaborate exactly based on your experience on the project you have asked for and have anticipated going forward, what would be the effect of that kind of shortened time frame, and i guess this applies to the transit side, and what will make up in some way for this funding to pay for what you need to do? >> you mentioned tunnel heartening. a project like that requires a great deal of that project of advance planning, engineering design, procurement of equipment and materials necessary, and then implementation of the project. in a tunnel that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it is impossible to do that in two years. even less complicated project to require a great deal of planning, engineering, and design. that is compounded by the fact that the moneys are not released on time, the clock starts ticking later. it just complicates the issue. in effect, in my opinion, i believe that the reducing the time to two years, you will eliminate any significant capi

mr. fugate, for being here. [inaudible conversations] >> [inaudible conversations] >> the senate is about to gavel in. senators will spend the first hour on general speeches before returning to consideration of the transportation bill. they will begin voting on an image to the transportation bill today. the bill says highway entrance but and policy for the next two years. authorization runs out at the end of this month unless congress agrees to renew the legislation. the house had been working on its own transportation bill. however, house speaker boehner pulled the houses five you build due to lack of support. the house today is working on a bill that cuts regulations on small and medium-sized companies going public. you can follow house debate begin at 10 on our companion network c-span. and now live to the senate floor here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal spirit, you are our stre

mr. fugate is in charge of fema. how can i get in touch with him? two ofive uson one or your ideas.r: different color-coded signs. that would be specified with hospitals, police, fire departments, which roads are good roads to go, which roads are bad roads to go through. it could be changed and switched over accordingly. that's one of the ideas i had. i have some many ideas. host: thank you for sharing them. guest: that does sound like an interesting idea. host: he is talking about color coded arrows to figure out the best way to go to a hospital or in case of an emergency. guest: that is another example of an agency that has its own emergency program. fema does not repair federal highways. i will mention this, john. on the fema website, they have a suggestion system. i'm not sure if they are called a fema think tank. you send in your suggestions. fema and other people in the community will comment on them and they vote on some of them. some ideas get a few yes votes. other suggestions may be made to refine the idea. you can check with fema. they have set up the system within the la

mr. fugate is in charge of fema. how can i get in touch with him?ost: give us one or two of your ideas. caller: different color-coded signs. that would be specified with hospitals, police, fire departments, which roads are good roads to go, which roads are bad roads to go through. it could be changed and switched over accordingly. that's one of the ideas i had. i have some many ideas. host: thank you for sharing them. guest: that does sound like an interesting idea. host: he is talking about color coded arrows to figure out the best way to go to a hospital or in case of an emergency. guest: that is another example of an agency that has its own emergency program. fema does not repair federal highways. i will mention this, john. on the fema website, they have a suggestion system. i'm not sure if they are called a fema think tank. you send in your suggestions. fema and other people in the community will comment on them and they vote on some of them. some ideas get a few yes votes. other suggestions may be made to refine the idea. you can check with fem

mr. fugate, we look forward to your comments. this is the fourth time i have presented a budget.ased upon the work that was done in the budget stabilization act, we are requesting the binding based on what we estimate our total cost to be, including previous catastrophic disasters and the activity we expect in 2013. the overall budget request is a reduction. part of that is reflected in what we have looked at as the reduced cost of the 2013 response. many of the costs have been expended and our expenses we expect will be paid out in this year. there will be further reductions. we are prorating this out based on what we expect -- expect parliament work to continue in these catastrophic disasters and the responses we expect. the caveat is that in future catastrophic disasters, there may be requirements for additional funds. those are significant milestones in that area. we have had to make decisions about programs to reduce or eliminate. rather than taking percentage cuts across all programs, we look at programs that would be eliminated entirely or significantly reduced while keepi

mr. mullen. i want to return to the question that the chairman raised, the very last question the chairman raised with administrator fugate. it has to do with the major change, or maybe it's a major change. i don't know. maybe that's what i'm really asking you in empg guidance that's included in the budget. and that is the expanded use of the dollars, or the potentially expanded use of the dollars permitted in empg grant's funds to be subcommitted to nongovernment emergency entities such as nonprofit, public and private universities, hospitals, faith-based entities. it's not mandated, but the possibility is opened up. how do you regard this change? do you think it's likely to make a significant difference? as you well know, a lot of the people in the emergency management community have raised concerns about this, have asked a lot of questions about it. how do you assess this proposal, and how does your organization -- what kind of position, if any, have you taken on it? >> we have not taken a position on that specific guidance at this time. but a couple of things need to be considered. one is that with the funding levels

mr. chairman. >> and praise from republican congressman rogers who is the chair of the appropriations subcommittee and questions to fema's director craig fugate, and the appropriations process for fema for the next fiscal year. one part of that budget is the disaster relief fund which is funded at $6. 1 billion, and it is a decrease from last fiscal year. you can get more information by going to ccspan.org, and click n craig fugate as he defends the 2013 budget before the house hearing today. >>> and russell berman of the hill newspaper with this headline, speaker boehner to make a final plea to rally support for a $260 billion highway bill. the speaker in that last-minute pitch to rally the signatures around his transportation bill warning the rank and file republicans against so-called punting on the opportunity to pass an infrastructure bill that bears our stamp. the speaker made the pitch in a closed door conference here in washington where he and other party leaders implored a $260 billion bill that many in his caucus have opposed. he bluntly warned lawmakers to d today that a senate bill or something that looks just like it by the democ