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- Good morning, this meeting can come to order.

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I'd like to say on one hand,

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it's nice to see Senator Carper

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acting as my ranking member

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but the circumstances are unfortunate to say the least.

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Senator McCaskill's husband is in the ICU,

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and so Senator McCaskill is with him in Missouri.

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So we certainly want to send them

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our thoughts and prayers and, you know for,

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for Claire, for Joe, and for their

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family members as well.

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- I just mentioned to um, to him.

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I texted with Claire last night

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to see how he's doing.

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Apparently he had a massive heart attack,

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very serious heart attack, and he had,

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I think it was an internal defibrillator

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that may have saved his life,

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and there's still blockages

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to worry about and I think

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some additional surgery work

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that needs to be done, but to what Chairman said,

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let's keep him in our thoughts and prayers.

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- Thank you.

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I also want to thank our witnesses,

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not only for being here, for your testimony,

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and for what you're about to answer

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in terms of our questions,

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but really for the last two and a half months.

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I've been to FEMA's response center,

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I've talked to the men and women

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that are working with you,

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I think doing an extraordinary job,

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working 12 hour shifts,

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seven days in a row, for literally weeks,

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months, months on end.

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So this has been unprecedented, you know.

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Starting back in late August with Harvey

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and then Irma and then Maria,

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within literally a span of 30 days.

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We just have not seen anything like this,

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and I think it's pretty heartening, really.

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After Katrina, the lessons learned,

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a lot of those lessons have been put into place

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and used to do rather great effect.

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But when you have hurricanes

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and disasters of this magnitude,

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you can't just snap your fingers and

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make it all well again.

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This is gonna be a recovery effort

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that's gonna go on for years,

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but I think the response

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I think we'll hear that in testimony today,

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has really been quite extraordinary.

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Nothing's ever perfect, it can always have

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continuous improvement,

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but again I think the men and women

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that work with you in all of your agencies

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really need to be commended

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and I think in terms of your management of them,

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also, needs to be commended as well.

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So again, I thank you, and I think

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this committee thanks you as well.

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This will be what I consider first

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in a series of hearings.

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Really, from my standpoint,

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started with the high risk hearing

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when I asked Inspector General Roth

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to take a look

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at the problems in FEMA grant lending,

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how we spend money in emergency situations,

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what kind of controls and Inspector General Roth

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responded very quickly.

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June second, in a letter to me,

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made a number of recommendations which we

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have turned into a decent draft legislation

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working with Senator McCaskill,

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also Senator James, anybody else on this

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committee want to start working with us on that.

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We've been talking to appropriators

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on how to potentially marry that

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with some of the emergency funding requests,

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the supplemental funding requests

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that we're passing here.

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We're spending a lot of money,

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and it needs to be controlled.

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And I think the issue with Whitefish,

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I'm sure we'll get into that,

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is just exhibit A of how careful we need to be,

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in terms of how we spend

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the taxpayers' hard earned money.

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I'm hoping,

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and I've seen certainly with Director Long's

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testimony, we do need to review

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and lay out FEMA's proper role

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within the emergency management response.

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It's a subordinate role.

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If we can quick put up the chart there,

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wherever our chart is, there we go.

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Everybody has this as well.

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This is just a history, this was put together

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I think by the Heritage Foundation,

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it only goes up to 2011.

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It just shows the history of FEMA declarations

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of emergencies, and it's really striking.

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Back in the '50s,

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there were somewhere between seven and 18 a year.

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In 2011, high water mark, 242 Federal

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Disaster Declarations or FEMA declarations.

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There are a number of reasons for that.

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Certainly we continue to build,

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we have that moral hazard,

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we continue to build and rebuild

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in flood zones and hurricane zones and the

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property values are increasing dramatically.

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But I think also more and more often

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states are looking to the federal government

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to do what I believe was probably

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more suited toward state and local response.

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As a result, it puts a great deal of stress

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on federal disaster resources,

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and certainly FEMA, and I'm sure Director Long,

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you have felt some of that pressure

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over the last couple days.

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So I think it's appropriate for this committee

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long term to really take a look at what is

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the proper balance between state

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and local response and the federal response

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in these situations.

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From my standpoint, as much as we can rely

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on the state in terms of preparation,

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standing up those emergency centers

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and the response before these disasters occur,

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the better off we're all gonna be.

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So I wanna make sure we're talking

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a little bit about that during the hearing.

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I did go down to Puerto Rico.

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I was down there on the seventh,

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about two and a half weeks afterwards.

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I will say that my initial response,

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having flown over low flying helicopter

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over about a quarter to third of the island,

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I was first relieved that the property damage

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was not as extensive as I was expecting it to be.

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Now there's no doubt about it,

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there's devastation,

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there's property totally destroyed,

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but I'd seen pictures of St. Martin.

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And then just the basic stats,

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two and a half weeks,

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22 of the 23 ports have been opened,

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more than 70% of both gas stations

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and grocery stores were already opened.

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A third of the roads were open,

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but as we flew over it,

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it looked like in excess of 90% were clear.

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But obviously blocked in certain choke points.

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Cell phone companies responded pretty

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appropriately.

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Kind of shared the burden, cordoned off the island,

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fixed each other's towers,

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so it will be interesting to hear to what percent

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the cell phone service is back and operational.

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All 72 of the municipalities, back then,

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were already accessible by road,

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so logistics problem was being eased.

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But the biggest problem was,

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at that point in time only 12% of the electrical

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power had been brought back online

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and so I returned convinced,

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and I think I continue to be convinced,

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that the primary problem,

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long term now with Puerto Rico,

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and even before the disaster, was the power grid.

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It was weak, it was fragile before the hurricane,

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and now it's offline it's a very complex problem,

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trying to reestablish and maintain

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the balance of that electrical grid.

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And we're gonna be spending an awful lot

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of money and from my standpoint,

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that's gotta be controlled.

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And what money we spend, hopefully,

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can be spent in a manner that we create

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a more resilient electrical grid that will power

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a vibrant economy in Puerto Rico

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for generations to come.

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My last point is I've been in contact with the

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Chairman of the Financial Oversight

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Management Board and I just received

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an email or a text from him last night.

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And they met and I'm just gonna

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quick read you the text on the record.

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"The Federal Oversight Board unanimously has

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asked for a Chief Transformation Officer

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to take over the administration of the

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power authority in order to reestablish power

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as quickly as possible.

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But moreover, we must transform the energy sector

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and ensure lower costs and more reliable power.

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In order to do that,

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we have to depoliticize the authority,

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open it up to competition in order to attract

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private capital.

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Puerto Rico does not want to return

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to D.C. with hat in hand in the future.

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The person of the board has named is a

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retired Air Force Colonel who has organizational

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and transformational experience,

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including management of energy and

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infrastructure projects that was signed by

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Jose Carrion, the Chairman of the

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Financial Oversight Management Board."

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So they recognize the fact that we've got

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a real problem with the governance of,

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the public ownership of PREPA.

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And again, that was exhibit A,

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based on that $300 million contract

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which apparently now has been

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pulled back with Whitefish.

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But again, I just want to thank the witnesses,

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and I'll turn it over to Senator Carper

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for any opening statements you want to make.

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- Thanks, thanks so much

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for bringing us together, Mr. Chairman.

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I know a couple weeks ago Senator McCaskill

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had called for a bipartisan investigation

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scheduling series of hearings,

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I'm delighted to hear that this is not the last

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but the first of several.

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Want to express, as well, our thanks,

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appreciation to those at the table before us.

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Those who work with you, for you,

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for the extraordinary work they're doing.

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I believe that in the last hundred years or so,

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we've had a total of 33 Category Five hurricanes

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that have struck the United States.

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33 in a hundred years and we had literally two

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within weeks of each other this year.

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Our friends at GIO present to us each year,

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as you'll recall a high risk list,

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every other year beginning of each Congress,

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things that we need to focus on,

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ways that if we did, we could save some money.

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They always, for years they've now been saying,

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one of our high risks is the incidence

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of extreme weather and the cost that it's

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imposing on the federal budget.

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The cost here is just extraordinary,

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and I think in terms of root cause,

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we need to keep that in mind.

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I'm delighted to hear the Chairman mentioned

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the electric grid

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in Puerto Rico.

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I oftentimes quote Albert Einstein

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who said famously,

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"in adversity lies opportunity".

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And as bad as the adversity here is,

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there's also opportunity,

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especially with respect to the electric grid.

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Most the people, as I understand, I've been

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to Puerto Rico a number of times as a

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Naval flight officer operating out of Roosevelt

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Roads, as a governor hosted by Pedro Rossello

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when he was governor,

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part of the National Governors Association,

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just as a family vacation and been around

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the island a fair amount,

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and my recollections is that most of the power

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is generated in the South of the island.

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Most of the people live in the North

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of the island.

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Most of the power is generated from diesel

273
00:10:08,277 --> 00:10:12,194
power generators and utilities and it is dirty,

274
00:10:12,268 --> 00:10:13,101
it is expensive.

275
00:10:13,101 --> 00:10:14,734
the cost for electricity in Puerto Rico I'm told

276
00:10:14,734 --> 00:10:16,811
is roughly twice what we pay here

277
00:10:16,811 --> 00:10:19,845
in the mainland and they have an opportunity.

278
00:10:19,845 --> 00:10:22,124
I talked with Governor Rossello yesterday,

279
00:10:22,124 --> 00:10:24,928
who I remember when he was basically a teenager,

280
00:10:24,928 --> 00:10:27,180
his dad and I were contemporaries together

281
00:10:27,180 --> 00:10:28,684
in the National Governors Association,

282
00:10:28,684 --> 00:10:30,652
but we talked about his vision.

283
00:10:30,652 --> 00:10:34,380
And his vision would be to move power generation

284
00:10:34,380 --> 00:10:37,220
from the South to the North where the people are,

285
00:10:37,220 --> 00:10:38,053
so you don't have to transmit

286
00:10:38,053 --> 00:10:39,682
all that electricity

287
00:10:39,682 --> 00:10:42,495
from one side of the island to the other.

288
00:10:42,495 --> 00:10:46,162
And to use natural gas, bring down the cost.

289
00:10:46,530 --> 00:10:48,610
And right now the diesel fuel comes from,

290
00:10:48,610 --> 00:10:50,793
I think, mostly from South America,

291
00:10:50,793 --> 00:10:52,238
including Venezuela.

292
00:10:52,238 --> 00:10:54,439
We're not sure that that's a good place

293
00:10:54,439 --> 00:10:55,812
to be dependent on.

294
00:10:55,812 --> 00:10:58,079
And the idea of having the ability of large ships

295
00:10:58,079 --> 00:11:00,794
to come in with natural gas to the North,

296
00:11:00,794 --> 00:11:02,934
to have power generation there, and to also.

297
00:11:02,934 --> 00:11:06,563
Governor said to me his goal in time is to step up

298
00:11:06,563 --> 00:11:08,994
increase independence on their generation of

299
00:11:08,994 --> 00:11:10,950
electricity from renewables,

300
00:11:10,950 --> 00:11:12,423
including solar and wind and others.

301
00:11:12,423 --> 00:11:15,604
Maybe including distributed generation of

302
00:11:15,604 --> 00:11:16,437
electricity and things like using fuel-cell

303
00:11:16,437 --> 00:11:19,354
powered generators for electricity,

304
00:11:21,856 --> 00:11:23,888
especially to help like at hospitals

305
00:11:23,888 --> 00:11:25,638
and places like that.

306
00:11:26,635 --> 00:11:28,548
The um. I wanna mention,

307
00:11:28,548 --> 00:11:32,548
go back to my prepared comments here if I could.

308
00:11:33,847 --> 00:11:35,367
I'm proud of our Delaware National Guard.

309
00:11:35,367 --> 00:11:37,274
We've had Delaware National Guard units deployed

310
00:11:37,274 --> 00:11:39,718
to Texas, to Florida, Puerto Rico,

311
00:11:39,718 --> 00:11:41,582
US Virgin Islands and we're grateful to

312
00:11:41,582 --> 00:11:42,415
the men and women.

313
00:11:42,415 --> 00:11:43,946
Not just to the Delaware National Guard but

314
00:11:43,946 --> 00:11:46,094
National Guards all over this part of the country

315
00:11:46,094 --> 00:11:48,927
that are part of this team effort.

316
00:11:50,583 --> 00:11:52,637
Miss John I hope that it the very near future

317
00:11:52,637 --> 00:11:55,426
we can actually have the governors of Texas,

318
00:11:55,426 --> 00:11:57,479
maybe the governors of Florida, Puerto Rico,

319
00:11:57,479 --> 00:12:00,080
the Virgin Islands before us so that we can hear

320
00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,719
their prospectives on what worked well,

321
00:12:02,719 --> 00:12:04,783
what didn't, how we could be more helpful.

322
00:12:04,783 --> 00:12:07,238
And maybe even include some like mayors.

323
00:12:07,238 --> 00:12:10,020
Sometimes we don't always wanna hear from people

324
00:12:10,020 --> 00:12:11,911
who are gonna be critical,

325
00:12:11,911 --> 00:12:13,321
but we need to hear folks that are critical

326
00:12:13,321 --> 00:12:14,633
as well as people who think that

327
00:12:14,633 --> 00:12:16,716
a good job has been done.

328
00:12:16,981 --> 00:12:17,814
I always like to say,

329
00:12:17,814 --> 00:12:19,045
'if it isn't perfect, make it better'.

330
00:12:19,045 --> 00:12:20,468
And that's I think if we could hear from

331
00:12:20,468 --> 00:12:23,533
governors, and I'm sure you have this in mind,

332
00:12:23,533 --> 00:12:24,366
governors and some other leaders

333
00:12:24,366 --> 00:12:25,683
that'd be helpful.

334
00:12:25,683 --> 00:12:27,213
I think we're at the beginning of a very long

335
00:12:27,213 --> 00:12:28,529
and difficult rebuilding effort:

336
00:12:28,529 --> 00:12:30,045
the cost, the devastation wrought

337
00:12:30,045 --> 00:12:32,632
by these hurricanes may well exceed

338
00:12:32,632 --> 00:12:35,541
300 billion dollars, 300 billion dollars.

339
00:12:35,541 --> 00:12:37,717
More than double the total economic damage

340
00:12:37,717 --> 00:12:40,990
of both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

341
00:12:40,990 --> 00:12:42,972
We must ensure that the federal government is

342
00:12:42,972 --> 00:12:44,439
meeting the needs of the survivors of these

343
00:12:44,439 --> 00:12:46,189
disasters and at the same time,

344
00:12:46,189 --> 00:12:48,545
ensure that federal funds as the Chairman said

345
00:12:48,545 --> 00:12:50,429
are being used efficiently and effectively.

346
00:12:50,429 --> 00:12:53,445
Every dollar wasted is a dollar that won't be

347
00:12:53,445 --> 00:12:55,941
available to help Americans that are

348
00:12:55,941 --> 00:12:56,913
still in need.

349
00:12:56,913 --> 00:12:58,620
We've already started to hear of allegations of

350
00:12:58,620 --> 00:13:00,089
problematic mismanagement and questionable

351
00:13:00,089 --> 00:13:01,589
contracts and I'm.

352
00:13:02,980 --> 00:13:04,341
Many of us, I'm just gonna talk about this

353
00:13:04,341 --> 00:13:05,174
anyway.

354
00:13:05,174 --> 00:13:07,276
It's been discussed quite a bit but I don't think

355
00:13:07,276 --> 00:13:08,972
it can be discussed too much.

356
00:13:08,972 --> 00:13:10,656
A lot of us were shocked to learn of the

357
00:13:10,656 --> 00:13:12,016
300 million dollar contract to repair

358
00:13:12,016 --> 00:13:15,999
the electric grid that was awarded by the Puerta

359
00:13:15,999 --> 00:13:17,313
Rica, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority,

360
00:13:17,313 --> 00:13:19,151
PREPA to Whitefish energy.

361
00:13:19,151 --> 00:13:20,464
And as you know, country,

362
00:13:20,464 --> 00:13:23,074
a company with two full time employees existing

363
00:13:23,074 --> 00:13:26,670
for only two years ends up getting a 300 million

364
00:13:26,670 --> 00:13:29,037
dollar contract, heaven help us.

365
00:13:29,037 --> 00:13:32,454
Heaven help us, that's just unbelievable.

366
00:13:32,465 --> 00:13:34,811
Cannot overstate the urgent need to quickly

367
00:13:34,811 --> 00:13:37,515
restore power to repair homes, other structures,

368
00:13:37,515 --> 00:13:39,972
as well as to ensure the availability of safe and

369
00:13:39,972 --> 00:13:42,086
clean drinking water for all citizens of the

370
00:13:42,086 --> 00:13:43,253
United States.

371
00:13:43,986 --> 00:13:46,370
I talked about electric generation,

372
00:13:46,370 --> 00:13:48,777
I won't go into that further.

373
00:13:48,777 --> 00:13:51,154
Looking forward to going down.

374
00:13:51,154 --> 00:13:52,248
I think Senator Murkowski is gonna lead a

375
00:13:52,248 --> 00:13:54,868
delegation maybe as early as this weekend.

376
00:13:54,868 --> 00:13:56,266
I hope that's gonna come together and I would

377
00:13:56,266 --> 00:13:59,183
love to be a part of that with her.

378
00:13:59,188 --> 00:14:00,882
They have a fair amount of jurisdiction over

379
00:14:00,882 --> 00:14:03,741
this as does this committee as does Environmental

380
00:14:03,741 --> 00:14:07,908
(unintelligible) where I serve as well.

381
00:14:08,147 --> 00:14:12,064
I, um, think I'll finally just say I understand

382
00:14:14,233 --> 00:14:16,871
the time on which people an apply for individual

383
00:14:16,871 --> 00:14:19,273
assistance has been extended, maybe to March.

384
00:14:19,273 --> 00:14:20,683
Is that? Can someone nod their head on that,

385
00:14:20,683 --> 00:14:21,516
if that' correct.

386
00:14:21,516 --> 00:14:22,553
I think I heard something.

387
00:14:22,553 --> 00:14:24,177
- (unintelligible)

388
00:14:24,177 --> 00:14:25,958
- Okay, yeah. If you'll address that

389
00:14:25,958 --> 00:14:28,875
when you speak that would be great.

390
00:14:29,607 --> 00:14:30,440
And um, yep.

391
00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:31,573
Says right here, FEMA as of last night has

392
00:14:31,573 --> 00:14:34,115
extended the deadline to March.

393
00:14:34,115 --> 00:14:36,426
We're happy to hear of that.

394
00:14:36,426 --> 00:14:39,474
And um, uh, Mister Chairman, in closing

395
00:14:39,474 --> 00:14:41,138
I just want to say uh, a few words about the

396
00:14:41,138 --> 00:14:43,675
obligation that our federal government has to

397
00:14:43,675 --> 00:14:46,217
help rebuild when disasters strike our country,

398
00:14:46,217 --> 00:14:47,390
any party of our country,

399
00:14:47,390 --> 00:14:49,172
when extreme weather like this hits it's scary,

400
00:14:49,172 --> 00:14:51,821
it's dangerous, it's often far more powerful than

401
00:14:51,821 --> 00:14:53,235
we imagine it would be.

402
00:14:53,235 --> 00:14:54,871
For those of us who hasn't had the misfortune of

403
00:14:54,871 --> 00:14:56,677
living in the path of the worst destruction is

404
00:14:56,677 --> 00:14:57,786
hard to imagine.

405
00:14:57,786 --> 00:14:59,541
I've ridden out hurricanes that are just Navy

406
00:14:59,541 --> 00:15:00,557
Destroyer off the coast,

407
00:15:00,557 --> 00:15:02,007
the Atlantic coast.

408
00:15:02,007 --> 00:15:04,057
I've flown into monsoons in our Navy P3 Airplanes

409
00:15:04,057 --> 00:15:05,807
out in Pacific Ocean.

410
00:15:06,776 --> 00:15:08,438
Got run over by Katrina with a bunch of boy

411
00:15:08,438 --> 00:15:11,379
scouts on a sailboat coming down the

412
00:15:11,379 --> 00:15:13,629
coast of Florida during uh,

413
00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:15,799
during that storm.

414
00:15:15,799 --> 00:15:17,823
So had a little bit of taste of this stuff.

415
00:15:17,823 --> 00:15:19,656
It is scary as can be.

416
00:15:19,943 --> 00:15:21,466
But for the people who's reality has become a

417
00:15:21,466 --> 00:15:23,843
nightmare, they just want to know that there's a

418
00:15:23,843 --> 00:15:26,590
path to a better and a safer future.

419
00:15:26,590 --> 00:15:28,437
Clearing that path is a shared responsibility,

420
00:15:28,437 --> 00:15:29,270
though.

421
00:15:29,270 --> 00:15:30,714
The residents of Puerto Rico, their leaders,

422
00:15:30,714 --> 00:15:33,442
their governors, their others must do their part,

423
00:15:33,442 --> 00:15:34,275
but our Federal government has a

424
00:15:34,275 --> 00:15:36,551
moral obligation to help as well.

425
00:15:36,551 --> 00:15:38,878
Like the folks at Home Depot like to say,

426
00:15:38,878 --> 00:15:40,902
'you can do it, we can help'.

427
00:15:40,902 --> 00:15:43,378
And uh, that's, that I think applies here, too.

428
00:15:43,378 --> 00:15:44,998
Keeping with the spirit of the golden rule let's

429
00:15:44,998 --> 00:15:47,331
make sure we that we just do that.

430
00:15:47,331 --> 00:15:48,581
Thanks so much.

431
00:15:49,046 --> 00:15:51,908
- Thanks Senator Carper and I'd like my

432
00:15:51,908 --> 00:15:54,041
full opening statement, my written statement

433
00:15:54,041 --> 00:15:55,353
into the record.
- And if I can make a similar

434
00:15:55,353 --> 00:15:56,625
request please, thank you.

435
00:15:56,625 --> 00:15:58,292
- Without objection.

436
00:15:59,007 --> 00:16:00,893
It is the tradition of this committee

437
00:16:00,893 --> 00:16:03,518
to swear in witnesses so if y'all rise and

438
00:16:03,518 --> 00:16:05,351
raise your right hand.

439
00:16:09,929 --> 00:16:11,362
Do you swear the testimony you will give

440
00:16:11,362 --> 00:16:12,799
before this committee will be the truth,

441
00:16:12,799 --> 00:16:14,017
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,

442
00:16:14,017 --> 00:16:15,350
so help you God?

443
00:16:15,736 --> 00:16:16,569
- [Witnesses] We do.

444
00:16:16,569 --> 00:16:18,152
- Please be seated.

445
00:16:20,264 --> 00:16:22,459
Our first witness is Mr. Brock Long.

446
00:16:22,459 --> 00:16:23,618
Mr. Long is the Administrator of the

447
00:16:23,618 --> 00:16:25,887
Federal Emergency Management Agency.

448
00:16:25,887 --> 00:16:27,484
In his role he leads FEMA's workforce

449
00:16:27,484 --> 00:16:29,396
to fulfill it's mission responding to national

450
00:16:29,396 --> 00:16:31,291
disasters and emergencies facing

451
00:16:31,291 --> 00:16:33,759
the United States including the recent hurricanes

452
00:16:33,759 --> 00:16:35,676
Harvey, Irma and Maria.

453
00:16:36,284 --> 00:16:37,229
And Mr. Long I don't know how long you

454
00:16:37,229 --> 00:16:39,608
were on the job before Harvey hit,

455
00:16:39,608 --> 00:16:42,431
but again I just want to thank you for your,

456
00:16:42,431 --> 00:16:44,987
what I think is just extraordinary service

457
00:16:44,987 --> 00:16:47,987
over the last two and a half months.

458
00:16:48,286 --> 00:16:49,119
- [Brock] Thank you sir.

459
00:16:49,119 --> 00:16:50,503
Before I get started, um,

460
00:16:50,503 --> 00:16:51,580
I'd like to say that my thoughts and prayers are

461
00:16:51,580 --> 00:16:53,733
with ranking member McCaskill and her husband.

462
00:16:53,733 --> 00:16:57,162
Chairman Johnson, Senator Carper, as well as

463
00:16:57,162 --> 00:16:58,687
the distinguished members of this committee

464
00:16:58,687 --> 00:17:00,455
it's a pleasure to be here today.

465
00:17:00,455 --> 00:17:02,302
It truly has been unprecedented and

466
00:17:02,302 --> 00:17:04,422
I'm here to discuss anything you'd like to

467
00:17:04,422 --> 00:17:06,932
regarding the response and recovery efforts that

468
00:17:06,932 --> 00:17:08,496
my staff has helped coordinate across the Federal

469
00:17:08,496 --> 00:17:11,396
partnership when it comes to all the agencies

470
00:17:11,396 --> 00:17:13,396
that have been involved.

471
00:17:13,824 --> 00:17:16,015
Like me, what I've seen inside my agency is that

472
00:17:16,015 --> 00:17:17,761
I work every day with a bunch of,

473
00:17:17,761 --> 00:17:19,743
with with people who are truly dedicated.

474
00:17:19,743 --> 00:17:21,073
That truly come to work every day that want to

475
00:17:21,073 --> 00:17:23,255
save lives and help people, you know,

476
00:17:23,255 --> 00:17:25,868
get on the pathway to recovery as well as

477
00:17:25,868 --> 00:17:27,701
become more resilient.

478
00:17:27,992 --> 00:17:30,368
I've been in office 132 days.

479
00:17:30,368 --> 00:17:31,976
For 70 of those days we've been actively

480
00:17:31,976 --> 00:17:34,970
responding to Harvey, Irma, Maria and the

481
00:17:34,970 --> 00:17:38,553
extraordinary California wildfires as well.

482
00:17:39,774 --> 00:17:41,639
Each one of these events that I just spoke of

483
00:17:41,639 --> 00:17:44,556
could truly be catastrophic events,

484
00:17:44,953 --> 00:17:46,038
stand-alone events,

485
00:17:46,038 --> 00:17:47,857
but they happened in rapid succession

486
00:17:47,857 --> 00:17:49,274
of 25 day period,

487
00:17:49,626 --> 00:17:51,080
which is obviously unprecedented.

488
00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:55,163
Um, you know, Chairman Johnson in regards to this

489
00:17:55,353 --> 00:17:56,621
you know I think it's important to point out

490
00:17:56,621 --> 00:17:58,937
that before Harvey hit FEMA was responding to

491
00:17:58,937 --> 00:18:01,135
over 30 different disasters across the nation

492
00:18:01,135 --> 00:18:04,125
in many states that you folks represent.

493
00:18:04,125 --> 00:18:06,306
And, uh, not only in addition to those major

494
00:18:06,306 --> 00:18:07,523
disaster declarations,

495
00:18:07,523 --> 00:18:10,823
we were also responding to over 50 different fire

496
00:18:10,823 --> 00:18:12,740
management assistance grants,

497
00:18:12,740 --> 00:18:15,287
due to the wildfires that are taking place.

498
00:18:15,287 --> 00:18:18,668
Now, while there's many improvements to be made

499
00:18:18,668 --> 00:18:20,535
to ensure a whole community response and that the

500
00:18:20,535 --> 00:18:23,256
Nationalistic Management System continues to grow

501
00:18:23,256 --> 00:18:24,347
in a positive way,

502
00:18:24,347 --> 00:18:25,339
I do recognize that there are

503
00:18:25,339 --> 00:18:26,605
many challenges ahead,

504
00:18:26,605 --> 00:18:30,062
particularly when it comes to California, Texas,

505
00:18:30,062 --> 00:18:32,445
Florida, as well as the Virgin Islands

506
00:18:32,445 --> 00:18:33,778
and Puerto Rico.

507
00:18:33,918 --> 00:18:36,079
I want to put a couple of things into context

508
00:18:36,079 --> 00:18:39,529
about the magnitude of this recent response.

509
00:18:39,529 --> 00:18:41,846
If you start with Harvey all the way over to

510
00:18:41,846 --> 00:18:43,759
the California wildfires over 25 million

511
00:18:43,759 --> 00:18:45,455
Americans have been impacted.

512
00:18:45,455 --> 00:18:48,104
That's 12 percent of the population in basically

513
00:18:48,104 --> 00:18:51,937
a two month period or over 50 day time period.

514
00:18:52,011 --> 00:18:54,097
The FEMA search and rescue teams alone saved over

515
00:18:54,097 --> 00:18:55,097
9,000 lives.

516
00:18:55,344 --> 00:18:57,341
That's in addition to our DOD partners,

517
00:18:57,341 --> 00:19:00,322
Coast Guard partners, state and local partners,

518
00:19:00,322 --> 00:19:01,726
first responders, neighbors helping neighbors,

519
00:19:01,726 --> 00:19:04,770
like the Cajun Navy coming from Louisiana over to

520
00:19:04,770 --> 00:19:05,603
Houston.

521
00:19:05,679 --> 00:19:08,492
Tens of thousands of lives have been saved.

522
00:19:08,492 --> 00:19:10,292
Over four and a half million Americans have been

523
00:19:10,292 --> 00:19:11,965
registered inside FEMA's individual

524
00:19:11,965 --> 00:19:13,548
assistance program.

525
00:19:14,345 --> 00:19:16,515
That, put that number in context, that's greater

526
00:19:16,515 --> 00:19:18,183
than Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy,

527
00:19:18,183 --> 00:19:21,000
Hurricane Wilma, Hurricane Rita combined.

528
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:22,917
It's the fastest we've ever put people into our

529
00:19:22,917 --> 00:19:24,794
systems and we put over two and a half billion

530
00:19:24,794 --> 00:19:27,368
dollars in the hands of citizens across the

531
00:19:27,368 --> 00:19:29,755
country to start that road to recovery.

532
00:19:29,755 --> 00:19:32,187
We can't make ya whole but we can actually serve

533
00:19:32,187 --> 00:19:34,483
as a catalyst to help you recover.

534
00:19:34,483 --> 00:19:36,131
Over three point five billion dollars was

535
00:19:36,131 --> 00:19:38,326
expedited in our National Flood Insurance program

536
00:19:38,326 --> 00:19:41,076
immediately to our policyholders.

537
00:19:41,222 --> 00:19:42,818
That number's projected to grow to 16 or 17

538
00:19:42,818 --> 00:19:45,329
billion dollars just for Hurricanes

539
00:19:45,329 --> 00:19:47,162
Harvey and Irma alone.

540
00:19:48,776 --> 00:19:52,801
Since the onset of Hurricane Harvey on August 25,

541
00:19:52,801 --> 00:19:54,468
the nation has worked together with our mass-care

542
00:19:54,468 --> 00:19:56,617
partners: Red Cross, state and local partners,

543
00:19:56,617 --> 00:19:58,722
to shelter over one point one million Americans

544
00:19:58,722 --> 00:20:00,639
in congregate shelters.

545
00:20:00,679 --> 00:20:03,409
The peak population in one night was 200,000.

546
00:20:03,409 --> 00:20:04,937
That's unprecedented, we don't have numbers like

547
00:20:04,937 --> 00:20:06,354
that ever before.

548
00:20:06,873 --> 00:20:09,364
I also have reason to believe that the commodity

549
00:20:09,364 --> 00:20:11,016
mission and the humanitarian mission to

550
00:20:11,016 --> 00:20:12,511
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands,

551
00:20:12,511 --> 00:20:13,969
as well as all of the states,

552
00:20:13,969 --> 00:20:15,971
has been one of the largest humanitarian missions

553
00:20:15,971 --> 00:20:17,888
in the history of FEMA.

554
00:20:18,045 --> 00:20:20,594
Now while there's existing response and recovery

555
00:20:20,594 --> 00:20:23,135
challenges that need to be solved I think it's,

556
00:20:23,135 --> 00:20:25,285
Chairman Johnson in regards to your opening

557
00:20:25,285 --> 00:20:27,614
comments, it's important to point out that

558
00:20:27,614 --> 00:20:29,933
an optimal response and recovery process should

559
00:20:29,933 --> 00:20:31,811
be federally supported, state managed and

560
00:20:31,811 --> 00:20:33,728
locally executed, okay?

561
00:20:34,353 --> 00:20:36,049
Each level of government has a very critical

562
00:20:36,049 --> 00:20:39,239
role to play that we have to continue to define,

563
00:20:39,239 --> 00:20:41,129
what the responsibilities are and what the target

564
00:20:41,129 --> 00:20:43,046
capabilities should be.

565
00:20:43,074 --> 00:20:45,310
In the case of Puerto Rico they were hit by

566
00:20:45,310 --> 00:20:48,444
two major hurricanes in rapid succession,

567
00:20:48,444 --> 00:20:51,276
which created a diminished capacity not only

568
00:20:51,276 --> 00:20:54,030
were the responders now disaster survivor,

569
00:20:54,030 --> 00:20:56,140
but also the ability to respond

570
00:20:56,140 --> 00:20:57,517
was also compromised.

571
00:20:57,517 --> 00:20:59,887
That puts FEMA as the primary responder

572
00:20:59,887 --> 00:21:01,807
and pretty much the first responder which is

573
00:21:01,807 --> 00:21:03,493
never a good situation.

574
00:21:03,493 --> 00:21:05,028
When FEMA's the first and primary responder,

575
00:21:05,028 --> 00:21:07,235
and the only responder for many weeks,

576
00:21:07,235 --> 00:21:10,652
we're never gonna move as fast as anybody

577
00:21:10,938 --> 00:21:12,511
would like, and I recognize that.

578
00:21:12,511 --> 00:21:14,940
Moving forward, we continue to work every day

579
00:21:14,940 --> 00:21:17,336
to restore the power, particularly in Puerto Rico

580
00:21:17,336 --> 00:21:18,316
and Virgin Islands.

581
00:21:18,316 --> 00:21:20,085
Restoring the power solves a multitude of

582
00:21:20,085 --> 00:21:22,412
problems and it's gonna require our partners

583
00:21:22,412 --> 00:21:24,985
at the Army corps working hand-in-glove

584
00:21:24,985 --> 00:21:27,187
with Governor Rossello who I talk to on

585
00:21:27,187 --> 00:21:28,937
a very regular basis.

586
00:21:29,058 --> 00:21:30,979
We have to restore the hospitals and medical

587
00:21:30,979 --> 00:21:32,780
functions to pre-disaster conditions and consider

588
00:21:32,780 --> 00:21:34,225
how to make them more resilient

589
00:21:34,225 --> 00:21:35,336
in the future.

590
00:21:35,336 --> 00:21:37,397
Each one of the disaster housing missions is

591
00:21:37,397 --> 00:21:39,328
gonna be unique from California all the way to

592
00:21:39,328 --> 00:21:41,381
the Virgin Islands and we're working with,

593
00:21:41,381 --> 00:21:44,165
to rectify those issues every day.

594
00:21:44,165 --> 00:21:46,235
Clearing roads, fixing roads, getting rid of

595
00:21:46,235 --> 00:21:47,619
debris is also a major mission.

596
00:21:47,619 --> 00:21:51,145
There's three point five cubic yards of debris

597
00:21:51,145 --> 00:21:53,395
on Puerto Rico alone, okay.

598
00:21:53,574 --> 00:21:55,057
Communications and cell service is

599
00:21:55,057 --> 00:21:56,307
something else.

600
00:21:56,590 --> 00:21:58,639
That I believe we're up to about 85 percent

601
00:21:58,639 --> 00:22:00,396
for example on Puerto Rico.

602
00:22:00,396 --> 00:22:03,186
Retail industries back up to about 90 percent.

603
00:22:03,186 --> 00:22:05,713
The water systems are back up to about

604
00:22:05,713 --> 00:22:07,967
80 percent that PRASA organized and so progress

605
00:22:07,967 --> 00:22:10,357
is being made but we have a long way to go.

606
00:22:10,357 --> 00:22:11,524
In the future,

607
00:22:13,141 --> 00:22:14,906
I haven't had a chance to catch my breath,

608
00:22:14,906 --> 00:22:17,633
doing exhaustive after action review of all the

609
00:22:17,633 --> 00:22:19,310
things that just happened,

610
00:22:19,310 --> 00:22:20,483
what we've learned and where we should go,

611
00:22:20,483 --> 00:22:22,769
but I do have several ideas:

612
00:22:22,769 --> 00:22:26,436
I think as a community we have to streamline

613
00:22:26,486 --> 00:22:28,669
disaster recovery programs that are offered from

614
00:22:28,669 --> 00:22:30,717
across the federal government.

615
00:22:30,717 --> 00:22:32,464
We gotta simplify them, streamline them,

616
00:22:32,464 --> 00:22:35,076
make them easy to understand and help our

617
00:22:35,076 --> 00:22:36,983
state and local partners understand when

618
00:22:36,983 --> 00:22:38,335
to use these things.

619
00:22:38,335 --> 00:22:41,093
I'll be asking for your help to do that.

620
00:22:41,093 --> 00:22:42,837
Implemented and ensure survivable communications-

621
00:22:42,837 --> 00:22:44,862
we have to work with the private industry to

622
00:22:44,862 --> 00:22:47,432
make sure as we become more and more attached

623
00:22:47,432 --> 00:22:49,936
to our cell phones that the systems that are

624
00:22:49,936 --> 00:22:52,587
being implemented are resilient and redundant.

625
00:22:52,587 --> 00:22:54,612
We have to do more pre-disaster mitigation.

626
00:22:54,612 --> 00:22:56,581
Pre-disaster mitigation is the key to becoming

627
00:22:56,581 --> 00:22:59,599
more resilient in reducing disaster impacts.

628
00:22:59,599 --> 00:23:01,719
We have to ensure state and local governments,

629
00:23:01,719 --> 00:23:03,944
like Texas and Florida are the examples,

630
00:23:03,944 --> 00:23:05,894
have their own life sustainment commodity

631
00:23:05,894 --> 00:23:07,734
capabilities in that the federal government

632
00:23:07,734 --> 00:23:10,304
is not shouldering the entire burden.

633
00:23:10,304 --> 00:23:12,147
We have to find low to no cost ways to prepare

634
00:23:12,147 --> 00:23:14,360
our citizens and help our citizens be properly

635
00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:15,193
insured.

636
00:23:15,290 --> 00:23:17,135
Insurance is the first line of defense and those

637
00:23:17,135 --> 00:23:19,080
who are insured will recover quicker than those

638
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,247
that don't have insurance.

639
00:23:21,936 --> 00:23:23,930
We have to ensure that state's and baseline level

640
00:23:23,930 --> 00:23:25,698
capabilities that states have their own baseline

641
00:23:25,698 --> 00:23:27,027
capabilities to handle individual assistance

642
00:23:27,027 --> 00:23:30,585
and public assistance when federal disaster

643
00:23:30,585 --> 00:23:33,140
declarations are not coming to town.

644
00:23:33,140 --> 00:23:34,822
And we also have to do a lot of work to fix

645
00:23:34,822 --> 00:23:36,239
the NFIP program.

646
00:23:37,087 --> 00:23:38,451
These are just some of the things that we have to

647
00:23:38,451 --> 00:23:40,175
work on and a multitude of another,

648
00:23:40,175 --> 00:23:43,003
of several more ideas that I have.

649
00:23:43,003 --> 00:23:44,164
I'm honored to be here and answer your

650
00:23:44,164 --> 00:23:44,997
questions today.

651
00:23:44,997 --> 00:23:45,830
Thank you.

652
00:23:47,053 --> 00:23:47,957
- Thank you Mr. Long.

653
00:23:47,957 --> 00:23:50,957
Our next witness is Robert Salesses.

654
00:23:51,250 --> 00:23:53,324
Mr. Salesses is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of

655
00:23:53,324 --> 00:23:55,745
Defense for Homeland Defense Integration and

656
00:23:55,745 --> 00:23:58,166
Defense Support of Civil Authorities.

657
00:23:58,166 --> 00:24:00,121
In this role he is responsible through

658
00:24:00,121 --> 00:24:01,913
development of policy for defense,

659
00:24:01,913 --> 00:24:04,041
support civil authorities and homeland security,

660
00:24:04,041 --> 00:24:05,717
inter-agency coordination.

661
00:24:05,717 --> 00:24:06,800
Mr. Salesses.

662
00:24:07,441 --> 00:24:09,578
- Thank you Chairman Johnson, Senator Carper,

663
00:24:09,578 --> 00:24:12,216
distinguished members of the committee.

664
00:24:12,216 --> 00:24:14,482
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the

665
00:24:14,482 --> 00:24:16,705
Department of Defense's support of the federal

666
00:24:16,705 --> 00:24:20,538
response to hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

667
00:24:21,624 --> 00:24:24,574
The Department of Defense is a fully committed

668
00:24:24,574 --> 00:24:26,620
a critical partner in the National Response

669
00:24:26,620 --> 00:24:27,453
System.

670
00:24:27,925 --> 00:24:30,573
DOD has a long tradition of working with

671
00:24:30,573 --> 00:24:32,992
our federal, state and local partners in

672
00:24:32,992 --> 00:24:37,075
responding to domestic disasters and emergencies.

673
00:24:37,515 --> 00:24:40,304
Led by Administrator Long and FEMA,

674
00:24:40,304 --> 00:24:42,315
DOD plays a key role in the federal government's

675
00:24:42,315 --> 00:24:45,398
support to state and local disasters.

676
00:24:45,582 --> 00:24:47,854
We also support other federal partners

677
00:24:47,854 --> 00:24:49,187
and departments,

678
00:24:49,561 --> 00:24:51,657
such as Health and Human Services,

679
00:24:51,657 --> 00:24:53,475
Department of Transportation,

680
00:24:53,475 --> 00:24:56,611
Department of Energy and their role as emergency

681
00:24:56,611 --> 00:24:58,528
support function leads.

682
00:24:59,173 --> 00:25:01,994
DOD is well prepared and has forces and

683
00:25:01,994 --> 00:25:05,744
capabilities ready to act immediately to save

684
00:25:05,872 --> 00:25:08,815
lives in the aftermath of disasters.

685
00:25:08,815 --> 00:25:11,821
DOD ensures a high level of preparedness

686
00:25:11,821 --> 00:25:14,154
by continually enhancing our

687
00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:16,110
integrative planning,

688
00:25:16,140 --> 00:25:17,478
improving our training,

689
00:25:17,478 --> 00:25:20,186
and conducting joint exercises between our

690
00:25:20,186 --> 00:25:23,019
federal, state and local partners.

691
00:25:23,056 --> 00:25:25,501
In advance of each of these hurricanes,

692
00:25:25,501 --> 00:25:28,169
Secretary of Defense directed DOD to provide

693
00:25:28,169 --> 00:25:31,047
full support to life saving life sustaining

694
00:25:31,047 --> 00:25:33,142
operations in coordination with

695
00:25:33,142 --> 00:25:34,892
our federal partners.

696
00:25:35,277 --> 00:25:38,733
Based on this direction, DOD postured significant

697
00:25:38,733 --> 00:25:42,400
capabilities: Navy ships, strategic airlift,

698
00:25:43,013 --> 00:25:46,430
helicopters, medical teams, and logistics

699
00:25:47,084 --> 00:25:49,303
prior to each of the hurricanes landfall to

700
00:25:49,303 --> 00:25:52,470
assist the citizens of Texas, Florida,

701
00:25:52,481 --> 00:25:55,648
Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

702
00:25:55,796 --> 00:25:59,314
To date, the Department of Defense has responded

703
00:25:59,314 --> 00:26:03,397
to over 311 mission assignments from FEMA and our

704
00:26:03,513 --> 00:26:05,430
other federal partners.

705
00:26:05,699 --> 00:26:08,641
Using the total force in it's response,

706
00:26:08,641 --> 00:26:12,214
thousands of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine,

707
00:26:12,214 --> 00:26:15,162
active, reserve and guard have responded to

708
00:26:15,162 --> 00:26:16,579
these hurricanes.

709
00:26:17,552 --> 00:26:19,631
Under the command of General Robinson,

710
00:26:19,631 --> 00:26:23,130
federal forces conducted search and rescue,

711
00:26:23,130 --> 00:26:25,681
evacuation operations, provided damage

712
00:26:25,681 --> 00:26:29,514
assessments, surveyed and made repairs to open

713
00:26:29,862 --> 00:26:33,945
airports and seaports, cleared critical roadways,

714
00:26:34,798 --> 00:26:37,786
transported life sustaining commodities of food

715
00:26:37,786 --> 00:26:41,178
and water, provided fuel distribution, conducted

716
00:26:41,178 --> 00:26:44,377
assessments of civilian hospitals, and provided

717
00:26:44,377 --> 00:26:48,210
medical support to include evacuating patients

718
00:26:48,604 --> 00:26:51,767
back to the continental United States.

719
00:26:51,767 --> 00:26:55,684
Additionally, US TransComm has flown over 2,800

720
00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:57,153
flights over the last 60 days in support of

721
00:26:57,153 --> 00:26:59,403
these hurricane operations,

722
00:27:01,461 --> 00:27:04,039
With over 1,900 flights in support of

723
00:27:04,039 --> 00:27:06,771
Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

724
00:27:06,771 --> 00:27:08,870
Transporting urgent first responders,

725
00:27:08,870 --> 00:27:10,383
like FEMA's urgent, urban, search and rescue

726
00:27:10,383 --> 00:27:13,383
teams, HHS's disaster medical teams,

727
00:27:15,242 --> 00:27:17,815
relief supplies and equipment, and evacuating

728
00:27:17,815 --> 00:27:20,732
hundreds of residents and patients.

729
00:27:20,970 --> 00:27:23,931
The defense logistics agency has provided

730
00:27:23,931 --> 00:27:25,906
millions of gallons of fuel,

731
00:27:25,906 --> 00:27:29,989
over 850 generators, more than 100 million meals,

732
00:27:30,875 --> 00:27:34,292
and millions of liters of waters and life

733
00:27:34,732 --> 00:27:36,649
sustaining commodities.

734
00:27:36,882 --> 00:27:38,968
The US Army Corps of Engineers conducted flood

735
00:27:38,968 --> 00:27:42,412
mitigation operations in Houston and Puerto Rico,

736
00:27:42,412 --> 00:27:46,012
conducted maritime port surveys and openings

737
00:27:46,012 --> 00:27:47,841
along with the US Coast Guard,

738
00:27:47,841 --> 00:27:50,153
installed temporary roofs to enable people to

739
00:27:50,153 --> 00:27:51,820
stay in their homes,

740
00:27:51,829 --> 00:27:54,558
provided temporary emergency power to over 550

741
00:27:54,558 --> 00:27:56,128
critical facilities.

742
00:27:56,128 --> 00:27:58,773
These included hospitals, fire stations,

743
00:27:58,773 --> 00:28:02,113
police stations and other municipal buildings.

744
00:28:02,113 --> 00:28:04,030
And more significantly,

745
00:28:04,127 --> 00:28:05,706
continues to work to restore Puerto Rico's

746
00:28:05,706 --> 00:28:08,760
electric grid and it's pre-storm status.

747
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:10,592
A new and unique mission for the corps of

748
00:28:10,592 --> 00:28:12,548
engineers and it's under the role of the

749
00:28:12,548 --> 00:28:13,631
Stafford Act.

750
00:28:14,335 --> 00:28:16,786
Our military services at the installation level

751
00:28:16,786 --> 00:28:19,724
also provided critical transportation,

752
00:28:19,724 --> 00:28:23,557
logistics, medical services to local officials

753
00:28:24,467 --> 00:28:26,284
and their communities under immediate response

754
00:28:26,284 --> 00:28:30,181
authority, and thousands of Army and Air National

755
00:28:30,181 --> 00:28:32,693
Guard personnel working with the respective

756
00:28:32,693 --> 00:28:35,443
governors from the affected states.

757
00:28:35,443 --> 00:28:37,047
And the supporting states conducted

758
00:28:37,047 --> 00:28:40,369
search and rescue, evacuation operations,

759
00:28:40,369 --> 00:28:41,924
commodities distribution,

760
00:28:41,924 --> 00:28:45,091
and other critical support operations.

761
00:28:45,481 --> 00:28:47,217
The men and women of the defense department,

762
00:28:47,217 --> 00:28:48,578
military and civilian,

763
00:28:48,578 --> 00:28:51,325
were ready and acted with a great sense of

764
00:28:51,325 --> 00:28:55,325
urgency in responding to Harvey, Irma and Maria.

765
00:28:56,713 --> 00:28:59,164
Chairman Johnson, Senator Carper,

766
00:28:59,164 --> 00:29:01,426
distinguished members of the committee,

767
00:29:01,426 --> 00:29:03,412
thank you for the opportunity to appear today.

768
00:29:03,412 --> 00:29:05,399
I look forward to your questions.

769
00:29:05,399 --> 00:29:08,269
- Thank you senator, er, Secretary Salessas.

770
00:29:08,269 --> 00:29:10,642
Our next witness if Major General Donald Jackson.

771
00:29:10,642 --> 00:29:12,827
General Jackson is the Deputy Commanding General

772
00:29:12,827 --> 00:29:14,435
for civil and emergency operations for the

773
00:29:14,435 --> 00:29:16,502
US Army Corps of Engineers.

774
00:29:16,502 --> 00:29:18,203
General Jackson oversees the work of the

775
00:29:18,203 --> 00:29:20,237
Army Corps in responding to major disasters,

776
00:29:20,237 --> 00:29:22,808
such as the major hurricanes that recently

777
00:29:22,808 --> 00:29:23,641
hit the United States.

778
00:29:23,641 --> 00:29:24,974
General Jackson.

779
00:29:25,647 --> 00:29:27,034
- Chairman Johnson, Senator Carper,

780
00:29:27,034 --> 00:29:28,635
distinguished members of the committee,

781
00:29:28,635 --> 00:29:30,081
my name is Major General Ed Jackson,

782
00:29:30,081 --> 00:29:31,848
Deputy Commanding General for civil and emergency

783
00:29:31,848 --> 00:29:34,654
operations, US Army Corps of Engineers.

784
00:29:34,654 --> 00:29:37,081
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

785
00:29:37,081 --> 00:29:38,986
The Corps conducts emergency response activities

786
00:29:38,986 --> 00:29:40,333
under two basic authorities:

787
00:29:40,333 --> 00:29:43,258
The Stafford Act and Public Law 8499.

788
00:29:43,258 --> 00:29:45,115
Under the Stafford Act we support FEMA

789
00:29:45,115 --> 00:29:46,916
under the national response framework as the lead

790
00:29:46,916 --> 00:29:49,741
federal agency for emergency sport function three,

791
00:29:49,741 --> 00:29:51,761
public works and engineering.

792
00:29:51,761 --> 00:29:54,105
ESF3 provides temporary emergency power,

793
00:29:54,105 --> 00:29:56,117
temporary roofing, debris management,

794
00:29:56,117 --> 00:29:57,528
infrastructure assessment,

795
00:29:57,528 --> 00:29:59,476
critical public facility restoration and

796
00:29:59,476 --> 00:30:00,976
temporary housing.

797
00:30:01,245 --> 00:30:04,365
Under Public Law 8499 we prepare for disasters,

798
00:30:04,365 --> 00:30:05,865
through planning, coordination and training

799
00:30:05,865 --> 00:30:07,675
with local, state and federal partners.

800
00:30:07,675 --> 00:30:09,452
We assist state and local entities to implement

801
00:30:09,452 --> 00:30:12,425
advanced measures that prevent or reduce storm

802
00:30:12,425 --> 00:30:15,123
event damages, and we repair damage to authorize

803
00:30:15,123 --> 00:30:16,662
federal projects and work with states and

804
00:30:16,662 --> 00:30:18,431
municipalities to rehabilitate and restore

805
00:30:18,431 --> 00:30:21,191
eligible non-federal flood infrastructure to

806
00:30:21,191 --> 00:30:22,858
pre-storm condition.

807
00:30:23,258 --> 00:30:25,269
When disasters occur corps teams and other

808
00:30:25,269 --> 00:30:26,929
resources are mobilized from across the command

809
00:30:26,929 --> 00:30:28,512
to assist local offices with their response

810
00:30:28,512 --> 00:30:29,595
to the event.

811
00:30:30,038 --> 00:30:32,025
As part of this mission the Corps has more than 50

812
00:30:32,025 --> 00:30:33,629
specially trained teams supported by

813
00:30:33,629 --> 00:30:35,487
emergency contracts that perform a wide range of

814
00:30:35,487 --> 00:30:38,508
public works and engineering related support

815
00:30:38,508 --> 00:30:40,569
functions that I just described.

816
00:30:40,569 --> 00:30:42,670
The Corps uses pre-awarded contracts that can be

817
00:30:42,670 --> 00:30:44,548
quickly activated for missions such as debris

818
00:30:44,548 --> 00:30:45,883
removal, temporary roofing

819
00:30:45,883 --> 00:30:47,592
and generator installation.

820
00:30:47,592 --> 00:30:49,282
This year the Corps supported FEMA- led

821
00:30:49,282 --> 00:30:50,954
federal response in recovery operations in

822
00:30:50,954 --> 00:30:53,200
support of multiple events, including hurricanes

823
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,117
Harvey, Irma and Maria.

824
00:30:55,571 --> 00:30:58,196
FEMA directed 37 mission assignments to the Corps

825
00:30:58,196 --> 00:31:00,005
to assist in hurricane Harvey response

826
00:31:00,005 --> 00:31:00,842
and recovery.

827
00:31:00,842 --> 00:31:02,636
Currently the Corps has 183 employees

828
00:31:02,636 --> 00:31:03,886
still deployed.

829
00:31:04,128 --> 00:31:06,051
The Corps assisted in temporary emergency power

830
00:31:06,051 --> 00:31:07,856
and continues to support the state of Texas

831
00:31:07,856 --> 00:31:09,336
with the development and implementation of a

832
00:31:09,336 --> 00:31:12,085
temporary housing project management plan.

833
00:31:12,085 --> 00:31:15,554
Debris teams led by Corps subject matter experts

834
00:31:15,554 --> 00:31:16,772
continue providing state and local municipalities

835
00:31:16,772 --> 00:31:18,642
with debris technical assistance to define

836
00:31:18,642 --> 00:31:20,807
requirements and monitor debris removal and

837
00:31:20,807 --> 00:31:23,012
disposal operations in 15 counties.

838
00:31:23,012 --> 00:31:26,262
FEMA directed 81 mission assignments to

839
00:31:26,460 --> 00:31:28,450
the Corps to assist in hurricanes Irma and Maria

840
00:31:28,450 --> 00:31:29,922
response and recovery.

841
00:31:29,922 --> 00:31:32,318
Currently the Corps has over 1,500 personnel

842
00:31:32,318 --> 00:31:33,151
deployed.

843
00:31:33,482 --> 00:31:36,213
As of this morning, the Corps has completed about

844
00:31:36,213 --> 00:31:39,412
1,000 assessments and 550 temporary generator

845
00:31:39,412 --> 00:31:41,789
installations across the Caribbean.

846
00:31:41,789 --> 00:31:44,404
This includes about 250 assessments and 150

847
00:31:44,404 --> 00:31:47,091
generator installations in the US Virgin Islands,

848
00:31:47,091 --> 00:31:49,365
and 750 assessments and 400 generator

849
00:31:49,365 --> 00:31:51,709
installations in Puerto Rico.

850
00:31:51,709 --> 00:31:53,705
Under FEMA authority we were also assisting

851
00:31:53,705 --> 00:31:55,308
Puerto Rico with operation and maintenance of

852
00:31:55,308 --> 00:31:57,324
critical and non-federal generators across

853
00:31:57,324 --> 00:31:58,241
the island.

854
00:31:58,925 --> 00:32:01,973
The Corps has completed over 13,000 temporary

855
00:32:01,973 --> 00:32:02,806
roofing installations in Florida

856
00:32:02,806 --> 00:32:03,639
and is on track to

857
00:32:03,639 --> 00:32:05,508
complete the mission by the third of November.

858
00:32:05,508 --> 00:32:07,320
We also have completed over 6,000 temporary

859
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:09,816
roofing installations across the Caribbean,

860
00:32:09,816 --> 00:32:12,232
including over 2,000 in the US Virgin Islands

861
00:32:12,232 --> 00:32:14,315
and 4,000 in Puerto Rico.

862
00:32:14,639 --> 00:32:16,282
Roofing requirements in both the US Virgin

863
00:32:16,282 --> 00:32:18,326
Islands and Puerto Rico have been extensive,

864
00:32:18,326 --> 00:32:20,007
requiring additional material and construction

865
00:32:20,007 --> 00:32:22,658
support which initially slowed progress.

866
00:32:22,658 --> 00:32:24,679
We have adjusted added capacity and are now

867
00:32:24,679 --> 00:32:27,172
seeing daily improvements in both locations.

868
00:32:27,172 --> 00:32:29,060
Corps debris subject matter experts provided

869
00:32:29,060 --> 00:32:31,171
technical assistance in counties across Florida

870
00:32:31,171 --> 00:32:33,616
and Georgia in response to Hurricane Irma,

871
00:32:33,616 --> 00:32:35,254
and continue to provide oversight to five regions

872
00:32:35,254 --> 00:32:36,901
within the Florida Department of Emergency

873
00:32:36,901 --> 00:32:37,818
Management.

874
00:32:38,216 --> 00:32:39,947
The Corps is working to remove an estimated

875
00:32:39,947 --> 00:32:41,778
one million cubic yards of debris from the

876
00:32:41,778 --> 00:32:44,085
US Virgin Islands and six million cubic yards

877
00:32:44,085 --> 00:32:46,168
of debris in Puerto Rico.

878
00:32:46,342 --> 00:32:48,227
The Corps worked closely with the US Coast Guard,

879
00:32:48,227 --> 00:32:49,688
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

880
00:32:49,688 --> 00:32:51,881
Administration and local authorities to open

881
00:32:51,881 --> 00:32:53,365
harbors and navigation channels across all

882
00:32:53,365 --> 00:32:56,046
affected areas, critical to restoring commerce

883
00:32:56,046 --> 00:32:57,968
and allowing the flow of commodities and

884
00:32:57,968 --> 00:32:59,497
essential equipment to reach affected

885
00:32:59,497 --> 00:33:00,497
communities.

886
00:33:01,036 --> 00:33:02,406
The Corps worked closely with officials in

887
00:33:02,406 --> 00:33:05,647
Texas and Florida to manage local flood control

888
00:33:05,647 --> 00:33:06,948
reservoirs during periods of unprecedented

889
00:33:06,948 --> 00:33:07,781
rainfall.

890
00:33:08,172 --> 00:33:09,905
In Puerto Rico Corps dam and levy teams inspected

891
00:33:09,905 --> 00:33:12,977
17 priority dams and worked closely with the

892
00:33:12,977 --> 00:33:14,722
Puerto Rico electric power authority to stabilize

893
00:33:14,722 --> 00:33:17,722
a spillway failure at Guajataca dam.

894
00:33:17,806 --> 00:33:20,934
Additionally, the Corps teams cleared existing

895
00:33:20,934 --> 00:33:23,917
outflow conduits and placed emergency pumps to

896
00:33:23,917 --> 00:33:24,934
further reduce water levels in the dam yet

897
00:33:24,934 --> 00:33:26,772
restore flow to a critical treatment plant

898
00:33:26,772 --> 00:33:29,974
that supports the needs of over 30,000 people.

899
00:33:29,974 --> 00:33:32,262
On September 30th the Corps was given a FEMA

900
00:33:32,262 --> 00:33:33,990
mission assignment under Stafford Act

901
00:33:33,990 --> 00:33:36,808
Authority to assist the Puerto Rico electric

902
00:33:36,808 --> 00:33:38,057
power authority in conducting emergency repairs

903
00:33:38,057 --> 00:33:40,140
to the power grid itself.

904
00:33:40,252 --> 00:33:41,592
The Corps is partnering with PREPA in this effort

905
00:33:41,592 --> 00:33:44,166
and has established a general officer senior executive

906
00:33:44,166 --> 00:33:45,416
led task force,

907
00:33:45,453 --> 00:33:47,238
as well as three area offices on the island

908
00:33:47,238 --> 00:33:49,701
to oversee work and provide technical assistance.

909
00:33:49,701 --> 00:33:51,542
The Department of Energy has embedded experts

910
00:33:51,542 --> 00:33:53,028
in our team and continues to assist

911
00:33:53,028 --> 00:33:54,278
in our efforts.

912
00:33:54,376 --> 00:33:55,712
Within two weeks of receiving the mission

913
00:33:55,712 --> 00:33:57,749
assignment the Corps awarded contracts for

914
00:33:57,749 --> 00:33:59,480
large-scale temporary power generation to

915
00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,536
stabilize the grid in San Juan and for additional

916
00:34:02,536 --> 00:34:04,695
line repair assets that will assist ongoing

917
00:34:04,695 --> 00:34:06,987
efforts by PREPA to complete the mission as

918
00:34:06,987 --> 00:34:08,654
quickly as possible.

919
00:34:08,751 --> 00:34:10,023
The Corps remains fully committed and capable of

920
00:34:10,023 --> 00:34:11,827
executing it's other civil works activities

921
00:34:11,827 --> 00:34:14,266
across the nation despite our heavy involvement

922
00:34:14,266 --> 00:34:15,099
in these ongoing response

923
00:34:15,099 --> 00:34:16,731
and recovery operations.

924
00:34:16,731 --> 00:34:18,712
We also remain ready and poised to assist any

925
00:34:18,712 --> 00:34:21,223
future events as they may occur.

926
00:34:21,223 --> 00:34:22,724
This concludes my testimony and I look forward

927
00:34:22,724 --> 00:34:24,267
to answering any questions you might have.

928
00:34:24,267 --> 00:34:25,100
Thank you.

929
00:34:25,286 --> 00:34:26,177
- Thank you General Jackson.

930
00:34:26,177 --> 00:34:28,302
Our final witness is Doctor Robert Kadlec.

931
00:34:28,302 --> 00:34:30,338
Dr. Kadlec is the Assistant Secretary for

932
00:34:30,338 --> 00:34:32,255
Preparedness and Response to the Department

933
00:34:32,255 --> 00:34:33,728
of Health and Human Services.

934
00:34:33,728 --> 00:34:35,263
Dr. Kadlec coordinates the department's medical

935
00:34:35,263 --> 00:34:38,096
assistance after a major disaster,

936
00:34:38,118 --> 00:34:40,478
including sending teams and medical profesionals

937
00:34:40,478 --> 00:34:41,787
to affected areas in working with

938
00:34:41,787 --> 00:34:44,120
local hospitals. Dr. Kadlec.

939
00:34:44,166 --> 00:34:46,187
- Thank you very much Chairman Johnson,

940
00:34:46,187 --> 00:34:47,669
Senator Carper and members of the committee.

941
00:34:47,669 --> 00:34:49,378
It is a privilege to appear before you to

942
00:34:49,378 --> 00:34:50,660
discuss our nation's medical and public

943
00:34:50,660 --> 00:34:54,243
health response as Director Long identified

944
00:34:54,799 --> 00:34:56,948
an unprecedented series of category four and

945
00:34:56,948 --> 00:34:58,696
five hurricanes that hit the US mainland

946
00:34:58,696 --> 00:35:01,446
and it's territories this season.

947
00:35:02,013 --> 00:35:04,083
HHS as well as our inter-agency partners:

948
00:35:04,083 --> 00:35:07,250
FEMA, DHS, VA and DOD have pushed many

949
00:35:07,596 --> 00:35:10,003
organizational and historical boundaries to

950
00:35:10,003 --> 00:35:11,739
save lives and support communities and people

951
00:35:11,739 --> 00:35:13,822
impacted by these storms.

952
00:35:14,544 --> 00:35:16,198
I fully recognize the regions in Puerto Rico

953
00:35:16,198 --> 00:35:18,419
and the Virgin Islands where people are still

954
00:35:18,419 --> 00:35:20,336
facing dire conditions.

955
00:35:21,231 --> 00:35:23,726
I saw the devastation first hand and can ensure

956
00:35:23,726 --> 00:35:26,743
you that HHS continues our response at

957
00:35:26,743 --> 00:35:29,265
110 percent effort and will continue to work

958
00:35:29,265 --> 00:35:31,622
as hard as we can until the conditions improve

959
00:35:31,622 --> 00:35:34,004
and we can bring people back to recovery.

960
00:35:34,004 --> 00:35:35,924
Since this is my first time testifying before

961
00:35:35,924 --> 00:35:37,417
this committee I'll just begin with a brief

962
00:35:37,417 --> 00:35:40,834
description of this position called ASPR.

963
00:35:41,164 --> 00:35:44,131
Sir, in response to your comments, Mr. Chairman,

964
00:35:44,131 --> 00:35:46,285
about Katrina, the ASPR was created almost

965
00:35:46,285 --> 00:35:49,069
11 years ago in response to Hurricane Katrina

966
00:35:49,069 --> 00:35:52,117
by the Pandemic and All Hazard Preparedness Act.

967
00:35:52,117 --> 00:35:52,950
It's objective was simple to create

968
00:35:52,950 --> 00:35:55,940
unity of command by consolidating all of

969
00:35:55,940 --> 00:35:56,801
HHS public health and

970
00:35:56,801 --> 00:35:59,416
medical preparedness and response functions

971
00:35:59,416 --> 00:36:00,833
under one person.

972
00:36:00,965 --> 00:36:03,171
I had the privilege of being the Staff Director of

973
00:36:03,171 --> 00:36:05,121
the Senate subcommittee that drafted

974
00:36:05,121 --> 00:36:06,538
this legislation.

975
00:36:06,999 --> 00:36:09,036
ASPR's mission is to save lives and protect

976
00:36:09,036 --> 00:36:11,324
America from health security threats.

977
00:36:11,324 --> 00:36:13,959
On behalf of HHS, ASPR leads public health and

978
00:36:13,959 --> 00:36:16,330
medical response to disasters and emergencies

979
00:36:16,330 --> 00:36:18,513
in accordance with national response framework

980
00:36:18,513 --> 00:36:20,669
and emergency support function number eight,

981
00:36:20,669 --> 00:36:22,528
which includes all our Federal partners

982
00:36:22,528 --> 00:36:25,335
which are here seated at this dius.

983
00:36:25,335 --> 00:36:27,009
Today the threats facing our country are

984
00:36:27,009 --> 00:36:30,092
increasingly diverse and more lethal.

985
00:36:30,182 --> 00:36:31,542
My main objective is to improve national

986
00:36:31,542 --> 00:36:33,061
readiness and response capabilities for

987
00:36:33,061 --> 00:36:35,144
the 21st century threats.

988
00:36:35,732 --> 00:36:38,971
I'm doing that through four key priority efforts:

989
00:36:38,971 --> 00:36:40,409
strong leadership,

990
00:36:40,409 --> 00:36:42,391
creating a national disaster healthcare system

991
00:36:42,391 --> 00:36:44,641
as director Long identified

992
00:36:45,159 --> 00:36:45,992
that is more resilient and

993
00:36:45,992 --> 00:36:47,296
capable to the challenges that we face

994
00:36:47,296 --> 00:36:48,463
in the future,

995
00:36:48,922 --> 00:36:51,139
sustain a robust and reliable health security

996
00:36:51,139 --> 00:36:54,349
capabilities that again reside at the state and local

997
00:36:54,349 --> 00:36:55,182
level, and again are the backbone of any response

998
00:36:55,182 --> 00:36:58,182
to any future disaster circumstance,

999
00:37:00,022 --> 00:37:01,266
and then lastly advance an

1000
00:37:01,266 --> 00:37:03,945
innovative medial counter-measure enterprise.

1001
00:37:03,945 --> 00:37:07,381
During hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate,

1002
00:37:07,381 --> 00:37:10,053
their severity and near simultaneity created

1003
00:37:10,053 --> 00:37:13,181
unique challenges, especially in Puerto Rico

1004
00:37:13,181 --> 00:37:16,744
where no place, no person, no life was untouched.

1005
00:37:16,744 --> 00:37:18,240
During my trip there I was overwhelmed by the

1006
00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:20,599
resilience of our fellow citizens who are making

1007
00:37:20,599 --> 00:37:23,681
due in an extraordinarily difficult situations

1008
00:37:23,681 --> 00:37:25,396
that have continued to improve over time

1009
00:37:25,396 --> 00:37:27,345
because of the extraordinary efforts of the

1010
00:37:27,345 --> 00:37:29,039
people and the people in the agencies

1011
00:37:29,039 --> 00:37:31,280
are represented here today.

1012
00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:33,152
Our response for strategy for health emergencies

1013
00:37:33,152 --> 00:37:34,784
have been three fold.

1014
00:37:34,784 --> 00:37:36,932
First save lives, principally through the

1015
00:37:36,932 --> 00:37:39,467
deployment of our disaster medical assistant teams.

1016
00:37:39,467 --> 00:37:42,415
You should be proud to know that I met with your

1017
00:37:42,415 --> 00:37:45,945
fellow citizens from your states during my trips

1018
00:37:45,945 --> 00:37:49,445
down to Florida, Texas, and to Puerto Rico

1019
00:37:49,881 --> 00:37:52,839
were folks from Oklahoma, from Wisconsin,

1020
00:37:52,839 --> 00:37:55,579
from Delaware and from New Hampshire were aiding

1021
00:37:55,579 --> 00:37:57,797
their fellow citizens first hand.

1022
00:37:57,797 --> 00:38:00,789
Second, is to stabilize the healthcare system,

1023
00:38:00,789 --> 00:38:04,122
ensuring with FEMA such a very important

1024
00:38:04,449 --> 00:38:08,055
activities such as uninterrupted fuel supplies,

1025
00:38:08,055 --> 00:38:09,782
portable water supplies, could be delivered

1026
00:38:09,782 --> 00:38:12,735
not only to hospitals but to dialysis clinics to

1027
00:38:12,735 --> 00:38:16,136
ensure that these vital systems stayed in place.

1028
00:38:16,136 --> 00:38:19,528
And lastly, is to restore healthcare services that

1029
00:38:19,528 --> 00:38:23,195
need to be recovered to pre-disaster levels.

1030
00:38:24,742 --> 00:38:27,760
In Puerto Rico, frankly we're still responding.

1031
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:29,512
In other areas recovery is underway.

1032
00:38:29,512 --> 00:38:31,809
In order to save lives, as I mentioned,

1033
00:38:31,809 --> 00:38:33,507
ASPR activated the National Disaster Medical

1034
00:38:33,507 --> 00:38:35,742
System and deployed more than 2,900 medical

1035
00:38:35,742 --> 00:38:38,155
personnel from 21 states and hundreds of other

1036
00:38:38,155 --> 00:38:40,932
federal employees, including US public health

1037
00:38:40,932 --> 00:38:43,555
service commission Corps personnel.

1038
00:38:43,555 --> 00:38:45,285
For each of these storms we deployed teams even

1039
00:38:45,285 --> 00:38:47,443
before the hurricanes made landfall,

1040
00:38:47,443 --> 00:38:49,972
so they were ready to respond immediately

1041
00:38:49,972 --> 00:38:51,657
once the storm passed.

1042
00:38:51,657 --> 00:38:53,349
In total we've cared for more than

1043
00:38:53,349 --> 00:38:54,990
22,000 patients in the affected states

1044
00:38:54,990 --> 00:38:58,448
and territories, 12,400 in Puerto Rico alone

1045
00:38:58,448 --> 00:39:00,844
and sent 950 tons of medical equipment and

1046
00:39:00,844 --> 00:39:03,448
supplies to these affected areas.

1047
00:39:03,448 --> 00:39:05,423
I'm happy to answer any questions you may have,

1048
00:39:05,423 --> 00:39:06,715
and thank you again for the opportunity

1049
00:39:06,715 --> 00:39:08,965
to appear before you today.

1050
00:39:09,324 --> 00:39:11,235
- Thank you Dr. Kadlec.

1051
00:39:11,235 --> 00:39:14,735
I'd like to start with Administrator Long.

1052
00:39:15,225 --> 00:39:19,392
Mr. Long you talked about (stutters)

1053
00:39:19,554 --> 00:39:21,279
you're in a real kinda danger zone

1054
00:39:21,279 --> 00:39:22,696
when FEMA is the,

1055
00:39:23,506 --> 00:39:25,878
in charge of the first responding.

1056
00:39:25,878 --> 00:39:28,628
When you're no longer subordinate

1057
00:39:29,116 --> 00:39:30,228
but you're leading the whole effort.

1058
00:39:30,228 --> 00:39:33,645
Can you just describe really how it's all

1059
00:39:33,756 --> 00:39:37,256
supposed to work and why that's a problem.

1060
00:39:37,323 --> 00:39:38,672
- Sure, so (clears throat).

1061
00:39:38,672 --> 00:39:40,787
If you look at the Stafford Act, the Stafford Act

1062
00:39:40,787 --> 00:39:44,073
is designed to support state and local efforts.

1063
00:39:44,073 --> 00:39:46,807
And the way disaster declarations work is that

1064
00:39:46,807 --> 00:39:48,396
when a local government's capacity has been

1065
00:39:48,396 --> 00:39:50,619
exceeded they call upon county-to-county mutual

1066
00:39:50,619 --> 00:39:52,817
aide first, or other mutual aide agreements to

1067
00:39:52,817 --> 00:39:54,443
see if they can mitigate the disaster

1068
00:39:54,443 --> 00:39:55,629
and the response.

1069
00:39:55,629 --> 00:39:57,629
If that's not an option,

1070
00:39:57,653 --> 00:39:58,490
or if that's not working

1071
00:39:58,490 --> 00:40:01,197
or the capacity has further been expanded,

1072
00:40:01,197 --> 00:40:02,765
then they'll call upon the state.

1073
00:40:02,765 --> 00:40:05,156
The governor will issue a state of emergency and

1074
00:40:05,156 --> 00:40:07,253
then the state will try to rectify as much as it

1075
00:40:07,253 --> 00:40:09,336
can the disaster at hand.

1076
00:40:09,352 --> 00:40:12,523
And then once that's been exhausted or the state

1077
00:40:12,523 --> 00:40:14,411
recognizes that it's beyond their capacity,

1078
00:40:14,411 --> 00:40:16,662
they call upon the federal government and we

1079
00:40:16,662 --> 00:40:18,162
begin to mobilize.

1080
00:40:18,708 --> 00:40:20,741
In many cases, you've seen the National Incident

1081
00:40:20,741 --> 00:40:23,233
Management System in the whole community work

1082
00:40:23,233 --> 00:40:25,295
and the successful model was in Texas,

1083
00:40:25,295 --> 00:40:26,320
it was in Florida,

1084
00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:28,507
and it's now in California.

1085
00:40:28,507 --> 00:40:30,652
While everything never runs as perfect,

1086
00:40:30,652 --> 00:40:34,485
for the most part it's operating as it should.

1087
00:40:35,289 --> 00:40:38,770
What we have to do in regards to Puerto Rico,

1088
00:40:38,770 --> 00:40:40,593
Virgin Islands and other island territories is

1089
00:40:40,593 --> 00:40:42,770
to ensure that they have management

1090
00:40:42,770 --> 00:40:44,258
infrastructure in place at both

1091
00:40:44,258 --> 00:40:45,688
the state and the local level,

1092
00:40:45,688 --> 00:40:48,538
and that we can also make sure that we have

1093
00:40:48,538 --> 00:40:50,624
survivable communications.

1094
00:40:50,624 --> 00:40:52,765
Any time we lose communications and completely

1095
00:40:52,765 --> 00:40:55,169
black out like we did in Puerto Rico,

1096
00:40:55,169 --> 00:40:57,830
it's hard to obtain situational awareness and

1097
00:40:57,830 --> 00:41:00,271
fully understand what the true response and

1098
00:41:00,271 --> 00:41:01,854
recovery needs are.

1099
00:41:01,931 --> 00:41:05,410
- Now, you've only been on the job for 132 days,

1100
00:41:05,410 --> 00:41:07,071
but I guess who's keeping track?

1101
00:41:07,071 --> 00:41:08,541
Apparently you are.

1102
00:41:08,541 --> 00:41:11,194
Um, but you've been involved in disaster

1103
00:41:11,194 --> 00:41:13,194
response for many years.

1104
00:41:14,893 --> 00:41:16,810
Has there been a shift,

1105
00:41:16,953 --> 00:41:18,250
I mean have we created moral hazard,

1106
00:41:18,250 --> 00:41:20,412
is there more growing reliance on the federal

1107
00:41:20,412 --> 00:41:24,042
government being that first responder and being

1108
00:41:24,042 --> 00:41:25,481
primarily responsible as opposed to

1109
00:41:25,481 --> 00:41:26,981
being subordinate?

1110
00:41:28,676 --> 00:41:30,135
- That's a great question.

1111
00:41:30,135 --> 00:41:31,686
I believe that would be in pockets, you know.

1112
00:41:31,686 --> 00:41:33,957
Some of the states they're very capable states

1113
00:41:33,957 --> 00:41:36,793
and then there's some states where I believe,

1114
00:41:36,793 --> 00:41:38,507
for example maybe we need to take a look at which

1115
00:41:38,507 --> 00:41:40,618
states actually have rainy day funds and actually

1116
00:41:40,618 --> 00:41:42,826
have mechanisms to be able to implement their own

1117
00:41:42,826 --> 00:41:45,753
individual and public assistance programs

1118
00:41:45,753 --> 00:41:49,602
when federal disaster assistance is not coming.

1119
00:41:49,602 --> 00:41:52,269
I also believe that many states,

1120
00:41:52,843 --> 00:41:54,343
or several states,

1121
00:41:54,391 --> 00:41:56,200
have their own ability to run life-saving

1122
00:41:56,200 --> 00:41:57,712
commodity capabilities.

1123
00:41:57,712 --> 00:41:59,647
They have the ability to handle the first 72 to

1124
00:41:59,647 --> 00:42:02,286
120 hours where other states have not addressed

1125
00:42:02,286 --> 00:42:05,286
those issues, or island territories.

1126
00:42:05,495 --> 00:42:06,987
And so I think we do have to go back and

1127
00:42:06,987 --> 00:42:09,701
you know, reestablish with our state and local

1128
00:42:09,701 --> 00:42:12,347
partners what is the baseline effort that should

1129
00:42:12,347 --> 00:42:14,150
be there and clearly put forward those

1130
00:42:14,150 --> 00:42:17,479
capabilities to make sure that we are prepared

1131
00:42:17,479 --> 00:42:18,562
to back fill.

1132
00:42:18,716 --> 00:42:20,962
One of the things I want to do is I want to

1133
00:42:20,962 --> 00:42:22,768
develop state integration teams.

1134
00:42:22,768 --> 00:42:25,117
I want to move beyond my regional offices that

1135
00:42:25,117 --> 00:42:28,393
I have and put full time staff in with the state

1136
00:42:28,393 --> 00:42:30,228
agencies and island territories to make sure

1137
00:42:30,228 --> 00:42:32,925
that we're truly doing real integrative planning

1138
00:42:32,925 --> 00:42:34,342
on a daily basis.

1139
00:42:34,347 --> 00:42:37,153
That FEMA is part of the conversation every day

1140
00:42:37,153 --> 00:42:39,986
so that we fully understand how to support all

1141
00:42:39,986 --> 00:42:42,986
governors when called upon directly.

1142
00:42:43,247 --> 00:42:45,577
- So that might be a pretty good action item here

1143
00:42:45,577 --> 00:42:47,173
is when you have time,

1144
00:42:47,173 --> 00:42:49,004
go back and really do a state by state,

1145
00:42:49,004 --> 00:42:51,069
territory by territory assessment in terms of

1146
00:42:51,069 --> 00:42:53,670
their emergency management system.

1147
00:42:53,670 --> 00:42:56,550
Whether it's finding the way it's prepared.

1148
00:42:56,550 --> 00:42:57,883
We'll note that.

1149
00:42:58,597 --> 00:43:01,180
Finally, as I left Puerto Rico,

1150
00:43:02,620 --> 00:43:04,003
to me it was just all about power, power

1151
00:43:04,003 --> 00:43:04,836
and power.

1152
00:43:05,422 --> 00:43:07,085
You've got a disaster,

1153
00:43:07,085 --> 00:43:09,506
you've got a crisis already but it will grow

1154
00:43:09,506 --> 00:43:10,589
if we don't establish power.

1155
00:43:10,589 --> 00:43:11,776
So I'd like to talk to,

1156
00:43:11,776 --> 00:43:13,868
ask the Administrator and also the general:

1157
00:43:13,868 --> 00:43:15,201
where are we at?

1158
00:43:15,347 --> 00:43:18,823
What are the prospects at reestablishing power?

1159
00:43:18,823 --> 00:43:20,656
What do we have to do?

1160
00:43:20,970 --> 00:43:22,828
- Sir right now I'm exercising under the

1161
00:43:22,828 --> 00:43:26,077
Stafford Act Emergency Authorities which is why

1162
00:43:26,077 --> 00:43:28,086
we mentioned signing the Army Corps of Engineers.

1163
00:43:28,086 --> 00:43:30,825
It was the right thing to do initially because

1164
00:43:30,825 --> 00:43:34,242
of the diminished capacity on the island.

1165
00:43:34,594 --> 00:43:36,823
They're mobilizing under emergency authorities

1166
00:43:36,823 --> 00:43:40,240
to rebuild the grid to US code standards.

1167
00:43:44,045 --> 00:43:45,659
The discussion that needs to be taken after that

1168
00:43:45,659 --> 00:43:46,509
is how do we build a power grid

1169
00:43:46,509 --> 00:43:47,543
that is resilient?

1170
00:43:47,543 --> 00:43:49,804
That's going to require authorities far greater

1171
00:43:49,804 --> 00:43:53,304
than the Stafford Act to forge me at FEMA.

1172
00:43:53,565 --> 00:43:55,942
Typically what we have to do is restore to a

1173
00:43:55,942 --> 00:43:57,923
pre-disaster condition but obviously that is not

1174
00:43:57,923 --> 00:44:00,538
optimal and not the way I would ever recommend

1175
00:44:00,538 --> 00:44:01,994
this country to go.

1176
00:44:01,994 --> 00:44:04,819
We do no want to be back in this situation again

1177
00:44:04,819 --> 00:44:07,343
after having this disaster and an opportunity

1178
00:44:07,343 --> 00:44:08,522
to change is so I'll

1179
00:44:08,522 --> 00:44:11,189
turn it over to General Johnson.

1180
00:44:12,421 --> 00:44:14,524
- Mr. Chairman, first of all,

1181
00:44:14,524 --> 00:44:16,558
I think the grid today is slightly over

1182
00:44:16,558 --> 00:44:19,069
33 percent restored based upon the basic load

1183
00:44:19,069 --> 00:44:20,830
that it had before the storm.

1184
00:44:20,830 --> 00:44:22,189
So there's incremental progress

1185
00:44:22,189 --> 00:44:23,689
that's being made.

1186
00:44:24,378 --> 00:44:26,793
So the line repair and the restoration activities

1187
00:44:26,793 --> 00:44:27,890
that have been done up to this point have been

1188
00:44:27,890 --> 00:44:29,057
done by PREPA,

1189
00:44:29,077 --> 00:44:31,568
and the Corps of Engineers has done a few things

1190
00:44:31,568 --> 00:44:33,894
in terms of getting personnel on the ground.

1191
00:44:33,894 --> 00:44:37,477
We installed a 50 megawatt generator at the

1192
00:44:38,567 --> 00:44:41,122
Palacio plant just within the last week that

1193
00:44:41,122 --> 00:44:44,136
helped to stabilize the grid in the greater

1194
00:44:44,136 --> 00:44:45,768
San Juan area and it added about 40 megawatts

1195
00:44:45,768 --> 00:44:48,267
to the system today and yesterday which has been

1196
00:44:48,267 --> 00:44:51,017
very helpful in upping the power.

1197
00:44:51,319 --> 00:44:53,333
We're approaching this in a number of

1198
00:44:53,333 --> 00:44:54,577
different ways.

1199
00:44:54,577 --> 00:44:56,397
First of all the normal authorities that the Corps

1200
00:44:56,397 --> 00:44:59,584
of engineers have under the Stafford Act or ESF3,

1201
00:44:59,584 --> 00:45:00,989
temporary emergency power

1202
00:45:00,989 --> 00:45:02,745
which are generator installations.

1203
00:45:02,745 --> 00:45:04,982
So what we've done typically is we will come into

1204
00:45:04,982 --> 00:45:07,040
an affected area, we will install the generators

1205
00:45:07,040 --> 00:45:09,525
and then we will take them out as the power grid

1206
00:45:09,525 --> 00:45:12,125
comes up and the power grid restoration activity

1207
00:45:12,125 --> 00:45:15,779
is usually handled by the local public utility

1208
00:45:15,779 --> 00:45:18,007
and sometimes augmented by other capabilities

1209
00:45:18,007 --> 00:45:19,507
outside the state.

1210
00:45:19,601 --> 00:45:22,348
In this particular case, PREPA chose not to

1211
00:45:22,348 --> 00:45:24,972
activate the type of normal arrangements that are

1212
00:45:24,972 --> 00:45:27,746
used by the Public Utilities Association,

1213
00:45:27,746 --> 00:45:30,404
and so FEMA turned to the Corps of Engineers to

1214
00:45:30,404 --> 00:45:32,487
help PREPA with the grid,

1215
00:45:33,118 --> 00:45:36,285
the restoration of the grid based upon

1216
00:45:36,322 --> 00:45:37,718
the emergencies that it created.

1217
00:45:37,718 --> 00:45:39,532
So what we've done up to this point in order

1218
00:45:39,532 --> 00:45:42,381
to do that is to continue our ESF3 contemporary

1219
00:45:42,381 --> 00:45:44,964
generator installation mission.

1220
00:45:45,459 --> 00:45:47,943
We're almost at 400 temporary generator

1221
00:45:47,943 --> 00:45:49,843
installations at this point today.

1222
00:45:49,843 --> 00:45:52,316
And those generator sizes range from

1223
00:45:52,316 --> 00:45:54,220
40 kilowatt all the way up to

1224
00:45:54,220 --> 00:45:58,137
one point five megawatt and those get installed

1225
00:45:58,269 --> 00:45:59,242
at critical facilities that are prioritized

1226
00:45:59,242 --> 00:46:01,909
by FEMA and by the Commonwealth.

1227
00:46:02,023 --> 00:46:04,770
And that's typically hospitals, water,

1228
00:46:04,770 --> 00:46:06,599
waste water treatment facilities,

1229
00:46:06,599 --> 00:46:08,333
communications platforms, schools

1230
00:46:08,333 --> 00:46:09,750
and other places.

1231
00:46:09,887 --> 00:46:12,271
And we will continue to do that as the,

1232
00:46:12,271 --> 00:46:15,521
as the grid continues to come together.

1233
00:46:17,867 --> 00:46:20,154
We've also worked very closely with PREPA.

1234
00:46:20,154 --> 00:46:21,699
And again just to remind everyone we got this

1235
00:46:21,699 --> 00:46:23,397
mission assignment on the 30th of September

1236
00:46:23,397 --> 00:46:25,606
to do the grid restoration in Puerto Rico

1237
00:46:25,606 --> 00:46:27,439
so we've been doing emergency temporary power

1238
00:46:27,439 --> 00:46:30,221
since Irma hit on the sixth of September.

1239
00:46:30,221 --> 00:46:31,912
So that mission started then,

1240
00:46:31,912 --> 00:46:33,819
and we've gradually increased our capability

1241
00:46:33,819 --> 00:46:35,321
to do more and will continue to do so

1242
00:46:35,321 --> 00:46:37,154
as long as we need to.

1243
00:46:37,957 --> 00:46:41,624
We awarded contract to award the 50 megawatt

1244
00:46:41,639 --> 00:46:44,305
generator to help stabilize the load in San Juan

1245
00:46:44,305 --> 00:46:46,805
and get more people power more quickly.

1246
00:46:46,805 --> 00:46:48,697
Since the 30th of September we've also worked

1247
00:46:48,697 --> 00:46:51,252
very closely with PREPA to get an understanding

1248
00:46:51,252 --> 00:46:54,316
of what material they needed to do this grid

1249
00:46:54,316 --> 00:46:55,170
repair mission.

1250
00:46:55,170 --> 00:46:57,837
If you can, and that's been a very arduous effort

1251
00:46:57,837 --> 00:46:59,861
because PREPA didn't have a real good handle or

1252
00:46:59,861 --> 00:47:01,849
understanding of what they had in their lay-down

1253
00:47:01,849 --> 00:47:04,820
yard so we had to go physically from place to

1254
00:47:04,820 --> 00:47:06,669
place to count how many poles they had,

1255
00:47:06,669 --> 00:47:08,038
how many spools of wire, transformers

1256
00:47:08,038 --> 00:47:09,121
and the like.

1257
00:47:09,315 --> 00:47:10,148
Which we've done that,

1258
00:47:10,148 --> 00:47:11,719
we've placed things on order,

1259
00:47:11,719 --> 00:47:13,936
and we've worked very hard through multiple

1260
00:47:13,936 --> 00:47:16,500
venues to get the material moving toward

1261
00:47:16,500 --> 00:47:18,282
Puerto Rico and that's happening as we speak

1262
00:47:18,282 --> 00:47:19,115
today.

1263
00:47:19,148 --> 00:47:21,027
We also went through the process of

1264
00:47:21,027 --> 00:47:22,610
awarding contracts.

1265
00:47:22,999 --> 00:47:26,061
We are unable to enter in the mutual assistance

1266
00:47:26,061 --> 00:47:28,717
agreements like the public utility could.

1267
00:47:28,717 --> 00:47:31,597
So a mutual assistance agreement that's

1268
00:47:31,597 --> 00:47:33,917
entered into by public utility is very similar

1269
00:47:33,917 --> 00:47:35,224
to what we award for our debris,

1270
00:47:35,224 --> 00:47:37,008
our temporary emergency power contracts.

1271
00:47:37,008 --> 00:47:38,989
They're on the shelf, ready to award.

1272
00:47:38,989 --> 00:47:41,213
They can be awarded right away.

1273
00:47:41,213 --> 00:47:42,945
For the contracts that we've awarded to prime

1274
00:47:42,945 --> 00:47:45,731
vendors at floor and also power secure,

1275
00:47:45,731 --> 00:47:48,122
we've had to go through a competition process

1276
00:47:48,122 --> 00:47:49,915
in accordance with the Federal Acquisition

1277
00:47:49,915 --> 00:47:52,185
Regulation to award contracts,

1278
00:47:52,185 --> 00:47:53,800
and we've done that.

1279
00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:57,550
We've got today 150 contractors on the ground

1280
00:47:57,807 --> 00:48:00,749
aside from the 450 Corps of Engineer employees

1281
00:48:00,749 --> 00:48:02,132
that are dedicated to the power mission on the

1282
00:48:02,132 --> 00:48:03,215
ground today.

1283
00:48:03,790 --> 00:48:05,556
By the end of the weekend those numbers will

1284
00:48:05,556 --> 00:48:07,723
rise up about another 500,

1285
00:48:07,830 --> 00:48:09,822
and by the middle of November we should have

1286
00:48:09,822 --> 00:48:12,157
about 1,000 people on the ground.

1287
00:48:12,157 --> 00:48:13,366
So we're moving very fast,

1288
00:48:13,366 --> 00:48:14,471
to mobilize the line crews

1289
00:48:14,471 --> 00:48:17,109
that we need to continue the effort and support

1290
00:48:17,109 --> 00:48:17,942
of PREPA.

1291
00:48:18,275 --> 00:48:20,554
There are milestones that we've been given by

1292
00:48:20,554 --> 00:48:22,090
the administration initially,

1293
00:48:22,090 --> 00:48:24,041
were 30 percent by the end of October which

1294
00:48:24,041 --> 00:48:25,374
we're there now.

1295
00:48:25,593 --> 00:48:27,474
I'm thankful in part to a lot of the hard work

1296
00:48:27,474 --> 00:48:28,870
that PREPA's doing and our next goal is

1297
00:48:28,870 --> 00:48:32,020
50 percent of pre-storm load by the end of

1298
00:48:32,020 --> 00:48:34,772
November and that's the goal that we're shooting

1299
00:48:34,772 --> 00:48:35,939
for right now.

1300
00:48:36,422 --> 00:48:37,255
- Thank you General Jackson.

1301
00:48:37,255 --> 00:48:39,373
By the way, let's go seven minute rounds.

1302
00:48:39,373 --> 00:48:40,999
I know there's a request for two rounds

1303
00:48:40,999 --> 00:48:43,566
which we can do if people stick around.

1304
00:48:43,566 --> 00:48:45,192
All that said, be mindful of time.

1305
00:48:45,192 --> 00:48:46,386
Senator Carper.

1306
00:48:46,386 --> 00:48:48,208
- Thank you, thank you very much for

1307
00:48:48,208 --> 00:48:49,865
your testimony and all you had to offer.

1308
00:48:49,865 --> 00:48:52,306
My wife, Mr. Long, is a graduate of

1309
00:48:52,306 --> 00:48:53,505
Appalachian State University.

1310
00:48:53,505 --> 00:48:55,076
Her dad taught there, math and physics,

1311
00:48:55,076 --> 00:48:56,159
for 40 years.

1312
00:48:56,185 --> 00:48:57,429
As I recall you went to undergraduate and

1313
00:48:57,429 --> 00:49:00,290
graduate school at Appalachian State University.

1314
00:49:00,290 --> 00:49:01,544
She asked me to tell you the Mountaineers are

1315
00:49:01,544 --> 00:49:04,416
proud of you and I recall meeting your wife and

1316
00:49:04,416 --> 00:49:06,898
I think your children at your confirmation

1317
00:49:06,898 --> 00:49:09,677
hearing, and to your family and to the families

1318
00:49:09,677 --> 00:49:12,597
of everyone who each of you represent.

1319
00:49:12,597 --> 00:49:14,959
Whether you happen to be in FEMA or part of

1320
00:49:14,959 --> 00:49:17,542
Army Corps or the Health folks,

1321
00:49:17,731 --> 00:49:21,648
I just want to really convey our thanks to them

1322
00:49:21,650 --> 00:49:22,997
for the support they've provided for their loved

1323
00:49:22,997 --> 00:49:26,602
ones to enable to help people in dire straits.

1324
00:49:26,602 --> 00:49:29,769
I wanna stay with the issue of energy.

1325
00:49:29,973 --> 00:49:31,560
I'm gonna stick with energy.

1326
00:49:31,560 --> 00:49:33,750
Recovering governor thought a lot about

1327
00:49:33,750 --> 00:49:35,904
how to provide nurturing environment for job

1328
00:49:35,904 --> 00:49:38,154
creation, job preservation,

1329
00:49:38,929 --> 00:49:39,866
and energy is a big part of that.

1330
00:49:39,866 --> 00:49:41,745
Affordable energy, reliable, dependable energy

1331
00:49:41,745 --> 00:49:43,412
a huge part of that.

1332
00:49:43,694 --> 00:49:45,048
And they don't have affordable energy in Puerto

1333
00:49:45,048 --> 00:49:46,418
Rico, they didn't have it before,

1334
00:49:46,418 --> 00:49:47,646
and obviously they don't have reliable or

1335
00:49:47,646 --> 00:49:49,415
dependable energy today.

1336
00:49:49,415 --> 00:49:50,879
And I said earlier that in adversity

1337
00:49:50,879 --> 00:49:52,296
lies opportunity.

1338
00:49:52,330 --> 00:49:54,829
And my conversation with the governor yesterday

1339
00:49:54,829 --> 00:49:58,829
of Puerto Rico where talked about this situation

1340
00:49:59,058 --> 00:50:00,689
they have now where the power's generated in the

1341
00:50:00,689 --> 00:50:01,522
South of the island,

1342
00:50:01,522 --> 00:50:02,906
most of the people live in the North.

1343
00:50:02,906 --> 00:50:05,234
They use mostly diesel to power,

1344
00:50:05,234 --> 00:50:07,934
they provide power for the electric grid.

1345
00:50:07,934 --> 00:50:10,196
The electric grid's badly damaged and

1346
00:50:10,196 --> 00:50:11,903
they still have this reliance on oil.

1347
00:50:11,903 --> 00:50:15,236
A lot of which comes from South America.

1348
00:50:16,054 --> 00:50:19,471
A great, uh, when I look around the world

1349
00:50:20,282 --> 00:50:23,699
one of the smart energy programs involves

1350
00:50:25,856 --> 00:50:28,299
natural gas where it's cheap and to supplement

1351
00:50:28,299 --> 00:50:30,049
that with renewables.

1352
00:50:30,623 --> 00:50:31,456
And when the renewables,

1353
00:50:31,456 --> 00:50:32,320
when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't

1354
00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:34,302
shine, bring up the natural gas

1355
00:50:34,302 --> 00:50:36,117
and provide the electricity in a cost-effective,

1356
00:50:36,117 --> 00:50:38,849
cleaner way than we would get from a diesel or

1357
00:50:38,849 --> 00:50:40,432
other fossil fuels.

1358
00:50:41,506 --> 00:50:42,839
Let me just ask,

1359
00:50:43,448 --> 00:50:45,397
and I said earlier the governor said to me

1360
00:50:45,397 --> 00:50:48,136
yesterday, eventually wants to move to increase

1361
00:50:48,136 --> 00:50:51,272
their dependency to renewable forms of energy to

1362
00:50:51,272 --> 00:50:53,747
as much as 30 percent, that's his goal.

1363
00:50:53,747 --> 00:50:55,997
(stutters)

1364
00:50:56,036 --> 00:50:57,178
And let me say, I embrace his goal.

1365
00:50:57,178 --> 00:50:58,137
I embrace his goal.

1366
00:50:58,137 --> 00:50:59,168
How do we make this happen and

1367
00:50:59,168 --> 00:51:01,918
how can we help make this happen?

1368
00:51:02,318 --> 00:51:04,856
- I'll take a shot at that first.

1369
00:51:04,856 --> 00:51:05,928
Again, my authorities are limited to

1370
00:51:05,928 --> 00:51:07,345
the Stafford Act.

1371
00:51:08,231 --> 00:51:10,202
And one of the issues that we're coming into is,

1372
00:51:10,202 --> 00:51:11,838
and one of the issues that the Army Corps

1373
00:51:11,838 --> 00:51:14,703
is facing is that we recognize that the age of

1374
00:51:14,703 --> 00:51:16,488
the infrastructure on Puerto Rico,

1375
00:51:16,488 --> 00:51:18,494
I believe the power plants was close to over

1376
00:51:18,494 --> 00:51:20,327
40 years, average age.

1377
00:51:20,874 --> 00:51:22,728
Worldwide the average age of power plants is

1378
00:51:22,728 --> 00:51:23,978
about 18 years.

1379
00:51:24,086 --> 00:51:27,322
So there's a big discrepancy there and in many

1380
00:51:27,322 --> 00:51:29,952
cases I think what we're running into in the

1381
00:51:29,952 --> 00:51:32,719
complexities is some deferred maintenance issues

1382
00:51:32,719 --> 00:51:34,569
and different things and so,

1383
00:51:34,569 --> 00:51:36,179
if you put all of that aside,

1384
00:51:36,179 --> 00:51:37,370
what I have the authority to do under

1385
00:51:37,370 --> 00:51:40,315
the Emergency Central Services is basically

1386
00:51:40,315 --> 00:51:42,568
to get the power back up and running to prevent

1387
00:51:42,568 --> 00:51:45,499
further loss of life and public health events

1388
00:51:45,499 --> 00:51:46,749
from occurring.

1389
00:51:46,830 --> 00:51:50,122
In regards to building innovative, more energy

1390
00:51:50,122 --> 00:51:51,789
efficient, you know.

1391
00:51:52,547 --> 00:51:53,587
- [Sen. Carper] And I might add more resilient.

1392
00:51:53,587 --> 00:51:54,420
More resilient.

1393
00:51:54,420 --> 00:51:56,059
- Resilient, you know definitely more resilient.

1394
00:51:56,059 --> 00:51:57,189
I think we all agree that that's what,

1395
00:51:57,189 --> 00:51:59,137
that's probably what's needed,

1396
00:51:59,137 --> 00:52:01,442
but the authority for me to spend tax-paying

1397
00:52:01,442 --> 00:52:03,989
dollars to do that I'm not so sure that I have.

1398
00:52:03,989 --> 00:52:05,274
And that's something that I would ask

1399
00:52:05,274 --> 00:52:08,024
this committee to take a look at.

1400
00:52:09,086 --> 00:52:09,919
- General.

1401
00:52:11,024 --> 00:52:11,949
- Yeah, thank you Senator.

1402
00:52:11,949 --> 00:52:12,782
Just a couple of things.

1403
00:52:12,782 --> 00:52:14,696
Everything that you said was right about the

1404
00:52:14,696 --> 00:52:17,340
preponderance of the power generation being.

1405
00:52:17,340 --> 00:52:19,038
- I note to say I rarely say everything right.

1406
00:52:19,038 --> 00:52:19,896
(laughing)

1407
00:52:19,896 --> 00:52:20,987
A special day.

1408
00:52:20,987 --> 00:52:22,813
- Most of the power generation is on the Southern

1409
00:52:22,813 --> 00:52:24,249
part of the island and most of the population

1410
00:52:24,249 --> 00:52:25,593
densities are on the North so those,

1411
00:52:25,593 --> 00:52:27,989
those North South transmission lines are critical.

1412
00:52:27,989 --> 00:52:30,698
About half the power plants that are on

1413
00:52:30,698 --> 00:52:33,031
Puerto Rico are fossil fuel,

1414
00:52:33,725 --> 00:52:35,165
the other half are a combination of wind

1415
00:52:35,165 --> 00:52:35,998
and solar.

1416
00:52:37,026 --> 00:52:39,176
The Department of Energy has taken a hard look

1417
00:52:39,176 --> 00:52:41,509
at that, you know, just for,

1418
00:52:42,674 --> 00:52:45,192
what they have on the island right now produces,

1419
00:52:45,192 --> 00:52:47,134
or is supposed to produce about 5,200 megawatts

1420
00:52:47,134 --> 00:52:47,967
of power.

1421
00:52:47,970 --> 00:52:50,124
They really only use about half that.

1422
00:52:50,124 --> 00:52:53,526
So there's a lot of room for, uh, for uh,

1423
00:52:53,526 --> 00:52:55,991
some, addressing maybe less power plants,

1424
00:52:55,991 --> 00:52:58,035
more efficient that produce the right amount of

1425
00:52:58,035 --> 00:52:59,267
power with the right amount of,

1426
00:52:59,267 --> 00:53:02,449
the right type of fuel to service the requirement

1427
00:53:02,449 --> 00:53:04,388
that exists on the island today.

1428
00:53:04,388 --> 00:53:06,275
And the Department of Energy has been thinking

1429
00:53:06,275 --> 00:53:08,856
about that and they've been looking at that,

1430
00:53:08,856 --> 00:53:11,181
and they've been working very closely I think

1431
00:53:11,181 --> 00:53:13,311
with PREPA to help understand what some of

1432
00:53:13,311 --> 00:53:14,851
their challenges are.

1433
00:53:14,851 --> 00:53:16,278
To make recommendations to the administration and

1434
00:53:16,278 --> 00:53:18,498
to Congress on things like what type of,

1435
00:53:18,498 --> 00:53:20,497
how much load do they really need?

1436
00:53:20,497 --> 00:53:21,802
And how much redundancy do they need

1437
00:53:21,802 --> 00:53:22,635
in the system?

1438
00:53:22,635 --> 00:53:24,944
And how do they build additional capabilities to

1439
00:53:24,944 --> 00:53:26,948
balance that load across all the demands in

1440
00:53:26,948 --> 00:53:27,865
the system?

1441
00:53:28,571 --> 00:53:31,772
How do they modernize the system to include the

1442
00:53:31,772 --> 00:53:33,912
hardening of the system to improve resilience?

1443
00:53:33,912 --> 00:53:34,745
These are things that the Department of

1444
00:53:34,745 --> 00:53:37,456
Energy had ideas on and that they've shared with

1445
00:53:37,456 --> 00:53:40,043
me that I know that they are working up as part

1446
00:53:40,043 --> 00:53:42,478
of a, I think it's a FEMA report that we have

1447
00:53:42,478 --> 00:53:46,145
some recommendations on maybe the long term,

1448
00:53:46,176 --> 00:53:48,857
what a long term solution might be for power

1449
00:53:48,857 --> 00:53:49,690
and other things.

1450
00:53:49,690 --> 00:53:51,233
So DOE is really looking at that hard,

1451
00:53:51,233 --> 00:53:52,648
they've got some real smart guys that are

1452
00:53:52,648 --> 00:53:54,147
there on the ground with us,

1453
00:53:54,147 --> 00:53:56,964
going through the work that we're doing

1454
00:53:56,964 --> 00:53:59,546
to help guide us and make sure we're doing the

1455
00:53:59,546 --> 00:54:00,379
right things.

1456
00:54:00,379 --> 00:54:01,749
But ultimately they're also looking at

1457
00:54:01,749 --> 00:54:04,307
what's the right way ahead for the future of

1458
00:54:04,307 --> 00:54:05,852
Puerto Rico so they can make those informed

1459
00:54:05,852 --> 00:54:08,049
recommendations to the leadership.

1460
00:54:08,049 --> 00:54:09,236
- Yeah you mentioned DOE has some really

1461
00:54:09,236 --> 00:54:10,585
smart guys on the ground, they're,

1462
00:54:10,585 --> 00:54:12,858
or we'd like, my staff and I, would like to be

1463
00:54:12,858 --> 00:54:14,956
able to reach out to them and to talk with them.

1464
00:54:14,956 --> 00:54:16,179
And for the record, we're gonna ask you to

1465
00:54:16,179 --> 00:54:18,880
provide those ASAP, the contact information

1466
00:54:18,880 --> 00:54:19,813
for those folks.
- Yes sir, I will.

1467
00:54:19,813 --> 00:54:21,798
- That would be great. Thank you.

1468
00:54:21,798 --> 00:54:24,381
I, um, and usually it takes uh,

1469
00:54:24,689 --> 00:54:27,164
weeks if not months for a full assessment of

1470
00:54:27,164 --> 00:54:29,920
damages to be made, an estimate of the total cost

1471
00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:30,837
to rebuild.

1472
00:54:31,524 --> 00:54:33,188
The reason I ask really for,

1473
00:54:33,188 --> 00:54:34,704
I guess for everybody.

1474
00:54:34,704 --> 00:54:37,791
How far along are you in the process for Texas,

1475
00:54:37,791 --> 00:54:39,638
for Florida, Puerto Rico

1476
00:54:39,638 --> 00:54:41,805
and the US Virgin Islands?

1477
00:54:41,901 --> 00:54:44,049
When do you expect those complete assessments

1478
00:54:44,049 --> 00:54:45,799
of needs to be ready?

1479
00:54:47,204 --> 00:54:48,553
We're expecting a third supplemental

1480
00:54:48,553 --> 00:54:50,771
appropriations bill but will the administration

1481
00:54:50,771 --> 00:54:53,032
be making additional emergency supplemental

1482
00:54:53,032 --> 00:54:55,114
requests to assist those communities as

1483
00:54:55,114 --> 00:54:57,930
further assessments are completed?

1484
00:54:57,930 --> 00:54:59,553
- Well first of all I wanna thank,

1485
00:54:59,553 --> 00:55:02,912
I wanna thank the senate and the house for

1486
00:55:02,912 --> 00:55:05,011
responding very quickly to every request for

1487
00:55:05,011 --> 00:55:06,441
emergency supplementals.

1488
00:55:06,441 --> 00:55:07,987
I know that my guys have been working

1489
00:55:07,987 --> 00:55:09,522
around the clock to make sure that you guys

1490
00:55:09,522 --> 00:55:12,929
stay informed of when we believe that we're

1491
00:55:12,929 --> 00:55:15,047
bumping up and running out of disaster relief

1492
00:55:15,047 --> 00:55:17,203
funds so I truly do appreciate it.

1493
00:55:17,203 --> 00:55:18,478
We've asked for three supplementals,

1494
00:55:18,478 --> 00:55:21,895
if I remember correctly, this year alone.

1495
00:55:23,117 --> 00:55:26,309
In regards to where the Virgin Islands all

1496
00:55:26,309 --> 00:55:27,374
the way to California,

1497
00:55:27,374 --> 00:55:29,970
each one of these states or island territories

1498
00:55:29,970 --> 00:55:30,979
is in different,

1499
00:55:30,979 --> 00:55:32,551
in different stages of the recovery.

1500
00:55:32,551 --> 00:55:34,428
But each one of these is going to be a tremendous

1501
00:55:34,428 --> 00:55:35,794
long, long recovery,

1502
00:55:35,794 --> 00:55:38,554
it's gonna be a long haul for each one.

1503
00:55:38,554 --> 00:55:42,053
For example Texas and Florida are obviously

1504
00:55:42,053 --> 00:55:43,430
still debate, you know,

1505
00:55:43,430 --> 00:55:45,666
focused on recovery housing and making sure that

1506
00:55:45,666 --> 00:55:49,583
we provide people with the proper place to stay

1507
00:55:50,622 --> 00:55:53,539
as the rebuilding begins as well as

1508
00:55:53,689 --> 00:55:54,939
debris removal.

1509
00:55:55,157 --> 00:55:57,807
California is in the same boat as well but,

1510
00:55:57,807 --> 00:55:59,491
um, there's still some sensitivities in the

1511
00:55:59,491 --> 00:56:01,658
state of California as to,

1512
00:56:01,737 --> 00:56:05,054
when it comes to hazardous materials associated

1513
00:56:05,054 --> 00:56:09,137
with the debris, but also with um, with rainfall.

1514
00:56:09,306 --> 00:56:12,195
When you've burned off the vegetation making sure

1515
00:56:12,195 --> 00:56:16,028
that we mitigate against watershed issues that

1516
00:56:16,070 --> 00:56:17,935
come into play as well.

1517
00:56:17,935 --> 00:56:20,140
So everybody's in different stages but

1518
00:56:20,140 --> 00:56:22,286
the long term recovery is going to be long.

1519
00:56:22,286 --> 00:56:23,782
I don't think we have a good handle on the

1520
00:56:23,782 --> 00:56:25,947
total cost of this but you can rest assured that

1521
00:56:25,947 --> 00:56:28,030
my guys will be in touch,

1522
00:56:29,218 --> 00:56:30,884
you know with your staff members to,

1523
00:56:30,884 --> 00:56:33,020
to make sure that we don't fumble the ball

1524
00:56:33,020 --> 00:56:35,188
when it comes to disaster recovery.

1525
00:56:35,188 --> 00:56:37,236
And we will do our best to also take care of

1526
00:56:37,236 --> 00:56:38,069
tax paying dollars

1527
00:56:38,069 --> 00:56:38,902
every day.
- Thank you.

1528
00:56:38,902 --> 00:56:39,735
Thank you.

1529
00:56:39,735 --> 00:56:40,646
If I can ask the other witnesses to briefly

1530
00:56:40,646 --> 00:56:42,701
respond to the same question, please.

1531
00:56:42,701 --> 00:56:43,534
Thank you.

1532
00:56:45,362 --> 00:56:47,529
- I don't, look, go ahead.

1533
00:56:53,702 --> 00:56:55,802
- Senator we're continuing, as far as,

1534
00:56:55,802 --> 00:56:57,615
I'll only comment on the power grid

1535
00:56:57,615 --> 00:56:58,948
for Puerto Rico.

1536
00:56:59,150 --> 00:57:01,480
So we're still assessing the damages.

1537
00:57:01,480 --> 00:57:04,230
We got initial reports from PREPA

1538
00:57:04,625 --> 00:57:06,381
when we first were given the mission assignment

1539
00:57:06,381 --> 00:57:09,330
and we found that the damages weren't necessarily

1540
00:57:09,330 --> 00:57:11,704
as great as they originally reported.

1541
00:57:11,704 --> 00:57:14,434
But what we have to do is put people on lines

1542
00:57:14,434 --> 00:57:16,107
and make sure that, you know, just because the

1543
00:57:16,107 --> 00:57:17,529
line's not laying on the ground doesn't mean

1544
00:57:17,529 --> 00:57:18,467
it's operable.

1545
00:57:18,467 --> 00:57:20,562
So we're in the process of doing that now

1546
00:57:20,562 --> 00:57:23,012
and we'll probably be doing that as we do the

1547
00:57:23,012 --> 00:57:26,261
repairs for the next several weeks and we will

1548
00:57:26,261 --> 00:57:27,094
be able to put together I think

1549
00:57:27,094 --> 00:57:28,618
a much better assessment

1550
00:57:28,618 --> 00:57:31,222
on what the overall cost to repair the grid to

1551
00:57:31,222 --> 00:57:33,907
the standard that we're seeking under the

1552
00:57:33,907 --> 00:57:36,657
Stafford Act in very short order.

1553
00:57:36,823 --> 00:57:38,007
- Alright, I'm gonna ask questions

1554
00:57:38,007 --> 00:57:38,840
for the record.

1555
00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:40,618
I'm gonna re-ask the same question and ask you

1556
00:57:40,618 --> 00:57:41,922
and your staff to respond to that question,

1557
00:57:41,922 --> 00:57:42,755
alright.

1558
00:57:42,755 --> 00:57:44,148
Thanks, thanks very much.

1559
00:57:44,148 --> 00:57:46,445
- Again really appreciate number of members here.

1560
00:57:46,445 --> 00:57:48,358
I bumped the question up to seven minutes and I

1561
00:57:48,358 --> 00:57:50,624
want members and witnesses to stay within

1562
00:57:50,624 --> 00:57:52,676
that seven minutes as close as possible

1563
00:57:52,676 --> 00:57:54,758
just out of respect of everybody.

1564
00:57:54,758 --> 00:57:55,698
Senator Tester.

1565
00:57:55,698 --> 00:57:58,615
- Will do. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

1566
00:57:58,976 --> 00:58:00,277
First of all I'll just tell you I appreciate

1567
00:58:00,277 --> 00:58:03,348
this document, I appreciate it a lot.

1568
00:58:03,348 --> 00:58:05,898
I think that this is an instructive piece

1569
00:58:05,898 --> 00:58:07,127
of information.

1570
00:58:07,127 --> 00:58:10,176
And it's instructive because what it tells me

1571
00:58:10,176 --> 00:58:13,759
is that we're gonna continue down this road

1572
00:58:13,785 --> 00:58:16,952
until we start looking at root causes.

1573
00:58:17,738 --> 00:58:19,994
And I know we never ever want to accept the fact,

1574
00:58:19,994 --> 00:58:23,234
'cause it is a bit uncomfortable with what we do

1575
00:58:23,234 --> 00:58:24,561
with a changing climate,

1576
00:58:24,561 --> 00:58:27,052
B when we have towns evacuated in Montana in the

1577
00:58:27,052 --> 00:58:29,885
middle of October due to wildfire,

1578
00:58:30,351 --> 00:58:32,532
we got some major things Mother Nature's

1579
00:58:32,532 --> 00:58:34,315
telling us and if we don't address it,

1580
00:58:34,315 --> 00:58:36,461
we're really not doing our physical fiduciary

1581
00:58:36,461 --> 00:58:37,711
responsibility.

1582
00:58:40,198 --> 00:58:41,863
First of all I want to start out by saying

1583
00:58:41,863 --> 00:58:44,367
Brock Long, I think you're doing a great job.

1584
00:58:44,367 --> 00:58:48,117
Um, you came in under difficult circumstances

1585
00:58:48,154 --> 00:58:50,572
and getting pounded and pounded and pounded,

1586
00:58:50,572 --> 00:58:52,673
and I think you've really put your shoulder

1587
00:58:52,673 --> 00:58:54,752
to the wheel and worked as hard as you could

1588
00:58:54,752 --> 00:58:56,699
in a very difficult situation,

1589
00:58:56,699 --> 00:58:59,447
so I wanna express my appreciation.

1590
00:58:59,447 --> 00:59:00,921
A couple things in your testimony you talked

1591
00:59:00,921 --> 00:59:03,838
about three point five cubic yards,

1592
00:59:03,971 --> 00:59:05,690
or was that million cubic yards of debris

1593
00:59:05,690 --> 00:59:06,721
on Puerto Rico?

1594
00:59:06,721 --> 00:59:08,606
- About five million but it may be off, you know.

1595
00:59:08,606 --> 00:59:09,456
- Three point five million.

1596
00:59:09,456 --> 00:59:10,749
- It's six million and that may be

1597
00:59:10,749 --> 00:59:12,416
an older number, so.

1598
00:59:12,475 --> 00:59:14,304
The numbers are changing.

1599
00:59:14,304 --> 00:59:15,137
- Okay.

1600
00:59:15,137 --> 00:59:19,137
Um you also talked about pre-disaster mitigation

1601
00:59:20,187 --> 00:59:21,088
in your opening remarks and I think the savings

1602
00:59:21,088 --> 00:59:22,332
is for every one dollar,

1603
00:59:22,332 --> 00:59:24,234
and pre-disaster mitigation it saves four bucks

1604
00:59:24,234 --> 00:59:26,567
on disaster on the backside.

1605
00:59:28,233 --> 00:59:31,614
Um, I don't think we're spending enough on

1606
00:59:31,614 --> 00:59:33,956
mitigation, uh and I think your testimony

1607
00:59:33,956 --> 00:59:35,039
implied that.

1608
00:59:36,707 --> 00:59:38,886
Do you have any ideas on what we need to do

1609
00:59:38,886 --> 00:59:40,536
to address this issue?

1610
00:59:40,536 --> 00:59:41,619
- Absolutely.

1611
00:59:42,903 --> 00:59:44,989
You know the problem with the way the system

1612
00:59:44,989 --> 00:59:46,670
is established is is you have to get hit

1613
00:59:46,670 --> 00:59:49,232
to have an extraordinary amount of post-disaster

1614
00:59:49,232 --> 00:59:52,296
hurricane mitigation program grant funding.

1615
00:59:52,296 --> 00:59:54,525
I believe that's not the right way

1616
00:59:54,525 --> 00:59:55,627
of doing business.

1617
00:59:55,627 --> 00:59:58,311
I believe specifically section 404 in the

1618
00:59:58,311 --> 01:00:01,879
Robert T. Stafford Act dictates how money is

1619
01:00:01,879 --> 01:00:04,765
formulated or provided for mitigation purposes.

1620
01:00:04,765 --> 01:00:08,587
The 404 money, it would be amazing if we could

1621
01:00:08,587 --> 01:00:11,320
work with the senate and this committee to move

1622
01:00:11,320 --> 01:00:14,525
that to the front side to offer up on average

1623
01:00:14,525 --> 01:00:15,939
I believe we put out seven or eight hundred

1624
01:00:15,939 --> 01:00:19,024
million dollars in post-disaster mitigation funding.

1625
01:00:19,024 --> 01:00:21,704
Why are we not doing that on the front side

1626
01:00:21,704 --> 01:00:23,603
and get it out of recovery,

1627
01:00:23,603 --> 01:00:25,553
reduce the complexities of recovery

1628
01:00:25,553 --> 01:00:27,220
and put it up front.

1629
01:00:27,335 --> 01:00:29,523
And I don't know what the right mix is,

1630
01:00:29,523 --> 01:00:31,192
I don't know what the right amount of money

1631
01:00:31,192 --> 01:00:33,173
to make a real dent in it is,

1632
01:00:33,173 --> 01:00:36,752
but it's got to be not only money up front but

1633
01:00:36,752 --> 01:00:38,177
I do believe that, you know,

1634
01:00:38,177 --> 01:00:41,128
the key to resiliency is held at the local level

1635
01:00:41,128 --> 01:00:42,869
of government with elected officials.

1636
01:00:42,869 --> 01:00:44,662
Smart land use planning, building codes,

1637
01:00:44,662 --> 01:00:46,079
different things.

1638
01:00:46,172 --> 01:00:47,471
You know making sure that there are redundant

1639
01:00:47,471 --> 01:00:49,347
systems that are in place.

1640
01:00:49,347 --> 01:00:52,136
And um, you know so it's gonna have to be a whole

1641
01:00:52,136 --> 01:00:54,145
community effort on the pre-disaster side,

1642
01:00:54,145 --> 01:00:57,223
but if we could move that 404 funding to

1643
01:00:57,223 --> 01:00:59,216
the front side of disasters,

1644
01:00:59,216 --> 01:01:01,525
and it will not be a easy move,

1645
01:01:01,525 --> 01:01:04,032
I think it makes perfect sense and I think we can

1646
01:01:04,032 --> 01:01:06,218
all agree that that's what needs to be done.

1647
01:01:06,218 --> 01:01:07,953
- Okay well that's good.

1648
01:01:07,953 --> 01:01:11,141
If you have any language that you could forward

1649
01:01:11,141 --> 01:01:14,410
to this committee and the sub-committee on

1650
01:01:14,410 --> 01:01:16,816
Homeland Security unaprops I would certainly

1651
01:01:16,816 --> 01:01:17,769
appreciate that.

1652
01:01:17,769 --> 01:01:18,917
- [General Jackson] Absolutely.

1653
01:01:18,917 --> 01:01:21,175
- Because, uh, I think that um,

1654
01:01:21,175 --> 01:01:22,675
it's a no brainer.

1655
01:01:24,400 --> 01:01:28,304
Major General Jackson you said you were assessing

1656
01:01:28,304 --> 01:01:29,936
the grid in Puerto Rico.

1657
01:01:29,936 --> 01:01:30,918
Can you give me,

1658
01:01:30,918 --> 01:01:32,948
are you about done with that assessment?

1659
01:01:32,948 --> 01:01:34,649
I guess what I'm, I'll ask the question,

1660
01:01:34,649 --> 01:01:36,941
just tell me if you can answer it or not.

1661
01:01:36,941 --> 01:01:40,774
Is it shot? Is it 90 percent shot? 95 percent?

1662
01:01:40,887 --> 01:01:43,695
100 percent? Or what, where's it at?

1663
01:01:43,695 --> 01:01:46,757
I mean I'm talking about devas- done.

1664
01:01:46,757 --> 01:01:48,424
Start over. Rebuild.

1665
01:01:48,767 --> 01:01:51,235
- The answer to that is no, it's not shot.

1666
01:01:51,235 --> 01:01:53,811
The initial reports that we got said there

1667
01:01:53,811 --> 01:01:55,733
was 100 percent damage to distribution.

1668
01:01:55,733 --> 01:01:57,838
That's 31,000 miles worth of line.

1669
01:01:57,838 --> 01:01:58,671
- [Senator Tester] Yeah.

1670
01:01:58,671 --> 01:01:59,504
- That's not the case.

1671
01:01:59,504 --> 01:02:00,602
The initial reports that I received said

1672
01:02:00,602 --> 01:02:01,533
it had all of the, that 80 percent

1673
01:02:01,533 --> 01:02:04,533
of the transmission lines were shot.

1674
01:02:04,793 --> 01:02:05,626
- [Senator Tester] Yeah.

1675
01:02:05,626 --> 01:02:06,984
- That's 2,400 miles
- [Senator Tester] Yeah.

1676
01:02:06,984 --> 01:02:07,987
- of high voltage.

1677
01:02:07,987 --> 01:02:09,085
- What do you think it is now?

1678
01:02:09,085 --> 01:02:10,061
I mean what do you think it is?

1679
01:02:10,061 --> 01:02:10,894
A half?

1680
01:02:11,204 --> 01:02:14,158
- Sir, I think, I mean literally, I mean,

1681
01:02:14,158 --> 01:02:15,741
part of it is just,

1682
01:02:15,874 --> 01:02:18,043
let me start by just saying we've got to,

1683
01:02:18,043 --> 01:02:21,024
as I flew over Puerto Rico a couple of weeks ago.

1684
01:02:21,024 --> 01:02:21,905
- [Senator Testser] Yeah.

1685
01:02:21,905 --> 01:02:23,557
- A lot of, there's a lot of lines that are up

1686
01:02:23,557 --> 01:02:26,145
visibly and a lot of lines that are down visibly.

1687
01:02:26,145 --> 01:02:28,877
The problem is until you get folks on the ground

1688
01:02:28,877 --> 01:02:31,399
to see if those lines and the components that

1689
01:02:31,399 --> 01:02:34,379
make up the line system are operable,

1690
01:02:34,379 --> 01:02:35,703
you don't really know if the line's energized.

1691
01:02:35,703 --> 01:02:36,988
So that's what we're doing right now.

1692
01:02:36,988 --> 01:02:40,155
We're not doing a full assessment, um,

1693
01:02:40,389 --> 01:02:42,209
and waiting to do repairs.

1694
01:02:42,209 --> 01:02:44,214
We already sort of know where we need to go

1695
01:02:44,214 --> 01:02:45,962
and what we need to focus on.
- Okay.

1696
01:02:45,962 --> 01:02:48,864
What I'm trying to get here is this-

1697
01:02:48,864 --> 01:02:50,391
we've been told that the transmission-

1698
01:02:50,391 --> 01:02:51,936
the distribution system in Puerto Rico

1699
01:02:51,936 --> 01:02:54,853
was horrible before the storms hit.

1700
01:02:55,262 --> 01:02:58,095
Are we doing repairs to a horrible

1701
01:02:58,113 --> 01:02:59,780
distribution system,

1702
01:02:59,799 --> 01:03:02,614
or are we fixing a horrible distribution system.

1703
01:03:02,614 --> 01:03:05,416
- Sir, under the Stafford Act we are fixing

1704
01:03:05,416 --> 01:03:08,392
the system to get power out to the people

1705
01:03:08,392 --> 01:03:09,892
as fast as we can.

1706
01:03:10,335 --> 01:03:11,197
- So that the next hurricane hits it's not

1707
01:03:11,197 --> 01:03:12,646
gonna knock down everything that wasn't knocked

1708
01:03:12,646 --> 01:03:13,750
down in this hurricane and we're back

1709
01:03:13,750 --> 01:03:15,136
in the same boat.

1710
01:03:15,136 --> 01:03:16,552
- Well if you have a category four-

1711
01:03:16,552 --> 01:03:17,525
five hurricane,

1712
01:03:17,525 --> 01:03:19,091
unless the lines are buried under the ground

1713
01:03:19,091 --> 01:03:20,382
it's gonna knock wires down.

1714
01:03:20,382 --> 01:03:21,681
- Even if it's new construction?

1715
01:03:21,681 --> 01:03:23,152
- Even if it's new construction.

1716
01:03:23,152 --> 01:03:26,819
- Alright. Is there any effort to talk about

1717
01:03:28,399 --> 01:03:31,482
maybe, uh, developing generation, uh,

1718
01:03:35,080 --> 01:03:37,023
so that the distribution isn't as needed.

1719
01:03:37,023 --> 01:03:39,112
I'm talking not only renewable but even,

1720
01:03:39,112 --> 01:03:41,529
even conventional generation.

1721
01:03:42,046 --> 01:03:44,052
- Sir my understanding is,

1722
01:03:44,052 --> 01:03:45,821
as Senator Carper alluded,

1723
01:03:45,821 --> 01:03:48,354
the governor has an interest in locating

1724
01:03:48,354 --> 01:03:50,338
the power generation more closely to the

1725
01:03:50,338 --> 01:03:52,749
population densities that they support.

1726
01:03:52,749 --> 01:03:53,582
- [Senator Tester] Okay.

1727
01:03:53,582 --> 01:03:54,951
Therefore it would obviate the needs.

1728
01:03:54,951 --> 01:03:55,784
- [Senator Tester] Good.

1729
01:03:55,784 --> 01:03:57,061
For these long transmission lines across

1730
01:03:57,061 --> 01:03:58,642
the island and DOE has taken a look at that.

1731
01:03:58,642 --> 01:03:59,475
- [Senator Tester] Yep.

1732
01:03:59,475 --> 01:04:01,116
- To help put together some ideas

1733
01:04:01,116 --> 01:04:02,699
for the leadership.

1734
01:04:02,931 --> 01:04:05,570
- Are you taking, and I don't know if you do this

1735
01:04:05,570 --> 01:04:09,593
or if Mr. Salessas does this, but are you looking

1736
01:04:09,593 --> 01:04:11,429
at other options, every option,

1737
01:04:11,429 --> 01:04:15,179
not only carbon based but also solar and wind

1738
01:04:15,529 --> 01:04:16,779
and geothermal?

1739
01:04:18,401 --> 01:04:19,853
- Senator, my understanding is DOE is looking at

1740
01:04:19,853 --> 01:04:23,142
what the most efficient modern appropriate system

1741
01:04:23,142 --> 01:04:25,426
would be for Puerto Rico,
- [Senator Tester] Okay.

1742
01:04:25,426 --> 01:04:26,694
- to make those type of recommendations.

1743
01:04:26,694 --> 01:04:28,469
- Can you guys, do you guys know anything about

1744
01:04:28,469 --> 01:04:29,302
PREPA?

1745
01:04:33,201 --> 01:04:34,266
Nobody? What?

1746
01:04:34,266 --> 01:04:35,697
- Senator I know some things about PREPA but.

1747
01:04:35,697 --> 01:04:37,831
- Here's what I want to know about.

1748
01:04:37,831 --> 01:04:39,914
It's a nine member board,

1749
01:04:41,085 --> 01:04:42,471
that I should be tickled pink that they gave

1750
01:04:42,471 --> 01:04:44,516
a contract to a company in Montana,

1751
01:04:44,516 --> 01:04:47,266
but as you look at the situation,

1752
01:04:47,312 --> 01:04:49,112
two people, been in business two years.

1753
01:04:49,112 --> 01:04:51,779
Never done disaster work before.

1754
01:04:53,371 --> 01:04:56,005
What kind of people are on this board?

1755
01:04:56,005 --> 01:04:57,338
No big contract.

1756
01:04:58,703 --> 01:05:00,204
I mean, I gotta tell you something,

1757
01:05:00,204 --> 01:05:03,708
if it was any of you guys, (laughing),

1758
01:05:03,708 --> 01:05:05,679
if it was you Brock I wouldn't have started out

1759
01:05:05,679 --> 01:05:07,236
saying you're doing a great job,

1760
01:05:07,236 --> 01:05:08,770
I'll tell you that. Okay?

1761
01:05:08,770 --> 01:05:09,603
- Right.

1762
01:05:09,603 --> 01:05:11,410
- So I don't understand what's going on here and

1763
01:05:11,410 --> 01:05:12,904
I don't understand where the accountability is.

1764
01:05:12,904 --> 01:05:15,776
We have a Federal Financial Oversight board,

1765
01:05:15,776 --> 01:05:16,949
maybe they're not doing their job

1766
01:05:16,949 --> 01:05:18,691
but somebody's not doing their job.

1767
01:05:18,691 --> 01:05:20,024
Would you agree?

1768
01:05:21,737 --> 01:05:23,549
I see some head nods and.

1769
01:05:23,549 --> 01:05:25,333
- [Audience Member] (unintelligible)

1770
01:05:25,333 --> 01:05:27,583
(laughing)

1771
01:05:28,636 --> 01:05:29,469
- [Senator Tester] Thank you very much.

1772
01:05:29,469 --> 01:05:30,858
- There's a governance issue,

1773
01:05:30,858 --> 01:05:32,075
there's no doubt about it.

1774
01:05:32,075 --> 01:05:33,325
Senator Peters.

1775
01:05:35,312 --> 01:05:37,046
- Thank you Mr. Chairman and thank you to each of

1776
01:05:37,046 --> 01:05:40,365
you for the work you're doing in these disasters.

1777
01:05:40,365 --> 01:05:42,454
Unfortunately, given what's happening with

1778
01:05:42,454 --> 01:05:44,116
the climate we may be seeing a lot more of

1779
01:05:44,116 --> 01:05:47,157
these disasters, bigger stronger and increased

1780
01:05:47,157 --> 01:05:49,634
frequency so it's important that we take lessons

1781
01:05:49,634 --> 01:05:52,362
learned from what we've seen here and understand

1782
01:05:52,362 --> 01:05:54,746
that we'll probably gonna have to be

1783
01:05:54,746 --> 01:05:56,707
applying them again and again going forward.

1784
01:05:56,707 --> 01:05:59,707
Mr. Long my time is short today, um,

1785
01:05:59,847 --> 01:06:02,610
but I wanted to just alert you that I sent

1786
01:06:02,610 --> 01:06:04,578
a letter to you yesterday in my capacity as a

1787
01:06:04,578 --> 01:06:07,503
ranking member on the Federal Management Oversight

1788
01:06:07,503 --> 01:06:09,904
sub-committee of this committee.

1789
01:06:09,904 --> 01:06:11,679
And in that letter I've asked a series of

1790
01:06:11,679 --> 01:06:14,222
detailed questions about FEMA's response to

1791
01:06:14,222 --> 01:06:16,452
Hurricane Maria and the humanitarian crisis

1792
01:06:16,452 --> 01:06:17,702
in Puerto Rico.

1793
01:06:17,884 --> 01:06:19,618
I'm not going to go into all of those details,

1794
01:06:19,618 --> 01:06:20,729
but the letter is going to you.

1795
01:06:20,729 --> 01:06:22,548
I'd hope I have your commitment to get a

1796
01:06:22,548 --> 01:06:25,212
quick response because I'm sure our sub-committee

1797
01:06:25,212 --> 01:06:26,961
will have further hearings on this matter and

1798
01:06:26,961 --> 01:06:28,808
it'll be helpful to frame that discussion and

1799
01:06:28,808 --> 01:06:30,677
Mr. Chairman if I can just have that letter

1800
01:06:30,677 --> 01:06:32,359
entered into the record, I'd appreciate that.

1801
01:06:32,359 --> 01:06:33,192
- Objection.

1802
01:06:33,192 --> 01:06:35,204
- Absolutely, I'm aware and uh we will respond

1803
01:06:35,204 --> 01:06:36,287
very quickly.

1804
01:06:36,326 --> 01:06:37,737
- I appreciate that Mr. Long, thank you.

1805
01:06:37,737 --> 01:06:40,579
And as many of my colleagues have mentioned

1806
01:06:40,579 --> 01:06:43,809
the concern about particularly in Puerto Rico

1807
01:06:43,809 --> 01:06:45,925
is to make sure that we have sustainability

1808
01:06:45,925 --> 01:06:48,592
built into any kind of response.

1809
01:06:49,485 --> 01:06:51,189
And I know the Stafford Act prevents that from

1810
01:06:51,189 --> 01:06:53,361
happening in the fact that it talks about

1811
01:06:53,361 --> 01:06:56,976
limiting rebuilding to the way it was in place

1812
01:06:56,976 --> 01:06:58,010
when the disaster occurred.

1813
01:06:58,010 --> 01:07:01,075
You eluded to that as well in your comments.

1814
01:07:01,075 --> 01:07:02,055
Do you think it's time for us to take a look

1815
01:07:02,055 --> 01:07:03,039
at the Stafford Act?

1816
01:07:03,039 --> 01:07:05,058
Would you recommend us taking a good look

1817
01:07:05,058 --> 01:07:08,061
at whether or not that makes sense given the

1818
01:07:08,061 --> 01:07:09,849
situation we're in now and what will likely be

1819
01:07:09,849 --> 01:07:12,726
future situations given the climate change?

1820
01:07:12,726 --> 01:07:16,226
- Yeah and, I work with my staff every day

1821
01:07:16,264 --> 01:07:18,436
and there are definite changes to the Stafford

1822
01:07:18,436 --> 01:07:20,244
Act that we could consider,

1823
01:07:20,244 --> 01:07:22,000
but I would also like to take the time to

1824
01:07:22,000 --> 01:07:23,703
methodically, you know, go through those

1825
01:07:23,703 --> 01:07:26,326
and submit those if there are recommendations.

1826
01:07:26,326 --> 01:07:28,983
Not only from my staff at FEMA but the Emergency

1827
01:07:28,983 --> 01:07:31,650
Management Community as a whole.

1828
01:07:31,910 --> 01:07:34,774
I'm always for reviewing and bettering processes.

1829
01:07:34,774 --> 01:07:36,410
There are opportunities for mitigation as

1830
01:07:36,410 --> 01:07:38,384
a result of going through this,

1831
01:07:38,384 --> 01:07:40,900
but rebuilding a grid to the level that we're all

1832
01:07:40,900 --> 01:07:42,415
discussing here is not within my authority.

1833
01:07:42,415 --> 01:07:46,415
And I'm concerned about the deferred maintenance

1834
01:07:48,004 --> 01:07:50,198
issues already when it comes to restoring and

1835
01:07:50,198 --> 01:07:53,115
conducting permanent work as it is.

1836
01:07:53,395 --> 01:07:56,094
- Well I appreciate working with you on that

1837
01:07:56,094 --> 01:07:58,290
and as we've talked about before personally

1838
01:07:58,290 --> 01:08:00,710
some of those disasters that may not be on

1839
01:08:00,710 --> 01:08:01,716
the Stafford Act,

1840
01:08:01,716 --> 01:08:04,075
which is a disaster we had in Michigan,

1841
01:08:04,075 --> 01:08:04,908
in Flint for example.

1842
01:08:04,908 --> 01:08:06,434
I think there are lot of lessons learned from

1843
01:08:06,434 --> 01:08:09,551
that disaster as well that means we need to take

1844
01:08:09,551 --> 01:08:11,524
a hard look at the Stafford Act and try to

1845
01:08:11,524 --> 01:08:13,130
make improvements to make sure the American

1846
01:08:13,130 --> 01:08:15,977
people get the help that they need when disaster

1847
01:08:15,977 --> 01:08:17,343
strikes their community.

1848
01:08:17,343 --> 01:08:19,644
And that leads to my next question,

1849
01:08:19,644 --> 01:08:21,256
which relates to the long term nature

1850
01:08:21,256 --> 01:08:22,839
of these disasters.

1851
01:08:23,024 --> 01:08:25,238
Especially from my experience in Flint,

1852
01:08:25,238 --> 01:08:27,428
is that aide is normally available when the

1853
01:08:27,428 --> 01:08:29,345
TV cameras are running.

1854
01:08:29,736 --> 01:08:31,047
Usually there's quite a bit of aide that will

1855
01:08:31,047 --> 01:08:33,903
flow once the public media attention is there.

1856
01:08:33,903 --> 01:08:36,505
The challenge is when the cameras stop covering

1857
01:08:36,505 --> 01:08:38,747
the event and these folks have to deal with

1858
01:08:38,747 --> 01:08:42,497
these disasters for many years in the future.

1859
01:08:42,636 --> 01:08:44,255
So my question is how long do you expect FEMA

1860
01:08:44,255 --> 01:08:46,952
to be working in the areas affected by

1861
01:08:46,952 --> 01:08:50,454
these hurricanes, and do you have the capacity to

1862
01:08:50,454 --> 01:08:52,771
handle that workload, which is probably going to

1863
01:08:52,771 --> 01:08:54,885
be over the next decade or more?

1864
01:08:54,885 --> 01:08:57,803
- Uh, at this point, no doubt about it,

1865
01:08:57,803 --> 01:08:59,778
when it comes to recovery staff, we're stressed.

1866
01:08:59,778 --> 01:09:02,111
Um, you know we're having to

1867
01:09:02,530 --> 01:09:05,063
rob Peter to pay Paul as you could say

1868
01:09:05,063 --> 01:09:06,813
from other disasters.

1869
01:09:07,007 --> 01:09:10,090
I think right now we have roughly 20,

1870
01:09:11,441 --> 01:09:13,241
26 open disasters that we're working nationwide

1871
01:09:13,241 --> 01:09:15,741
that don't get media coverage,

1872
01:09:15,935 --> 01:09:17,662
so in some cases what we're tying to do is

1873
01:09:17,662 --> 01:09:21,395
to to more virtual models and hopefully states

1874
01:09:21,395 --> 01:09:24,124
are calling upon state-to-state mutual aide

1875
01:09:24,124 --> 01:09:25,762
to be able to start managing a lot of their

1876
01:09:25,762 --> 01:09:28,666
disasters and doing things more virtually.

1877
01:09:28,666 --> 01:09:30,449
But in regards to the most recent,

1878
01:09:30,449 --> 01:09:32,451
these four events that we're talking about from

1879
01:09:32,451 --> 01:09:34,255
the California wildfires to the three major

1880
01:09:34,255 --> 01:09:37,298
events is gonna take many years to go through.

1881
01:09:37,298 --> 01:09:39,116
In cases, when it goes back to your question

1882
01:09:39,116 --> 01:09:42,044
on the Stafford Act, we do have section 428 of

1883
01:09:42,044 --> 01:09:45,211
the Stafford Act that allows us to do,

1884
01:09:46,002 --> 01:09:49,200
move in a more expedited manner and possibly

1885
01:09:49,200 --> 01:09:50,631
in a more resilient manner,

1886
01:09:50,631 --> 01:09:52,039
but we have to make some decisions as to whether

1887
01:09:52,039 --> 01:09:54,026
or not the program is working.

1888
01:09:54,026 --> 01:09:55,579
It does reduce the number, the sheer number of

1889
01:09:55,579 --> 01:09:58,885
project worksheets that we have to generate.

1890
01:09:58,885 --> 01:10:00,685
It allows us to do work more efficiently and

1891
01:10:00,685 --> 01:10:03,986
I would like to continue going down that path,

1892
01:10:03,986 --> 01:10:05,771
but also take a comprehensive look at how,

1893
01:10:05,771 --> 01:10:09,438
how do we get locals and state government to

1894
01:10:09,694 --> 01:10:12,332
also make sure that they're funding for staff

1895
01:10:12,332 --> 01:10:14,347
positions adequately as well.

1896
01:10:14,347 --> 01:10:16,190
When it comes to future grants,

1897
01:10:16,190 --> 01:10:19,857
I would rather have grants to hire and train

1898
01:10:19,924 --> 01:10:22,761
proper staffing than to buy equipment.

1899
01:10:22,761 --> 01:10:24,457
And there may be people that disagree with me

1900
01:10:24,457 --> 01:10:26,392
in the industry but you can't replace human

1901
01:10:26,392 --> 01:10:30,067
beings and that's what we need when it comes to

1902
01:10:30,067 --> 01:10:33,159
the large amount of disasters that we're facing.

1903
01:10:33,159 --> 01:10:34,984
- And with these large disasters,

1904
01:10:34,984 --> 01:10:36,386
I know it's still early to get a,

1905
01:10:36,386 --> 01:10:38,564
a sense of what the cost will be which will

1906
01:10:38,564 --> 01:10:40,727
be very large, and you've,

1907
01:10:40,727 --> 01:10:42,992
I think all of you have referred to

1908
01:10:42,992 --> 01:10:44,624
the fact that's an ongoing process right now.

1909
01:10:44,624 --> 01:10:45,735
But do you have any indication in terms of

1910
01:10:45,735 --> 01:10:46,985
the hurricanes?

1911
01:10:47,150 --> 01:10:48,845
How do you think the costs will stack up?

1912
01:10:48,845 --> 01:10:50,617
Which will be the most expensive,

1913
01:10:50,617 --> 01:10:52,617
how would you rank them?

1914
01:10:53,236 --> 01:10:54,750
- Well it's interesting, um you know when you

1915
01:10:54,750 --> 01:10:56,511
look at Harvey and Irma,

1916
01:10:56,511 --> 01:10:58,727
I think there's two and a half million people in

1917
01:10:58,727 --> 01:11:00,720
Florida alone that have been entered into

1918
01:11:00,720 --> 01:11:02,399
individual assistance.

1919
01:11:02,399 --> 01:11:03,524
Okay. Two and a half million.

1920
01:11:03,524 --> 01:11:07,274
And Harvey we're still under a million, okay.

1921
01:11:07,327 --> 01:11:11,383
But then when you look at the impacts to housing,

1922
01:11:11,383 --> 01:11:13,440
the amount of money it would cost to fix

1923
01:11:13,440 --> 01:11:15,593
flood-based housing issues is going to be

1924
01:11:15,593 --> 01:11:17,151
tremendously more expensive than I believe

1925
01:11:17,151 --> 01:11:19,401
what we may see in Florida.

1926
01:11:20,147 --> 01:11:22,730
California's a whole other, um,

1927
01:11:23,355 --> 01:11:25,206
as long as I've been doing this I've never seen

1928
01:11:25,206 --> 01:11:27,806
a more disturbing disaster in my life.

1929
01:11:27,806 --> 01:11:31,306
And I think they lost 6,800 homes in that.

1930
01:11:31,787 --> 01:11:33,522
So each one's tremendously different

1931
01:11:33,522 --> 01:11:34,804
and the costs will vary based on what

1932
01:11:34,804 --> 01:11:36,514
the services are that are needed.

1933
01:11:36,514 --> 01:11:38,514
As far as overall costs,

1934
01:11:38,552 --> 01:11:40,647
I've heard numbers inside from my finance guys

1935
01:11:40,647 --> 01:11:42,162
saying that we're probably spending about

1936
01:11:42,162 --> 01:11:44,497
200 million dollars a day right now just

1937
01:11:44,497 --> 01:11:46,876
responding to the four disasters

1938
01:11:46,876 --> 01:11:48,376
that we're facing.

1939
01:11:48,405 --> 01:11:50,644
- Yeah. And how would you rank them?

1940
01:11:50,644 --> 01:11:51,829
In terms of hurricanes,

1941
01:11:51,829 --> 01:11:54,336
what's gonna be the most expensive for us?

1942
01:11:54,336 --> 01:11:56,003
And the second most?

1943
01:11:56,025 --> 01:11:58,207
I've heard estimates that Texas will be

1944
01:11:58,207 --> 01:11:59,513
number one, is that accurate?

1945
01:11:59,513 --> 01:12:02,091
- Probably Texas, uh, probably Texas.

1946
01:12:02,091 --> 01:12:03,402
Well, I don't know, I take that back because

1947
01:12:03,402 --> 01:12:04,935
we're not done with Puerto Rico.

1948
01:12:04,935 --> 01:12:07,435
We're still trying to uncover,

1949
01:12:07,954 --> 01:12:09,877
we're still trying to uncover that but,

1950
01:12:09,877 --> 01:12:11,924
but um, I would believe that um,

1951
01:12:11,924 --> 01:12:12,937
right now Texas is probably the most expensive

1952
01:12:12,937 --> 01:12:16,937
one, but here again that's just a pure guess and

1953
01:12:17,036 --> 01:12:19,703
we still have numbers coming in.

1954
01:12:19,829 --> 01:12:21,639
- And obviously with long term funding we have to

1955
01:12:21,639 --> 01:12:24,788
have local government, state government engaged.

1956
01:12:24,788 --> 01:12:27,043
But they need to make plans for long term

1957
01:12:27,043 --> 01:12:28,874
investments to recover and to make sure they're

1958
01:12:28,874 --> 01:12:31,554
sustainable but it's difficult for them to do

1959
01:12:31,554 --> 01:12:34,446
that without knowing the amount of money

1960
01:12:34,446 --> 01:12:35,545
that's available, isn't it?

1961
01:12:35,545 --> 01:12:38,128
- Yeah, absolutely, um, I mean.

1962
01:12:38,543 --> 01:12:41,460
Here again, the money comes mostly,

1963
01:12:41,524 --> 01:12:43,281
the largest majority of the funding

1964
01:12:43,281 --> 01:12:45,776
that states interact with FEMA is definitely

1965
01:12:45,776 --> 01:12:47,443
on the recovery end.

1966
01:12:47,716 --> 01:12:51,492
And that goes back to the pre-disaster mitigation

1967
01:12:51,492 --> 01:12:54,113
point- how do you plan to implement mitigation

1968
01:12:54,113 --> 01:12:56,197
strategies when you have to get hit and you're

1969
01:12:56,197 --> 01:12:58,661
not sure how much money you're going to come into

1970
01:12:58,661 --> 01:13:01,112
based on the type of disaster.

1971
01:13:01,112 --> 01:13:02,822
That's why I think we have to pre-plan,

1972
01:13:02,822 --> 01:13:04,454
take it out of recovery and put it up front

1973
01:13:04,454 --> 01:13:07,594
so that you can do better visionary planning

1974
01:13:07,594 --> 01:13:09,207
over the next couple of years to truly

1975
01:13:09,207 --> 01:13:11,020
mitigate your communities.

1976
01:13:11,020 --> 01:13:12,211
- Great, thank you.

1977
01:13:12,211 --> 01:13:13,044
- Thank you.

1978
01:13:13,044 --> 01:13:15,466
- [Senator Johnson] Senator Harris.

1979
01:13:15,466 --> 01:13:16,560
- Thank you Mr. Chairman for this hearing

1980
01:13:16,560 --> 01:13:19,668
on hurricanes and I appreciate the Administrator

1981
01:13:19,668 --> 01:13:21,585
speaking of California.

1982
01:13:21,986 --> 01:13:24,864
This hearing is not about wildfires but I would

1983
01:13:24,864 --> 01:13:28,614
like to urge that we do everything we can to,

1984
01:13:29,659 --> 01:13:31,192
as you appreciate, recognize,

1985
01:13:31,192 --> 01:13:33,920
we lost 42 lives in California and the estimate

1986
01:13:33,920 --> 01:13:37,003
is currently that we lost 8,900 homes

1987
01:13:37,072 --> 01:13:38,322
and structures.

1988
01:13:38,451 --> 01:13:41,183
On that point from FEMA, there is still a need,

1989
01:13:41,183 --> 01:13:42,306
you're doing a great job.

1990
01:13:42,306 --> 01:13:44,423
The Army Corps of Engineers, I was there,

1991
01:13:44,423 --> 01:13:47,623
I visited the site, I've met with the families

1992
01:13:47,623 --> 01:13:50,783
and you're absolutely right, it's devastating to

1993
01:13:50,783 --> 01:13:53,616
those families and that community.

1994
01:13:53,764 --> 01:13:55,909
In terms of FEMA there is still a need,

1995
01:13:55,909 --> 01:13:58,545
and I'll just put this on your radar for individual

1996
01:13:58,545 --> 01:14:01,229
assistance to help cover temporary housing.

1997
01:14:01,229 --> 01:14:03,065
You mentioned that it's a big issue throughout

1998
01:14:03,065 --> 01:14:05,199
the country and certainly in California.

1999
01:14:05,199 --> 01:14:06,522
Affordable housing.

2000
01:14:06,522 --> 01:14:08,518
And I know that FEMA does not have the number

2001
01:14:08,518 --> 01:14:11,409
of trailers and they're not on the production

2002
01:14:11,409 --> 01:14:14,356
line in a way that we can get them to California

2003
01:14:14,356 --> 01:14:15,641
as soon as they're needed,

2004
01:14:15,641 --> 01:14:17,421
so there's still a need for temporary housing,

2005
01:14:17,421 --> 01:14:20,542
help and basic essentials like clothing

2006
01:14:20,542 --> 01:14:21,959
and baby formula.

2007
01:14:22,479 --> 01:14:25,347
And from HUD if you can just pass this on CDBG

2008
01:14:25,347 --> 01:14:28,767
funding for permanent housing is a big issue.

2009
01:14:28,767 --> 01:14:32,600
Crop insurance from USDA and then from the SBA

2010
01:14:33,277 --> 01:14:35,299
we need business loans for small businesses

2011
01:14:35,299 --> 01:14:37,382
that have been destroyed.

2012
01:14:37,801 --> 01:14:39,235
So I thank you for that.

2013
01:14:39,235 --> 01:14:42,651
On October 27 through the Environmental Public

2014
01:14:42,651 --> 01:14:45,334
Works committee which I am also on,

2015
01:14:45,334 --> 01:14:48,676
we sent a letter to FEMA and the EPA and the

2016
01:14:48,676 --> 01:14:51,843
Army Corps of Engineers asking for um,

2017
01:14:52,009 --> 01:14:54,388
information about a timeline and the work that

2018
01:14:54,388 --> 01:14:57,004
has been completed or is yet to be done as it

2019
01:14:57,004 --> 01:14:58,504
relates to debris.

2020
01:14:59,221 --> 01:15:01,324
So I'd like to get an answer to that and if we

2021
01:15:01,324 --> 01:15:02,603
can get that within the next week

2022
01:15:02,603 --> 01:15:03,775
I'd appreciate that.

2023
01:15:03,775 --> 01:15:06,088
There are about seven specific questions.

2024
01:15:06,088 --> 01:15:08,796
But as you're aware and has been mentioned here

2025
01:15:08,796 --> 01:15:11,217
there are millions of cubic feet of debris in

2026
01:15:11,217 --> 01:15:14,800
Puerto Rico and it is my understanding that

2027
01:15:15,477 --> 01:15:18,150
we're looking at debris that is large.

2028
01:15:18,150 --> 01:15:21,650
It ranges from rooftops to garage doors to

2029
01:15:21,869 --> 01:15:24,036
refrigerators and couches.

2030
01:15:24,157 --> 01:15:27,108
Debris that people who live there cannot pick up

2031
01:15:27,108 --> 01:15:27,941
and move.

2032
01:15:28,404 --> 01:15:31,571
There's also been a compromise to the,

2033
01:15:31,892 --> 01:15:34,718
to the landfills in Puerto Rico that existed

2034
01:15:34,718 --> 01:15:38,635
before the hurricanes hit and remain a problem.

2035
01:15:38,957 --> 01:15:42,102
It is my understanding that FEMA plans to remove

2036
01:15:42,102 --> 01:15:45,066
the debris but I'm not clear on what the timeline

2037
01:15:45,066 --> 01:15:46,761
is for actually getting that completed.

2038
01:15:46,761 --> 01:15:49,561
Can you tell me what that plan is?

2039
01:15:49,561 --> 01:15:51,428
- Um, so, each one of the events is

2040
01:15:51,428 --> 01:15:53,037
extraordinarily different again and

2041
01:15:53,037 --> 01:15:54,494
there's no one-size-fits-all approach

2042
01:15:54,494 --> 01:15:57,128
when it comes to debris removal.

2043
01:15:57,128 --> 01:15:58,677
For example the California wildfires,

2044
01:15:58,677 --> 01:16:01,344
if I may use that as an example,

2045
01:16:01,662 --> 01:16:04,514
because of the nature of the hazard you first

2046
01:16:04,514 --> 01:16:06,368
have to go through and make sure you remove

2047
01:16:06,368 --> 01:16:09,035
all the hazardous materials from

2048
01:16:09,058 --> 01:16:10,558
personal property.

2049
01:16:11,154 --> 01:16:13,716
Then obviously as you said the number of deaths

2050
01:16:13,716 --> 01:16:16,390
is projected to go up over 80 and that's because

2051
01:16:16,390 --> 01:16:18,486
we're still searching for remains.

2052
01:16:18,486 --> 01:16:19,319
- [Senator Harris] Yeah.

2053
01:16:19,319 --> 01:16:20,440
- In a very humane manner trying to make sure

2054
01:16:20,440 --> 01:16:22,630
that we go through the debris to find remains

2055
01:16:22,630 --> 01:16:24,297
of the burning area.

2056
01:16:24,697 --> 01:16:27,192
After all the environmental piece is done

2057
01:16:27,192 --> 01:16:30,161
and that we correctly go through to look for

2058
01:16:30,161 --> 01:16:30,994
remains then a lot of the debris contracting

2059
01:16:30,994 --> 01:16:33,161
is done at the local level

2060
01:16:35,022 --> 01:16:36,534
through private contracts.

2061
01:16:36,534 --> 01:16:38,426
If those contracts fail or the governor requests

2062
01:16:38,426 --> 01:16:39,759
me specifically,

2063
01:16:40,025 --> 01:16:42,361
then we can mission assign the Army Corps of

2064
01:16:42,361 --> 01:16:44,121
Engineers which I believe you guys have been

2065
01:16:44,121 --> 01:16:46,654
mission assigned in California,

2066
01:16:46,654 --> 01:16:48,987
similar to also Puerto Rico.

2067
01:16:50,231 --> 01:16:51,987
Debris in Florida was done differently.

2068
01:16:51,987 --> 01:16:54,033
A large majority of that was done at the local

2069
01:16:54,033 --> 01:16:56,175
level by debris contracts and pre-event contracts

2070
01:16:56,175 --> 01:16:58,008
that they established,

2071
01:16:58,116 --> 01:17:00,503
so each one of these may have different timelines

2072
01:17:00,503 --> 01:17:02,442
because of the types of debris,

2073
01:17:02,442 --> 01:17:03,531
but like Puerto Rico.

2074
01:17:03,531 --> 01:17:07,198
- Yeah what is the timeline for Puerto Rico?

2075
01:17:07,969 --> 01:17:09,731
- Senator I don't have an exact timeline for

2076
01:17:09,731 --> 01:17:10,731
Puerto Rico.

2077
01:17:11,088 --> 01:17:13,465
We have just started scratching the surface on

2078
01:17:13,465 --> 01:17:14,715
debris removal.

2079
01:17:15,952 --> 01:17:18,048
We've run into some really interesting politics

2080
01:17:18,048 --> 01:17:20,521
within the 78 municipalities that make up

2081
01:17:20,521 --> 01:17:23,705
Puerto Rico in terms of how they are allowing us

2082
01:17:23,705 --> 01:17:24,955
to gain access,

2083
01:17:25,302 --> 01:17:27,758
so we're in some significant negotiations.

2084
01:17:27,758 --> 01:17:29,254
Many of the municipalities have come back and

2085
01:17:29,254 --> 01:17:31,514
said, 'we don't really want you to do it,

2086
01:17:31,514 --> 01:17:32,347
we'll take care of it ourself'.

2087
01:17:32,347 --> 01:17:34,495
So we're going through that right now.

2088
01:17:34,495 --> 01:17:36,309
I will uh, I will respond to the letter that you

2089
01:17:36,309 --> 01:17:37,142
sent with a much more

2090
01:17:37,142 --> 01:17:37,975
- [Senator Harris] I appreciate that.

2091
01:17:37,975 --> 01:17:39,374
- definitive timeline than what I just gave you.

2092
01:17:39,374 --> 01:17:41,316
- And then, and if you could also follow up on

2093
01:17:41,316 --> 01:17:44,816
this point about what jurisdictions within

2094
01:17:44,974 --> 01:17:48,891
Puerto Rico are hesitant to cooperate with your

2095
01:17:50,486 --> 01:17:51,742
efforts so that we can make sure that we do our

2096
01:17:51,742 --> 01:17:53,264
part to figure out how to get some cooperation.

2097
01:17:53,264 --> 01:17:54,661
- Will do that, Senator. Thank you.

2098
01:17:54,661 --> 01:17:57,632
- Okay. And Dr. Kadlec my understanding is that

2099
01:17:57,632 --> 01:18:00,799
the debris piles that are occurring in

2100
01:18:00,800 --> 01:18:01,800
Puerto Rico,

2101
01:18:02,157 --> 01:18:04,762
that they are wet from the recent rains,

2102
01:18:04,762 --> 01:18:06,860
they are attracting pests that range from

2103
01:18:06,860 --> 01:18:08,693
rodents to mosquitoes,

2104
01:18:10,040 --> 01:18:11,851
and there is also a concern that pets that

2105
01:18:11,851 --> 01:18:13,839
are going there and the rodents that are going

2106
01:18:13,839 --> 01:18:17,589
there are leaving great amounts of urine that

2107
01:18:17,948 --> 01:18:20,791
is also seeping into the waterways.

2108
01:18:20,791 --> 01:18:22,694
Can you talk for a moment about the health risks

2109
01:18:22,694 --> 01:18:26,086
associated with this accumulating debris?

2110
01:18:26,086 --> 01:18:28,263
- Well ma'am there are several issues that

2111
01:18:28,263 --> 01:18:29,741
have to be dealt with in that.

2112
01:18:29,741 --> 01:18:31,238
One is the moldy kind of debris that you'd be

2113
01:18:31,238 --> 01:18:34,248
anticipating and again fungal growths that would

2114
01:18:34,248 --> 01:18:37,544
be causing exacerbations for respiratory disease

2115
01:18:37,544 --> 01:18:38,544
like asthma.

2116
01:18:39,581 --> 01:18:41,580
Also you'd be very concerned about some of the

2117
01:18:41,580 --> 01:18:43,442
immuno-suppressive effects of certain fungal

2118
01:18:43,442 --> 01:18:45,075
growths that are out there.

2119
01:18:45,075 --> 01:18:48,575
People with immuno-compromised situations.

2120
01:18:48,878 --> 01:18:50,582
Probably biggest concern about debris piles is

2121
01:18:50,582 --> 01:18:52,941
that uh, you find people climbing on 'em,

2122
01:18:52,941 --> 01:18:54,301
rooting around in them,

2123
01:18:54,301 --> 01:18:56,252
so there's likely lacerations, injuries and

2124
01:18:56,252 --> 01:18:57,730
infections, soft tissue injuries

2125
01:18:57,730 --> 01:18:59,397
that come from that.

2126
01:18:59,494 --> 01:19:01,166
- And bacterial diseases, is that correct?

2127
01:19:01,166 --> 01:19:02,379
- Yes ma'am bacterial diseases

2128
01:19:02,379 --> 01:19:03,658
- And that can lead to death.
- and that would be that.

2129
01:19:03,658 --> 01:19:04,948
And the last one you didn't mention but

2130
01:19:04,948 --> 01:19:07,094
I'll mention because it's a matter of topical

2131
01:19:07,094 --> 01:19:09,145
interest is leptospirosis which is

2132
01:19:09,145 --> 01:19:11,062
endemic to Puerto Rico.

2133
01:19:11,205 --> 01:19:13,318
Occurs typically during the rainy season,

2134
01:19:13,318 --> 01:19:15,121
August through December.

2135
01:19:15,121 --> 01:19:18,328
There have been some cases already been defined

2136
01:19:18,328 --> 01:19:21,161
or declared and a couple of deaths

2137
01:19:21,984 --> 01:19:23,651
suspected with that.

2138
01:19:23,799 --> 01:19:26,146
It's a disease that is remedied

2139
01:19:26,146 --> 01:19:27,979
by antibiotic therapy.

2140
01:19:28,111 --> 01:19:30,644
About a week after the landfall of the hurricane

2141
01:19:30,644 --> 01:19:32,643
we were working with the state epidemiologist,

2142
01:19:32,643 --> 01:19:34,681
and again, everything we do is in support of

2143
01:19:34,681 --> 01:19:36,808
the Department of Health on Puerto Rico,

2144
01:19:36,808 --> 01:19:38,857
but basically making available courses of

2145
01:19:38,857 --> 01:19:41,674
antibiotic treatment to basically treat

2146
01:19:41,674 --> 01:19:44,928
anticipated levels of leptospirosis and other

2147
01:19:44,928 --> 01:19:46,678
bacterial infections.

2148
01:19:48,145 --> 01:19:50,321
Typically leptospirosis occurs in about

2149
01:19:50,321 --> 01:19:52,116
a couple hundred cases a year.

2150
01:19:52,116 --> 01:19:54,051
We'd expect that to probably go higher than

2151
01:19:54,051 --> 01:19:56,770
that because of the nature of the events,

2152
01:19:56,770 --> 01:19:58,529
so we've provided several thousand courses

2153
01:19:58,529 --> 01:20:00,946
of treatment for Puerto Rico.

2154
01:20:01,857 --> 01:20:04,685
Beyond those kinds of circumstances you'd be

2155
01:20:04,685 --> 01:20:06,685
concerned about tetanus.

2156
01:20:07,834 --> 01:20:11,334
We've also made available tetanus vaccines

2157
01:20:11,827 --> 01:20:14,155
through CDC and also have made available 24

2158
01:20:14,155 --> 01:20:16,661
environmental health officers to work with the

2159
01:20:16,661 --> 01:20:18,294
department of Puerto Rico as well as

2160
01:20:18,294 --> 01:20:21,649
epidemiologists to track not only these kinds of

2161
01:20:21,649 --> 01:20:23,390
environmental hazards,

2162
01:20:23,390 --> 01:20:24,433
but also the cases

2163
01:20:24,433 --> 01:20:26,291
that would be associated with them.

2164
01:20:26,291 --> 01:20:27,777
- Mr. Chairman I recognize mt time is up but

2165
01:20:27,777 --> 01:20:29,799
I would like as a follow-up from each who has

2166
01:20:29,799 --> 01:20:33,008
information about the, the incidents we're also

2167
01:20:33,008 --> 01:20:36,761
hearing of people in Puerto Rico drinking water

2168
01:20:36,761 --> 01:20:39,656
from Superfund sites because of their desperation

2169
01:20:39,656 --> 01:20:41,587
to get drinking water and obviously there are

2170
01:20:41,587 --> 01:20:44,152
obvious health risks, huge health risks,

2171
01:20:44,152 --> 01:20:45,300
associated with that.

2172
01:20:45,300 --> 01:20:46,133
Thank you.

2173
01:20:46,167 --> 01:20:47,688
- Senator Langford.

2174
01:20:47,688 --> 01:20:48,521
- Anyways Chairman.

2175
01:20:48,521 --> 01:20:50,003
Gentleman thank you for being here and getting

2176
01:20:50,003 --> 01:20:51,520
a chance to walk through this.

2177
01:20:51,520 --> 01:20:52,707
I have a multitude of questions I want to try to

2178
01:20:52,707 --> 01:20:56,040
blitz through in a short period of time.

2179
01:20:57,311 --> 01:20:58,850
Mr. Long, let me ask you this.

2180
01:20:58,850 --> 01:21:01,878
This comes back to the preparation side of this.

2181
01:21:01,878 --> 01:21:04,026
The Biggert Waters flood insurance program

2182
01:21:04,026 --> 01:21:07,776
in 2012 required a report every six months on

2183
01:21:07,959 --> 01:21:09,645
how we're doing on the debt.

2184
01:21:09,645 --> 01:21:12,361
What's happening there, what process do we have

2185
01:21:12,361 --> 01:21:13,570
to be able to work out of

2186
01:21:13,570 --> 01:21:15,492
the flood insurance debt?

2187
01:21:15,492 --> 01:21:17,200
The previous administration just stopped doing

2188
01:21:17,200 --> 01:21:19,781
that report at the end of last year,

2189
01:21:19,781 --> 01:21:21,465
so we don't have that really for two years

2190
01:21:21,465 --> 01:21:24,484
so it made it difficult coming into this year

2191
01:21:24,484 --> 01:21:26,484
and trying to deal with obvious flood issues

2192
01:21:26,484 --> 01:21:27,684
when we don't have a report

2193
01:21:27,684 --> 01:21:28,843
for the last two years.

2194
01:21:28,843 --> 01:21:31,261
Do you know when that is planned to restart?

2195
01:21:31,261 --> 01:21:32,917
I understand full well in the chaos of all it's

2196
01:21:32,917 --> 01:21:36,400
trying to go with what's happening currently,

2197
01:21:36,400 --> 01:21:37,860
that's probably going to behind again,

2198
01:21:37,860 --> 01:21:39,028
but do you know where that is in the process of

2199
01:21:39,028 --> 01:21:39,945
restarting?

2200
01:21:39,988 --> 01:21:41,184
- I do not but we will follow up

2201
01:21:41,184 --> 01:21:42,684
directly with you.

2202
01:21:42,760 --> 01:21:43,593
- That would be helpful.

2203
01:21:43,593 --> 01:21:46,088
You also mentioned in your testimony about

2204
01:21:46,088 --> 01:21:48,017
trying to interact with private entities in

2205
01:21:48,017 --> 01:21:49,952
the private sector on flood insurance.

2206
01:21:49,952 --> 01:21:51,694
Do you have any specific ideas on that?

2207
01:21:51,694 --> 01:21:52,806
Things that you plan to be able to

2208
01:21:52,806 --> 01:21:54,474
bring at the end of this?

2209
01:21:54,474 --> 01:21:56,315
- Well the NFIP program is underneath

2210
01:21:56,315 --> 01:21:57,664
you know, my authorities.

2211
01:21:57,664 --> 01:21:59,404
I'm not an insurance, um,

2212
01:21:59,404 --> 01:22:00,879
I'm not an insurance expert when it comes to

2213
01:22:00,879 --> 01:22:02,212
fixing the NFIP.

2214
01:22:03,004 --> 01:22:05,431
Going into Harvey if I remember correctly,

2215
01:22:05,431 --> 01:22:08,317
and this is, you know, give or take uh,

2216
01:22:08,317 --> 01:22:10,148
a couple million here,

2217
01:22:10,148 --> 01:22:13,756
we were 24 billion dollars in debt, roughly.

2218
01:22:13,756 --> 01:22:16,800
And then when anytime you have a massive event,

2219
01:22:16,800 --> 01:22:18,476
you know Katrina sent it into debt,

2220
01:22:18,476 --> 01:22:19,865
Sandy sends it into debt,

2221
01:22:19,865 --> 01:22:23,007
Harvey, Irma are gonna send it into further debt

2222
01:22:23,007 --> 01:22:24,692
which you guys have recognized.

2223
01:22:24,692 --> 01:22:26,531
We have to fix the business framework and it's

2224
01:22:26,531 --> 01:22:27,814
got to require a solution from

2225
01:22:27,814 --> 01:22:28,961
the private sector.

2226
01:22:28,961 --> 01:22:30,589
I think the private sector should drive a lot

2227
01:22:30,589 --> 01:22:32,785
of the market and you know,

2228
01:22:32,785 --> 01:22:35,454
if we're gonna continue to reward bad behavior

2229
01:22:35,454 --> 01:22:36,809
by building in flood zones,

2230
01:22:36,809 --> 01:22:38,789
then there needs to be actuarial risks that are

2231
01:22:38,789 --> 01:22:39,622
involved.

2232
01:22:40,102 --> 01:22:44,019
And I full understand the affordability issues,

2233
01:22:44,094 --> 01:22:46,560
but I also believe that we can't continue to

2234
01:22:46,560 --> 01:22:49,791
allow conducting business under the same

2235
01:22:49,791 --> 01:22:51,854
framework and continue to go into debt.

2236
01:22:51,854 --> 01:22:55,230
I don't want to run a program that goes into debt

2237
01:22:55,230 --> 01:22:56,229
so I know what I don't know,

2238
01:22:56,229 --> 01:22:57,338
and I know that we need the private sector

2239
01:22:57,338 --> 01:22:58,171
support.

2240
01:22:58,227 --> 01:22:59,700
I need your support to figure out the best

2241
01:22:59,700 --> 01:23:00,700
way forward.

2242
01:23:01,312 --> 01:23:02,943
- So let, let's work our way through this which

2243
01:23:02,943 --> 01:23:04,110
we understand will be months in the process,

2244
01:23:04,110 --> 01:23:06,765
and years in many places in the process.

2245
01:23:06,765 --> 01:23:08,478
But we do need some help to be able to sit down

2246
01:23:08,478 --> 01:23:09,311
at the table and be able to

2247
01:23:09,311 --> 01:23:10,794
figure this out.
- [General Jackson] Absolutely.

2248
01:23:10,794 --> 01:23:11,843
- We have ideas that we're bringing to it

2249
01:23:11,843 --> 01:23:13,579
obviously for the practitioners that are working

2250
01:23:13,579 --> 01:23:15,562
through this are gonna have specific ideas.

2251
01:23:15,562 --> 01:23:17,039
We've got to deal with outside private sector

2252
01:23:17,039 --> 01:23:17,872
insurance.

2253
01:23:18,358 --> 01:23:20,269
We don't want to create a situation where

2254
01:23:20,269 --> 01:23:22,996
private sector creates insurance policies and

2255
01:23:22,996 --> 01:23:23,968
then as soon as they have claims

2256
01:23:23,968 --> 01:23:25,123
they walk away from it.

2257
01:23:25,123 --> 01:23:25,956
- [Brock] Right.

2258
01:23:25,956 --> 01:23:27,923
- That doesn't help those individuals.

2259
01:23:27,923 --> 01:23:28,944
It doesn't help us federal government.

2260
01:23:28,944 --> 01:23:29,777
There has to be some ways to be able to

2261
01:23:29,777 --> 01:23:32,018
establish some backstops that will work long

2262
01:23:32,018 --> 01:23:34,995
term and can provide some affordability.

2263
01:23:34,995 --> 01:23:37,221
So I'd like to commit that in the days ahead

2264
01:23:37,221 --> 01:23:39,034
we're gonna try to get some ideas worked out and

2265
01:23:39,034 --> 01:23:39,891
look at a long term plan.

2266
01:23:39,891 --> 01:23:41,770
That's not gonna be a year to resolve,

2267
01:23:41,770 --> 01:23:43,077
it's gonna be a decade or more to resolve

2268
01:23:43,077 --> 01:23:44,981
but we gotta be able to get started on this.

2269
01:23:44,981 --> 01:23:45,826
I know with FEMA as well

2270
01:23:45,826 --> 01:23:47,621
there's been some interaction,

2271
01:23:47,621 --> 01:23:49,083
and I'm not gonna press you on this 'cause we've

2272
01:23:49,083 --> 01:23:50,767
talked about it before,

2273
01:23:50,767 --> 01:23:53,945
but it is odd still in Florida and in Houston

2274
01:23:53,945 --> 01:23:55,528
and in Puerto Rico,

2275
01:23:55,609 --> 01:23:58,111
that if United Way facility has devastation,

2276
01:23:58,111 --> 01:24:01,077
or a zoo, or a museum has devastation,

2277
01:24:01,077 --> 01:24:03,704
they can engage with FEMA for help.

2278
01:24:03,704 --> 01:24:05,592
But if a mosque, a synagogue or a church has

2279
01:24:05,592 --> 01:24:07,457
devastation they cannot.

2280
01:24:07,457 --> 01:24:09,260
All of those are non-profits,

2281
01:24:09,260 --> 01:24:11,657
but for those that are considered houses of

2282
01:24:11,657 --> 01:24:14,103
worship they can't engage in the same way.

2283
01:24:14,103 --> 01:24:17,580
I feel like, in reading the law from the 1990's,

2284
01:24:17,580 --> 01:24:20,826
when Congress said that non-profits would be

2285
01:24:20,826 --> 01:24:23,054
included that's all non-profits.

2286
01:24:23,054 --> 01:24:24,973
And I'll be able to continue that conversation

2287
01:24:24,973 --> 01:24:26,206
in the days ahead with you on that.

2288
01:24:26,206 --> 01:24:27,039
- [Brock] Sure.

2289
01:24:27,039 --> 01:24:28,279
- And I know there's been some pushback

2290
01:24:28,279 --> 01:24:29,632
which I think is reasonable to be able to

2291
01:24:29,632 --> 01:24:31,523
ask that question on that.

2292
01:24:31,523 --> 01:24:32,356
- [Brock] Sure.

2293
01:24:32,356 --> 01:24:33,189
- General Jackson, by the way,

2294
01:24:33,189 --> 01:24:34,238
your family's doing good?

2295
01:24:34,238 --> 01:24:35,071
- [General Jackson] Yes sir. Thank you.

2296
01:24:35,071 --> 01:24:36,506
- Good. It's good to see you again.

2297
01:24:36,506 --> 01:24:37,339
- [General Jackson] Good to see you sir.

2298
01:24:37,339 --> 01:24:39,147
- Alright thanks for the ways you continue

2299
01:24:39,147 --> 01:24:40,564
to serve the nation.

2300
01:24:40,564 --> 01:24:42,747
You mentioned a comment about half of the power

2301
01:24:42,747 --> 01:24:45,420
generation in Puerto Rico is from wind and solar,

2302
01:24:45,420 --> 01:24:47,808
and half of that is from fossil fuels.

2303
01:24:47,808 --> 01:24:48,991
Did I hear that correctly?

2304
01:24:48,991 --> 01:24:50,016
- Yes Senator.

2305
01:24:50,016 --> 01:24:53,282
- So, of those that are there, what remain?

2306
01:24:53,282 --> 01:24:54,748
What was the most resilient?

2307
01:24:54,748 --> 01:24:55,602
What is still working?

2308
01:24:55,602 --> 01:24:57,852
What is redeemable of that?

2309
01:24:57,856 --> 01:24:59,227
- Very interesting, Senator, that you ask that

2310
01:24:59,227 --> 01:25:01,077
because I was very surprised when I flew over the

2311
01:25:01,077 --> 01:25:04,182
renewable sites, the solar and the wind,

2312
01:25:04,182 --> 01:25:06,059
the actual blades of the wind farms were

2313
01:25:06,059 --> 01:25:10,142
snapped off and the solar panels were all smashed

2314
01:25:10,592 --> 01:25:14,522
and the actual power plants that held up the best

2315
01:25:14,522 --> 01:25:16,546
were the typical standard power plants.

2316
01:25:16,546 --> 01:25:19,629
Be it the natural gas, or coal fired,

2317
01:25:19,643 --> 01:25:22,294
or heavy diesel or what have you, so just the

2318
01:25:22,294 --> 01:25:23,759
structures themselves held up better than the

2319
01:25:23,759 --> 01:25:25,835
renewables based on what I saw.

2320
01:25:25,835 --> 01:25:27,907
- I'm not into renewables, to say the least,

2321
01:25:27,907 --> 01:25:29,836
but I think part of the conversation that

2322
01:25:29,836 --> 01:25:32,034
we have to have in helping Puerto Rico get back

2323
01:25:32,034 --> 01:25:35,585
on it's feet is to look at resiliency long term.

2324
01:25:35,585 --> 01:25:37,230
So I want us to be able to look at all of those

2325
01:25:37,230 --> 01:25:39,320
things as we go through the process and I know

2326
01:25:39,320 --> 01:25:41,468
that'd be a common conversation around this

2327
01:25:41,468 --> 01:25:43,020
horseshoe and to be able to figure out how we

2328
01:25:43,020 --> 01:25:45,143
actually get them back in place.

2329
01:25:45,143 --> 01:25:48,459
I'm asking a question that I know is unfair,

2330
01:25:48,459 --> 01:25:51,072
so I'm gonna go ahead and tell you up front.

2331
01:25:51,072 --> 01:25:54,893
We're all concerned about why Puerto Rico did not

2332
01:25:54,893 --> 01:25:56,776
choose to do mutual aide for their

2333
01:25:56,776 --> 01:25:58,526
power reconstruction.

2334
01:26:00,624 --> 01:26:02,354
Texas did, Florida did,

2335
01:26:02,354 --> 01:26:03,585
other groups when they've experienced it,

2336
01:26:03,585 --> 01:26:06,211
they asked for mutual aide engaged.

2337
01:26:06,211 --> 01:26:10,059
What have you been told why they didn't do that?

2338
01:26:10,059 --> 01:26:11,892
You can't tell me why,

2339
01:26:12,014 --> 01:26:13,764
I'm only asking what have you been told

2340
01:26:13,764 --> 01:26:15,778
why they didn't ask for mutual aide?

2341
01:26:15,778 --> 01:26:17,113
And Mr. Long the question is coming to you

2342
01:26:17,113 --> 01:26:18,437
as well next on that.

2343
01:26:18,437 --> 01:26:19,724
So, General Jackson,

2344
01:26:19,724 --> 01:26:21,295
what have you been told why they didn't

2345
01:26:21,295 --> 01:26:22,686
request mutual aide?

2346
01:26:22,686 --> 01:26:26,045
- Senator I've been told that the reason that

2347
01:26:26,045 --> 01:26:28,565
they did outreach at some point for mutual aide

2348
01:26:28,565 --> 01:26:32,304
but because it's a cost-shared arrangement and

2349
01:26:32,304 --> 01:26:34,438
Puerto Rico is in the financial situation that

2350
01:26:34,438 --> 01:26:35,355
they're in,

2351
01:26:35,536 --> 01:26:39,369
that utility companies were hesitant to engage

2352
01:26:39,451 --> 01:26:40,835
because there was no guarantee of

2353
01:26:40,835 --> 01:26:42,418
cost-share payment.

2354
01:26:42,512 --> 01:26:44,115
Now that changed, I believe, when the cost-share

2355
01:26:44,115 --> 01:26:47,484
arrangement was waived and then they re-engaged,

2356
01:26:47,484 --> 01:26:50,570
the public power utilities re-engaged.

2357
01:26:50,570 --> 01:26:52,610
But by that time, PREPA had already reached out

2358
01:26:52,610 --> 01:26:56,168
and had engaged with a sole source contract and

2359
01:26:56,168 --> 01:26:58,713
that's how that arrangement was started.

2360
01:26:58,713 --> 01:27:00,268
That's what I've been told through multiple

2361
01:27:00,268 --> 01:27:02,956
sources but I obviously don't have any authority

2362
01:27:02,956 --> 01:27:03,878
to confirm that.
- I, I understand,

2363
01:27:03,878 --> 01:27:05,523
'cause again, I'm not asking what they did

2364
01:27:05,523 --> 01:27:06,426
or why they made this decision,

2365
01:27:06,426 --> 01:27:07,259
just what you were told.

2366
01:27:07,259 --> 01:27:08,092
Mr. Long,

2367
01:27:08,092 --> 01:27:08,925
is that the same thing you were told as well?

2368
01:27:08,925 --> 01:27:09,895
- Uh, General Jackson is correct

2369
01:27:09,895 --> 01:27:11,598
and I agree with him.

2370
01:27:11,598 --> 01:27:14,234
Um, many companies are not willing to engage

2371
01:27:14,234 --> 01:27:16,462
until there's a guarantee of 100 percent.

2372
01:27:16,462 --> 01:27:17,295
- [Senator Langford] Right.

2373
01:27:17,295 --> 01:27:19,543
- And uh, the bottom line is that I spoke with

2374
01:27:19,543 --> 01:27:21,876
Governor Rossello yesterday,

2375
01:27:24,114 --> 01:27:25,449
there are going to re-engage the e-mac process

2376
01:27:25,449 --> 01:27:26,585
for power support.

2377
01:27:26,585 --> 01:27:28,255
I think specifically they're having conversations

2378
01:27:28,255 --> 01:27:30,322
with the states of Florida and New York.

2379
01:27:30,322 --> 01:27:33,078
And the goal is is that my federal coordinating

2380
01:27:33,078 --> 01:27:36,372
officer Mike Burn has requested that PREPA

2381
01:27:36,372 --> 01:27:39,364
make sure that we are unified with the Army Corps

2382
01:27:39,364 --> 01:27:41,673
so that we're not working in separate streams but

2383
01:27:41,673 --> 01:27:42,835
that we are working together

2384
01:27:42,835 --> 01:27:44,035
in a consolidated effort.

2385
01:27:44,035 --> 01:27:45,577
- We will follow up with your staff 'cause I have

2386
01:27:45,577 --> 01:27:47,056
another question that's a process issue that

2387
01:27:47,056 --> 01:27:49,264
we'll have to just talk through and that is-

2388
01:27:49,264 --> 01:27:50,584
At times when FEMA can't get it done with

2389
01:27:50,584 --> 01:27:52,488
contracts you're punting to

2390
01:27:52,488 --> 01:27:53,801
Army Corps of Engineers to be able to handle

2391
01:27:53,801 --> 01:27:54,634
any contracts.

2392
01:27:54,634 --> 01:27:55,467
What I'd be interested to know

2393
01:27:55,467 --> 01:27:57,717
is the contracting process.

2394
01:27:59,034 --> 01:27:59,867
Which one takes longer,

2395
01:27:59,867 --> 01:28:00,700
which one's more efficient,

2396
01:28:00,700 --> 01:28:02,850
which one has greater cost?

2397
01:28:02,850 --> 01:28:04,883
At times there is some overlap in between the

2398
01:28:04,883 --> 01:28:07,651
'whose got debris removal': at what level FEMA

2399
01:28:07,651 --> 01:28:09,455
can handle it and what level they need to be able

2400
01:28:09,455 --> 01:28:10,471
to hand it off.

2401
01:28:10,471 --> 01:28:11,972
For us that's gonna be helpful just to be able

2402
01:28:11,972 --> 01:28:14,358
to know because those are federal dollars there.

2403
01:28:14,358 --> 01:28:15,295
Which one's more efficient,

2404
01:28:15,295 --> 01:28:16,879
do we need to buffer one up to be able to

2405
01:28:16,879 --> 01:28:18,161
correct another one.

2406
01:28:18,161 --> 01:28:20,093
- Can I answer the question?

2407
01:28:20,093 --> 01:28:23,436
Um, we do not typically contract to rebuild

2408
01:28:23,436 --> 01:28:24,321
power grids.

2409
01:28:24,321 --> 01:28:26,143
We mission assign the Army Corps of Engineers

2410
01:28:26,143 --> 01:28:28,540
who handles the contracts directly

2411
01:28:28,540 --> 01:28:30,207
to get the job done.

2412
01:28:30,827 --> 01:28:34,715
The best case scenario is the example of Florida.

2413
01:28:34,715 --> 01:28:37,403
Florida Power and Light controls their destiny

2414
01:28:37,403 --> 01:28:40,609
when it comes to restoring their own power grid

2415
01:28:40,609 --> 01:28:42,542
and inactivating mutual aide,

2416
01:28:42,542 --> 01:28:44,732
and then FEMA basically serves in a supportive

2417
01:28:44,732 --> 01:28:46,864
federal role to reimburse those actions.

2418
01:28:46,864 --> 01:28:48,717
- Yeah, my question won't be specifically on

2419
01:28:48,717 --> 01:28:50,714
power, it'll be on all contracting.

2420
01:28:50,714 --> 01:28:51,547
- [Brock] Sure.

2421
01:28:51,547 --> 01:28:52,380
- Whether it be debris removal.

2422
01:28:52,380 --> 01:28:53,213
- [Brock] Okay.

2423
01:28:53,213 --> 01:28:54,046
- Or whatever it may be.

2424
01:28:54,046 --> 01:28:55,079
When we have to hire individual contractors,

2425
01:28:55,079 --> 01:28:56,597
who handles that more efficiently?

2426
01:28:56,597 --> 01:28:57,884
How does that actually work?

2427
01:28:57,884 --> 01:28:59,047
Which one takes longer?

2428
01:28:59,047 --> 01:28:59,880
- [Brock] Understood.

2429
01:28:59,880 --> 01:29:00,713
- And such, so.

2430
01:29:00,713 --> 01:29:01,546
Thank you Mr. Chairman.

2431
01:29:01,546 --> 01:29:02,445
- [Senator Johnson] Senator Heitkamp.

2432
01:29:02,445 --> 01:29:04,089
- Thank you Mr. Chairman and thank you to my

2433
01:29:04,089 --> 01:29:06,447
colleague from New Hampshire for letting

2434
01:29:06,447 --> 01:29:07,447
me go first.

2435
01:29:09,352 --> 01:29:12,667
I have a few questions about the navy ship

2436
01:29:12,667 --> 01:29:14,000
Comfort, um and,

2437
01:29:15,722 --> 01:29:17,405
according to the Department of Defense,

2438
01:29:17,405 --> 01:29:19,670
the Comfort has one of the largest trauma

2439
01:29:19,670 --> 01:29:21,863
facilities in the United States is equipped

2440
01:29:21,863 --> 01:29:24,819
as well as any kind of floating hospital

2441
01:29:24,819 --> 01:29:26,152
can be equipped.

2442
01:29:26,319 --> 01:29:30,152
It is capable of treating 200 patients per day

2443
01:29:30,263 --> 01:29:32,263
with 250 beds available,

2444
01:29:33,072 --> 01:29:35,385
but yet we hear over and over again that there

2445
01:29:35,385 --> 01:29:38,036
are people going without medical treatment.

2446
01:29:38,036 --> 01:29:40,159
Despite that capability and the staff of over

2447
01:29:40,159 --> 01:29:41,992
800 trained personnel,

2448
01:29:44,454 --> 01:29:45,735
the Comfort's treated only 100 patients

2449
01:29:45,735 --> 01:29:49,069
um, 17 days after arriving in Puerto Rico

2450
01:29:49,069 --> 01:29:51,902
on October third and 30 days after

2451
01:29:51,962 --> 01:29:54,462
Hurricane Maria made landfill.

2452
01:29:55,109 --> 01:29:58,441
Dr. Kadelac, how many patients have been

2453
01:29:58,441 --> 01:30:00,289
treated on the Comfort so far that you're

2454
01:30:00,289 --> 01:30:02,617
familiar with and can you elaborate on

2455
01:30:02,617 --> 01:30:03,450
- [Dr. Kadelac] Sure ma'am.

2456
01:30:03,450 --> 01:30:04,283
- the challenges that we've had

2457
01:30:04,283 --> 01:30:05,573
getting patients to the Comfort.

2458
01:30:05,573 --> 01:30:07,752
- Sure I think the last count was 121

2459
01:30:07,752 --> 01:30:09,419
as a result of that.

2460
01:30:10,625 --> 01:30:13,000
But ma'am before you make a judgment on that

2461
01:30:13,000 --> 01:30:14,730
let me just explain what was the approach

2462
01:30:14,730 --> 01:30:18,032
using the Comfort as related to it's high

2463
01:30:18,032 --> 01:30:19,382
acuity capabilities.

2464
01:30:19,382 --> 01:30:21,833
Which you're correct in saying there are 200 beds

2465
01:30:21,833 --> 01:30:24,261
but more importantly there are 15 intensive

2466
01:30:24,261 --> 01:30:26,986
care unit beds on that, on that boat.

2467
01:30:26,986 --> 01:30:29,696
And that really was the capability that we needed

2468
01:30:29,696 --> 01:30:31,672
because quite frankly if you looked at the events

2469
01:30:31,672 --> 01:30:32,839
on the island,

2470
01:30:32,957 --> 01:30:36,776
we had a level one trauma center at Centre Medico

2471
01:30:36,776 --> 01:30:38,763
which was the East side of the island.

2472
01:30:38,763 --> 01:30:40,538
- So how many of the patients that were treated

2473
01:30:40,538 --> 01:30:43,987
aboard the Comfort were actually ICU patients?

2474
01:30:43,987 --> 01:30:44,820
- High acuity patients?

2475
01:30:44,820 --> 01:30:45,653
- Yeah.

2476
01:30:45,653 --> 01:30:47,249
- If I recall correctly over 60,

2477
01:30:47,249 --> 01:30:48,679
I can get you that number though, ma'am.

2478
01:30:48,679 --> 01:30:49,512
- [Senator Heitkamp] Yeah.

2479
01:30:49,512 --> 01:30:50,603
- But the point was is we used that as a floating

2480
01:30:50,603 --> 01:30:53,527
intensive care unit primarily in the bases

2481
01:30:53,527 --> 01:30:54,635
when we're trying to.

2482
01:30:54,635 --> 01:30:56,687
- So it's your judgment that that the Comfort

2483
01:30:56,687 --> 01:30:59,687
has been fully utilized for the need

2484
01:31:00,365 --> 01:31:01,615
in Puerto Rico.

2485
01:31:01,915 --> 01:31:03,816
- What it did was cover a critical bet that

2486
01:31:03,816 --> 01:31:06,288
we had which was based on the risk that the

2487
01:31:06,288 --> 01:31:08,538
hospitals would lose power,

2488
01:31:08,811 --> 01:31:10,539
because the majority of them,

2489
01:31:10,539 --> 01:31:11,372
in fact all of them,

2490
01:31:11,372 --> 01:31:13,427
were on generator for a period of time.

2491
01:31:13,427 --> 01:31:15,841
Now we have 70 percent back on the grid,

2492
01:31:15,841 --> 01:31:18,074
but for the time being when the hospitals were

2493
01:31:18,074 --> 01:31:20,518
on generators and the risk of failure before

2494
01:31:20,518 --> 01:31:23,089
we could put back-up back-up generators,

2495
01:31:23,089 --> 01:31:25,606
we used the Comfort as a place where we could

2496
01:31:25,606 --> 01:31:27,773
take high acuity patients,

2497
01:31:28,390 --> 01:31:30,807
transport them by helicopter,

2498
01:31:31,081 --> 01:31:32,675
by rotary wing medi-vac helicopter.

2499
01:31:32,675 --> 01:31:34,758
- I get all that but I think anybody who looks

2500
01:31:34,758 --> 01:31:37,841
at this and maybe it's just the news,

2501
01:31:38,951 --> 01:31:41,483
and I will turn to you Administrator Long,

2502
01:31:41,483 --> 01:31:42,921
who looks at the news and says,

2503
01:31:42,921 --> 01:31:45,015
look there's this huge medical need,

2504
01:31:45,015 --> 01:31:46,715
people going without treatment,

2505
01:31:46,715 --> 01:31:49,418
people at risk of losing their life.

2506
01:31:49,418 --> 01:31:51,918
We have this incredible asset,

2507
01:31:51,969 --> 01:31:54,714
this is an island, it's not like, you know,

2508
01:31:54,714 --> 01:31:56,298
the United States of America where you might

2509
01:31:56,298 --> 01:31:58,133
have something 3,000 miles away.

2510
01:31:58,133 --> 01:32:00,466
Why does it seem to be to me

2511
01:32:00,725 --> 01:32:01,892
underutilized.

2512
01:32:02,995 --> 01:32:05,146
- So I appreciate the question,

2513
01:32:05,146 --> 01:32:07,418
I understand the frustrations of the questions.

2514
01:32:07,418 --> 01:32:10,973
The goal is always anytime you move medically

2515
01:32:10,973 --> 01:32:13,056
fragile people, patients,

2516
01:32:13,331 --> 01:32:14,487
out of a hospital,

2517
01:32:14,487 --> 01:32:16,477
you take a risk of them surviving that move

2518
01:32:16,477 --> 01:32:17,310
to begin with.

2519
01:32:17,310 --> 01:32:19,701
So the goal is to stabilize the situation in

2520
01:32:19,701 --> 01:32:21,920
the hospitals and there was a tremendous effort

2521
01:32:21,920 --> 01:32:25,394
to do that because what we ran into was not only

2522
01:32:25,394 --> 01:32:28,209
hospitals operating without power,

2523
01:32:28,209 --> 01:32:29,719
but making sure that the generator actually

2524
01:32:29,719 --> 01:32:32,396
worked, getting it fuel on a regular basis,

2525
01:32:32,396 --> 01:32:35,084
and then maintenance of the generator ongoing.

2526
01:32:35,084 --> 01:32:36,048
These generators aren't designed

2527
01:32:36,048 --> 01:32:37,548
to run for months.

2528
01:32:38,061 --> 01:32:40,660
And so what we did is we initiated the Comfort

2529
01:32:40,660 --> 01:32:42,299
and Bob, you could probably talk about

2530
01:32:42,299 --> 01:32:44,746
the timeline it takes to actually do that,

2531
01:32:44,746 --> 01:32:46,525
it's about an eight day process to even

2532
01:32:46,525 --> 01:32:49,192
turn the keys on, fuel the boat,

2533
01:32:49,588 --> 01:32:51,681
get everybody staffed to even mobilize

2534
01:32:51,681 --> 01:32:54,042
and go to the island, it's a long process.

2535
01:32:54,042 --> 01:32:55,145
But the bottom line is,

2536
01:32:55,145 --> 01:32:57,611
we basically set up a 9-1-1 system as

2537
01:32:57,611 --> 01:33:00,072
I understand to where in two or three cases

2538
01:33:00,072 --> 01:33:02,208
a hospital generator would fail,

2539
01:33:02,208 --> 01:33:04,183
we would move the most medically fragile patients

2540
01:33:04,183 --> 01:33:07,209
via helicopter from the hospital to the Comfort.

2541
01:33:07,209 --> 01:33:09,665
I would argue that it was being utilized

2542
01:33:09,665 --> 01:33:12,415
very well and again, the goal is,

2543
01:33:14,110 --> 01:33:16,684
try to get the hospitals to operate.

2544
01:33:16,684 --> 01:33:18,030
We're always gonna be second guessed on

2545
01:33:18,030 --> 01:33:19,584
everything but try to get the hospitals

2546
01:33:19,584 --> 01:33:22,185
to operate and serve patients where they are.

2547
01:33:22,185 --> 01:33:25,768
- Administrator Long, I know Senator Tester

2548
01:33:26,549 --> 01:33:28,731
hit on this but one of the concerns that I have

2549
01:33:28,731 --> 01:33:32,064
given what now has landed on your plate,

2550
01:33:32,892 --> 01:33:35,048
is that all of our talk about mitigation,

2551
01:33:35,048 --> 01:33:37,486
all of our talk about preparedness,

2552
01:33:37,486 --> 01:33:40,173
will take a backseat to just dealing with

2553
01:33:40,173 --> 01:33:42,866
the disasters that you've been handed.

2554
01:33:42,866 --> 01:33:46,264
We all know based on experiences with Katrina,

2555
01:33:46,264 --> 01:33:48,474
with Sandy, this is not, you know,

2556
01:33:48,474 --> 01:33:51,468
we're here for a month and then we leave.

2557
01:33:51,468 --> 01:33:52,695
What are you going to do or how,

2558
01:33:52,695 --> 01:33:55,521
what recommendations would you make to us

2559
01:33:55,521 --> 01:33:58,938
in terms of staffing so that you have the

2560
01:33:59,315 --> 01:34:01,407
capability of actually looking at mitigation

2561
01:34:01,407 --> 01:34:04,490
and not just dealing with the crisis.

2562
01:34:04,976 --> 01:34:06,644
- Sure, and you know I've been concerned about

2563
01:34:06,644 --> 01:34:10,644
that because I, you know, my staff and you know,

2564
01:34:11,167 --> 01:34:13,421
the coordination through the federal departments,

2565
01:34:13,421 --> 01:34:15,888
tens of thousands of people have been deployed.

2566
01:34:15,888 --> 01:34:18,600
I mean if you look at the actual number

2567
01:34:18,600 --> 01:34:20,435
that's been deployed starting with Harvey,

2568
01:34:20,435 --> 01:34:21,546
it's been unprecedented,

2569
01:34:21,546 --> 01:34:22,708
and I don't have to say that.

2570
01:34:22,708 --> 01:34:24,578
And unfortunately I do feel like we're losing

2571
01:34:24,578 --> 01:34:28,263
a lot of the successes that have been implemented

2572
01:34:28,263 --> 01:34:30,079
as a result of the post-Katrina Emergency

2573
01:34:30,079 --> 01:34:31,851
Management Reform act.

2574
01:34:31,851 --> 01:34:33,846
A lot of things went right.

2575
01:34:33,846 --> 01:34:35,477
A lot of things went right.

2576
01:34:35,477 --> 01:34:38,729
So that we don't lose Puerto Rico I plan

2577
01:34:38,729 --> 01:34:41,167
to do an after action report to make sure that we

2578
01:34:41,167 --> 01:34:43,083
understand where we are versus where we need to

2579
01:34:43,083 --> 01:34:45,788
be, specifically not only to Puerto Rico,

2580
01:34:45,788 --> 01:34:47,081
but island territories.

2581
01:34:47,081 --> 01:34:47,914
- [Senator Heitkamp] Yeah.

2582
01:34:47,914 --> 01:34:48,871
- I wanna go back and hit the reset button.

2583
01:34:48,871 --> 01:34:51,621
In regards to staff specifically,

2584
01:34:51,757 --> 01:34:53,822
eventually I would like to change the entire

2585
01:34:53,822 --> 01:34:55,535
hiring process so the Federal Emergency

2586
01:34:55,535 --> 01:34:57,749
Management Agency to adopt a more FBI style

2587
01:34:57,749 --> 01:34:59,166
academy approach.

2588
01:34:59,781 --> 01:35:01,545
I would also like to expand my staff out of

2589
01:35:01,545 --> 01:35:04,276
those regional offices to the states and islands

2590
01:35:04,276 --> 01:35:05,884
to make sure that we're a part of that discussion

2591
01:35:05,884 --> 01:35:06,717
every day.

2592
01:35:07,383 --> 01:35:09,166
- I think, um, you received an incredible amount

2593
01:35:09,166 --> 01:35:11,553
of bipartisan support in part because we

2594
01:35:11,553 --> 01:35:13,792
understood what role you played in the look back

2595
01:35:13,792 --> 01:35:14,709
on Katrina.

2596
01:35:15,092 --> 01:35:17,464
We hope that you will be equally critical of the

2597
01:35:17,464 --> 01:35:18,943
work that you've done.

2598
01:35:18,943 --> 01:35:19,776
- [Brock] Sure.

2599
01:35:19,776 --> 01:35:21,152
- As Administrator but that you also will

2600
01:35:21,152 --> 01:35:24,507
collaborate with us in terms of what you need.

2601
01:35:24,507 --> 01:35:27,176
I think Senator Tester said it best.

2602
01:35:27,176 --> 01:35:29,151
You can't look at this and then understand

2603
01:35:29,151 --> 01:35:32,112
this continues and think that that um,

2604
01:35:32,112 --> 01:35:34,977
we don't have a huge challenge where we need to

2605
01:35:34,977 --> 01:35:37,144
look at all hands on deck.

2606
01:35:37,893 --> 01:35:40,873
What are the requirements that we want to impose

2607
01:35:40,873 --> 01:35:42,969
on states so that they understand what their

2608
01:35:42,969 --> 01:35:46,280
role's gonna be so they're not overly dependent

2609
01:35:46,280 --> 01:35:47,972
on the federal government but that this work

2610
01:35:47,972 --> 01:35:49,458
is seamless and so,

2611
01:35:49,458 --> 01:35:50,874
I look forward to

2612
01:35:50,874 --> 01:35:53,624
additional conversations with you

2613
01:35:53,823 --> 01:35:55,914
and to understanding what you need.

2614
01:35:55,914 --> 01:35:57,197
But we can't give you what you need

2615
01:35:57,197 --> 01:35:58,614
if you don't ask.

2616
01:35:58,878 --> 01:36:00,045
- And we will,

2617
01:36:00,293 --> 01:36:01,357
we would be happy to put that ask together.

2618
01:36:01,357 --> 01:36:02,440
And if I may,

2619
01:36:03,270 --> 01:36:05,003
each citizen is responsible for their own

2620
01:36:05,003 --> 01:36:06,385
individual preparedness.

2621
01:36:06,385 --> 01:36:08,192
We do not have a true culture of preparedness

2622
01:36:08,192 --> 01:36:10,315
in this country and we need to hit the reset

2623
01:36:10,315 --> 01:36:13,315
button and look at how we, you know,

2624
01:36:13,457 --> 01:36:15,619
partner with the Department of Education

2625
01:36:15,619 --> 01:36:17,275
and give people critical skills.

2626
01:36:17,275 --> 01:36:19,671
I mean, Gale McGovern with the Red Cross said

2627
01:36:19,671 --> 01:36:21,885
that one in four of us is gonna have to perform

2628
01:36:21,885 --> 01:36:25,052
CPR to someone else at any given time.

2629
01:36:26,377 --> 01:36:30,460
Are we giving people those boy scout type skills,

2630
01:36:30,799 --> 01:36:32,979
as well as, you know, tangible things to

2631
01:36:32,979 --> 01:36:34,646
understand that they may be the true first

2632
01:36:34,646 --> 01:36:36,725
responder for an active shooter event,

2633
01:36:36,725 --> 01:36:38,860
or if your neighbor's house has

2634
01:36:38,860 --> 01:36:40,527
collapsed upon them.

2635
01:36:40,966 --> 01:36:42,921
That many times citizens are the first true

2636
01:36:42,921 --> 01:36:45,684
responders and we have to start dedicating our

2637
01:36:45,684 --> 01:36:47,592
public awareness and cultural preparedness

2638
01:36:47,592 --> 01:36:49,139
campaigns to doing that,

2639
01:36:49,139 --> 01:36:51,936
as well as figuring out what the states need.

2640
01:36:51,936 --> 01:36:52,769
- I couldn't agree with you more.

2641
01:36:52,769 --> 01:36:54,578
Thank you so much for your hard work and all of

2642
01:36:54,578 --> 01:36:57,306
you working under very very difficult

2643
01:36:57,306 --> 01:36:58,473
circumstances.

2644
01:36:58,744 --> 01:37:01,690
We hope that Congress can be an effective partner

2645
01:37:01,690 --> 01:37:02,523
for you.

2646
01:37:02,523 --> 01:37:03,488
- Senator Heitkamp, real quick before you leave,

2647
01:37:03,488 --> 01:37:05,656
you may not have been here but one of the action

2648
01:37:05,656 --> 01:37:07,828
items I'm taking away from her is literally that

2649
01:37:07,828 --> 01:37:11,625
state-by-state, territory-by-territory assessment

2650
01:37:11,625 --> 01:37:13,958
who has prepared themselves,

2651
01:37:14,227 --> 01:37:15,310
what is that,

2652
01:37:16,589 --> 01:37:18,242
what is the current state so we can determine

2653
01:37:18,242 --> 01:37:19,361
something during mitigation.

2654
01:37:19,361 --> 01:37:21,352
We'll definitely follow that up with a hearing.

2655
01:37:21,352 --> 01:37:23,158
- Yeah Mr. Chairman, you know, um,

2656
01:37:23,158 --> 01:37:25,705
Grand Forks flood was a devastating event.

2657
01:37:25,705 --> 01:37:28,770
We all pulled our state disaster plan off,

2658
01:37:28,770 --> 01:37:29,646
(blowing),

2659
01:37:29,646 --> 01:37:32,608
blew the dust off of it and realized that

2660
01:37:32,608 --> 01:37:35,340
we needed to take that process more seriously.

2661
01:37:35,340 --> 01:37:38,331
So, nothing like a state disaster the caliber of

2662
01:37:38,331 --> 01:37:41,331
this to realign all of our thinking.

2663
01:37:41,622 --> 01:37:42,843
- So we'll work with you on that.

2664
01:37:42,843 --> 01:37:44,093
Senator Hassan.

2665
01:37:44,582 --> 01:37:46,602
- Well thank you very much Mr. Chair

2666
01:37:46,602 --> 01:37:48,527
and thank you all to the witnesses for being here

2667
01:37:48,527 --> 01:37:49,772
today and for the work you do on behalf of

2668
01:37:49,772 --> 01:37:53,022
our country. We are very very grateful.

2669
01:37:53,404 --> 01:37:56,342
I've got three basic questions and so I'm gonna

2670
01:37:56,342 --> 01:37:57,829
try to move them 'em quick so we can get to

2671
01:37:57,829 --> 01:37:58,829
all of them.

2672
01:37:59,627 --> 01:38:02,235
Um, Administrator Long, I want to again thank you

2673
01:38:02,235 --> 01:38:05,735
for being here today and also for briefing

2674
01:38:06,011 --> 01:38:07,454
several senators on a call on September 28th on

2675
01:38:07,454 --> 01:38:09,148
which you updated us on the US government's

2676
01:38:09,148 --> 01:38:11,374
relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

2677
01:38:11,374 --> 01:38:13,950
On this call you said that the airports and

2678
01:38:13,950 --> 01:38:15,887
seaports were all heavily damaged.

2679
01:38:15,887 --> 01:38:17,699
You also added that the road networks

2680
01:38:17,699 --> 01:38:20,443
were in many cases impassible and that you lacked

2681
01:38:20,443 --> 01:38:23,255
trucks and personnel to be able to effectively

2682
01:38:23,255 --> 01:38:25,896
distribute the ample relief supplies you had

2683
01:38:25,896 --> 01:38:27,479
waiting on pallets.

2684
01:38:27,533 --> 01:38:30,400
So when did FEMA and the Department of Defense

2685
01:38:30,400 --> 01:38:32,702
first make the assessment that the damage to the

2686
01:38:32,702 --> 01:38:35,778
airports and seaports would encumber the delivery

2687
01:38:35,778 --> 01:38:37,361
of relief supplies?

2688
01:38:37,586 --> 01:38:39,989
- Um, almost immediately and that was the

2689
01:38:39,989 --> 01:38:42,630
logistical complexity of being able to put

2690
01:38:42,630 --> 01:38:44,305
forward the humanitarian mission.

2691
01:38:44,305 --> 01:38:45,610
All of those ports were damaged but it wasn't

2692
01:38:45,610 --> 01:38:47,947
just the ports it was the air traffic control

2693
01:38:47,947 --> 01:38:48,980
systems.
- [Senator Hassan] Okay.

2694
01:38:48,980 --> 01:38:51,793
- That also guide those in. It was, yeah.

2695
01:38:51,793 --> 01:38:52,946
- So it was almost immediate so when did you

2696
01:38:52,946 --> 01:38:54,868
make the determination that you would need the

2697
01:38:54,868 --> 01:38:57,938
full capabilities of the Unites States military

2698
01:38:57,938 --> 01:39:00,184
to be able to distribute resources based on that

2699
01:39:00,184 --> 01:39:02,101
ascendment- assessment?

2700
01:39:02,285 --> 01:39:04,025
And when did you first ask the Department of

2701
01:39:04,025 --> 01:39:06,251
Defense for the type of assets that we were

2702
01:39:06,251 --> 01:39:08,731
eventually provided for the relief response?

2703
01:39:08,731 --> 01:39:10,935
- And if I may, I may defer here

2704
01:39:10,935 --> 01:39:11,838
but let me be clear.

2705
01:39:11,838 --> 01:39:14,643
We engaged the Department of Defense before

2706
01:39:14,643 --> 01:39:17,596
Maria hit and so there were a ton of assets on

2707
01:39:17,596 --> 01:39:21,002
the island you know before the storm hit.

2708
01:39:21,002 --> 01:39:24,502
But you can only put so many people and equipment

2709
01:39:24,502 --> 01:39:27,234
on an island or you expose it to the storm

2710
01:39:27,234 --> 01:39:29,227
and it becomes useless after the fact.

2711
01:39:29,227 --> 01:39:32,289
So it's a balancing game but if I may?

2712
01:39:32,289 --> 01:39:34,543
If I may defer?
- Sure. Go ahead.

2713
01:39:34,543 --> 01:39:35,376
- My name is Bob Salesses.
- Right.

2714
01:39:35,376 --> 01:39:37,968
- And I represent the Defense Department

2715
01:39:37,968 --> 01:39:38,885
here today.

2716
01:39:39,368 --> 01:39:40,201
As you may recall.

2717
01:39:40,201 --> 01:39:41,034
- [Senator Hassan] Make sure your

2718
01:39:41,034 --> 01:39:41,867
microphone's on, please.

2719
01:39:41,867 --> 01:39:42,724
- How do I turn it on?

2720
01:39:42,724 --> 01:39:43,632
There it is, sorry.

2721
01:39:43,632 --> 01:39:45,771
Hurricane Irma came through first,

2722
01:39:45,771 --> 01:39:47,866
as you know it hit St. Thomas and St. John,

2723
01:39:47,866 --> 01:39:49,213
did a lot of damage.

2724
01:39:49,213 --> 01:39:52,065
We actually had DOD assets in the area,

2725
01:39:52,065 --> 01:39:52,898
we had the US.

2726
01:39:52,898 --> 01:39:55,313
- So I'm just gonna interrupt for a second,

2727
01:39:55,313 --> 01:39:58,204
because on the September 28th call with FEMA

2728
01:39:58,204 --> 01:39:59,046
and other agencies,

2729
01:39:59,046 --> 01:40:00,838
the DOD representative stated that the

2730
01:40:00,838 --> 01:40:04,314
US Northern Command was working on a plan to

2731
01:40:04,314 --> 01:40:07,590
mobilize an additional sustainment force to

2732
01:40:07,590 --> 01:40:08,423
Puerto Rico.

2733
01:40:08,423 --> 01:40:10,725
Now that's eight days after the hurricane hit.

2734
01:40:10,725 --> 01:40:13,258
Additionally, according to FEMA's website,

2735
01:40:13,258 --> 01:40:15,327
on October first US Northern Command delivered

2736
01:40:15,327 --> 01:40:17,660
approximately 310,000 meals,

2737
01:40:18,351 --> 01:40:20,300
150,000 liters of water,

2738
01:40:20,300 --> 01:40:22,673
generators, tarps, additional sustainment units

2739
01:40:22,673 --> 01:40:26,506
and leading components of aviation command and

2740
01:40:27,206 --> 01:40:28,039
control.

2741
01:40:28,428 --> 01:40:31,803
Given that it was apparent from FEMA and DOD

2742
01:40:31,803 --> 01:40:34,458
assessment that both the airports and seaports

2743
01:40:34,458 --> 01:40:36,258
of Puerto Rico were heavily damaged and that

2744
01:40:36,258 --> 01:40:39,097
this would cause immense distribution challenges,

2745
01:40:39,097 --> 01:40:41,405
why did it take until October first to deliver

2746
01:40:41,405 --> 01:40:44,239
aviation command and control to the island?

2747
01:40:44,239 --> 01:40:47,092
And why on September 28th was the US Northern

2748
01:40:47,092 --> 01:40:49,925
Command still working to finalize it's plans

2749
01:40:49,925 --> 01:40:52,269
to deliver a sustainment force?

2750
01:40:52,269 --> 01:40:54,791
And when did the sustainment force arrive?

2751
01:40:54,791 --> 01:40:56,551
- So ma'am, to answer that question again,

2752
01:40:56,551 --> 01:40:58,044
there's concurrent activity always

2753
01:40:58,044 --> 01:40:59,342
in these events.

2754
01:40:59,342 --> 01:41:01,820
As I indicated we had Navy ships in the area:

2755
01:41:01,820 --> 01:41:03,315
the US Kearsarge, the Oak Hill,

2756
01:41:03,315 --> 01:41:04,523
they had helicopters,

2757
01:41:04,523 --> 01:41:06,829
they were doing search and rescue capabilities.

2758
01:41:06,829 --> 01:41:09,246
Simultaneously, US Transcomm,

2759
01:41:09,456 --> 01:41:11,674
which is responsible for strategic airlift and

2760
01:41:11,674 --> 01:41:15,007
providing C-17's and C-5's was flying in

2761
01:41:15,267 --> 01:41:17,934
assessment teams for air fields.

2762
01:41:18,152 --> 01:41:20,058
As the Administrator pointed out,

2763
01:41:20,058 --> 01:41:23,975
a number of those air fields had severe damage,

2764
01:41:23,997 --> 01:41:26,000
no navigation aids, no radars,

2765
01:41:26,000 --> 01:41:27,106
those kinds of things.

2766
01:41:27,106 --> 01:41:29,412
That equipment had to be put in place.

2767
01:41:29,412 --> 01:41:31,040
All of this was happening well before the

2768
01:41:31,040 --> 01:41:32,040
28th, ma'am.

2769
01:41:32,581 --> 01:41:33,778
I don't know where the impression got,

2770
01:41:33,778 --> 01:41:35,765
there was.
- I'll tell you where.

2771
01:41:35,765 --> 01:41:37,142
The impression came from the questions we

2772
01:41:37,142 --> 01:41:38,734
asked on a conference call

2773
01:41:38,734 --> 01:41:39,801
on September 28th.
- [Robert] Ma'am there was

2774
01:41:39,801 --> 01:41:41,218
a lot of military capability.

2775
01:41:41,218 --> 01:41:43,606
- So what I would ask as a follow up will

2776
01:41:43,606 --> 01:41:46,527
of course have these letters to you directly,

2777
01:41:46,527 --> 01:41:48,406
is some real specifics here because I think

2778
01:41:48,406 --> 01:41:49,239
all of us.
- [Robert] Right.

2779
01:41:49,239 --> 01:41:51,041
- Were concerned that eight days after the

2780
01:41:51,041 --> 01:41:53,635
hurricane hit it seemed like we were still

2781
01:41:53,635 --> 01:41:55,272
having to suggest on that call that the

2782
01:41:55,272 --> 01:41:57,308
United States military was gonna be necessary

2783
01:41:57,308 --> 01:42:01,308
to help get some supplies distributed because of

2784
01:42:01,730 --> 01:42:03,991
the impassibility of transportation

2785
01:42:03,991 --> 01:42:05,234
infrastructure.

2786
01:42:05,234 --> 01:42:06,067
I do,

2787
01:42:06,067 --> 01:42:07,474
just 'cause I have a couple of minutes left,

2788
01:42:07,474 --> 01:42:10,803
want to move on to one other question to

2789
01:42:10,803 --> 01:42:12,386
Administrator Long.

2790
01:42:12,896 --> 01:42:15,978
Last week Pro-Publica posted a story that stated

2791
01:42:15,978 --> 01:42:18,726
that FEMA was declining to publicly release a

2792
01:42:18,726 --> 01:42:22,111
document drafted several years ago that detailed

2793
01:42:22,111 --> 01:42:24,802
how FEMA would respond to a major hurricane in

2794
01:42:24,802 --> 01:42:25,802
Puerto Rico.

2795
01:42:26,170 --> 01:42:28,049
According to Pro-Publica,

2796
01:42:28,049 --> 01:42:30,530
FEMA started drafting the plans known as the

2797
01:42:30,530 --> 01:42:33,940
Hurricane Annex after the lack of preparation

2798
01:42:33,940 --> 01:42:36,378
in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

2799
01:42:36,378 --> 01:42:39,189
Pro-Publica also found similar plans posted on

2800
01:42:39,189 --> 01:42:41,272
DOD's website for Hawaii,

2801
01:42:41,518 --> 01:42:44,768
which detailed an 85 step process to restore

2802
01:42:44,768 --> 01:42:46,933
electricity on Hawaii in the event

2803
01:42:46,933 --> 01:42:48,183
of a hurricane.

2804
01:42:48,564 --> 01:42:51,266
So why is FEMA not releasing this document

2805
01:42:51,266 --> 01:42:52,433
to the public?

2806
01:42:52,697 --> 01:42:55,648
And could you please commit to making it public,

2807
01:42:55,648 --> 01:42:56,562
and if not,

2808
01:42:56,562 --> 01:42:58,124
will you please articulate what was in the

2809
01:42:58,124 --> 01:42:59,957
Hurricane Annex and what steps you followed in

2810
01:42:59,957 --> 01:43:02,566
the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

2811
01:43:02,566 --> 01:43:04,818
- Sure Senator, um, we gave it to the committee

2812
01:43:04,818 --> 01:43:08,292
last night, apparently, I was just briefed.

2813
01:43:08,292 --> 01:43:10,316
But I was unaware of the issue.

2814
01:43:10,316 --> 01:43:11,149
- [Senator Hassan] Alright.

2815
01:43:11,149 --> 01:43:11,982
- I would be happy to follow up with you

2816
01:43:11,982 --> 01:43:12,815
directly on that.

2817
01:43:12,815 --> 01:43:14,321
- Well thank you very much and in that case,

2818
01:43:14,321 --> 01:43:15,738
I will also just,

2819
01:43:15,852 --> 01:43:19,174
before yielding back the remainder of my time,

2820
01:43:19,174 --> 01:43:21,341
let you all know that, um,

2821
01:43:21,923 --> 01:43:25,224
well, actually we have a minute so instead of

2822
01:43:25,224 --> 01:43:26,441
giving this to the record,

2823
01:43:26,441 --> 01:43:29,306
I did want to touch on the US Virgin Islands

2824
01:43:29,306 --> 01:43:32,375
and where we are in terms of power restoration

2825
01:43:32,375 --> 01:43:35,312
and tourism because perhaps even more so than

2826
01:43:35,312 --> 01:43:38,589
Puerto Rico the US Virgin Islands economy

2827
01:43:38,589 --> 01:43:40,493
fundamentally depends on the ability of the

2828
01:43:40,493 --> 01:43:43,840
islands to host tourists from all over the world.

2829
01:43:43,840 --> 01:43:45,736
The Virgin Islands suffered a direct hit from

2830
01:43:45,736 --> 01:43:48,082
not only Hurricane Maria but Hurricane Irma

2831
01:43:48,082 --> 01:43:48,915
as well.

2832
01:43:49,467 --> 01:43:51,994
These storms knocked out the power across these

2833
01:43:51,994 --> 01:43:54,723
islands and the islands cannot expect to begin to

2834
01:43:54,723 --> 01:43:58,390
reestablish it's tourism economy without the

2835
01:43:58,444 --> 01:44:01,113
restoration of power, to say the least.

2836
01:44:01,113 --> 01:44:03,193
Yet after more than a month the US Virgin Islands

2837
01:44:03,193 --> 01:44:05,299
report that less than a third of the territories

2838
01:44:05,299 --> 01:44:07,466
have power up and running.

2839
01:44:08,293 --> 01:44:10,772
So, what steps are FEMA and DOD taking to restore

2840
01:44:10,772 --> 01:44:13,381
full power to the US Virgin Islands?

2841
01:44:13,381 --> 01:44:15,688
And what is FEMA's current estimate of when

2842
01:44:15,688 --> 01:44:18,639
100 percent of the islands will have power?

2843
01:44:18,639 --> 01:44:20,871
- Yep, so, excellent point.

2844
01:44:20,871 --> 01:44:22,519
You know the Virgin Islands were hit equally as

2845
01:44:22,519 --> 01:44:23,998
hard as Puerto Rico,

2846
01:44:23,998 --> 01:44:25,994
and the bottom line is they're basically in the

2847
01:44:25,994 --> 01:44:26,857
same approach.

2848
01:44:26,857 --> 01:44:28,531
But there's two different approaches being taken

2849
01:44:28,531 --> 01:44:30,867
to restore the power as I understand it.

2850
01:44:30,867 --> 01:44:33,611
So where we proactively pushed forward the Army

2851
01:44:33,611 --> 01:44:35,753
Corps of Engineers in Puerto Rico,

2852
01:44:35,753 --> 01:44:37,370
the power authority that represents

2853
01:44:37,370 --> 01:44:40,965
the Virgin Islands is in control and conducting

2854
01:44:40,965 --> 01:44:43,238
their own contracts and leading their power

2855
01:44:43,238 --> 01:44:45,155
restoration but if, uh,

2856
01:44:45,406 --> 01:44:48,329
the last number I saw was that power should be

2857
01:44:48,329 --> 01:44:49,720
restored by, you know,

2858
01:44:49,720 --> 01:44:52,053
December time frame as well.

2859
01:44:52,192 --> 01:44:54,092
But here again, that's just an estimate.

2860
01:44:54,092 --> 01:44:54,925
- Okay.

2861
01:44:54,925 --> 01:44:57,814
Well thank you again for your participation.

2862
01:44:57,814 --> 01:44:58,955
I appreciate it very much and

2863
01:44:58,955 --> 01:45:00,342
Mr. Chair thank you.

2864
01:45:00,342 --> 01:45:02,484
- Senator Hassan let me just, uh, brief you

2865
01:45:02,484 --> 01:45:05,070
what I know about that report you're referencing.

2866
01:45:05,070 --> 01:45:07,263
The Annex is jointly owned by FEMA and the state

2867
01:45:07,263 --> 01:45:09,096
of, well, Puerto Rico.

2868
01:45:10,088 --> 01:45:12,858
It was not released because Puerto Rico did not

2869
01:45:12,858 --> 01:45:15,483
give FEMA permission to share with the media.

2870
01:45:15,483 --> 01:45:18,622
We got it as a 'for official use only' document

2871
01:45:18,622 --> 01:45:19,907
which we're happy to share with you.

2872
01:45:19,907 --> 01:45:21,795
But until Puerto Rico agrees to release it,

2873
01:45:21,795 --> 01:45:23,496
it can't be released to the general public.

2874
01:45:23,496 --> 01:45:25,056
- Well I would appreciate to see it.

2875
01:45:25,056 --> 01:45:26,627
I'm glad we have it and I'll follow up with

2876
01:45:26,627 --> 01:45:27,860
you further. Thank you.

2877
01:45:27,860 --> 01:45:29,193
- Senator Danes.

2878
01:45:29,651 --> 01:45:32,068
- Thank you Chairman Johnson.

2879
01:45:33,256 --> 01:45:36,423
Thank you for testifying today and uh,

2880
01:45:36,467 --> 01:45:38,651
Administrator Long it's good to see you again.

2881
01:45:38,651 --> 01:45:39,984
I gotta tell ya,

2882
01:45:40,732 --> 01:45:44,107
folks out in Eastern Montana are very grateful

2883
01:45:44,107 --> 01:45:47,774
with the fact that you listened to our pleas

2884
01:45:48,150 --> 01:45:51,733
when we had some devastating wildfires that

2885
01:45:52,152 --> 01:45:54,621
took out much of Garfield County and um,

2886
01:45:54,621 --> 01:45:57,377
I think we've seen sometimes the criteria for

2887
01:45:57,377 --> 01:45:59,960
dealing with a rural situation,

2888
01:46:00,799 --> 01:46:03,543
rural environment which much of Montana is,

2889
01:46:03,543 --> 01:46:06,520
can be a bit different than a disaster that

2890
01:46:06,520 --> 01:46:08,080
hits one of our urban centers.

2891
01:46:08,080 --> 01:46:11,511
And I want to thank you for your responsiveness,

2892
01:46:11,511 --> 01:46:13,794
and importantly for your action.

2893
01:46:13,794 --> 01:46:16,139
And the folks out in Eastern Montana appreciate

2894
01:46:16,139 --> 01:46:17,056
that a lot.

2895
01:46:19,513 --> 01:46:22,554
We had a terrible wildfire season in Montana

2896
01:46:22,554 --> 01:46:23,971
this past summer.

2897
01:46:24,782 --> 01:46:27,997
In fact, Secretary Perdue listed the top

2898
01:46:27,997 --> 01:46:31,664
wildfires in the nation as ranked by dollars

2899
01:46:32,472 --> 01:46:34,139
spent to fight them.

2900
01:46:34,836 --> 01:46:36,314
You know we spent over two billion dollars

2901
01:46:36,314 --> 01:46:38,897
fighting wildfires this season,

2902
01:46:39,274 --> 01:46:41,108
it's still not over yet.

2903
01:46:41,108 --> 01:46:43,183
But the number one fire in the nation was in

2904
01:46:43,183 --> 01:46:45,495
Montana- the Lolo Peak fire.

2905
01:46:45,495 --> 01:46:47,040
The number three fire in the nation was in

2906
01:46:47,040 --> 01:46:48,804
Montana: the Rice Ridge fire,

2907
01:46:48,804 --> 01:46:50,325
just in terms of dollars.

2908
01:46:50,325 --> 01:46:54,019
So it's one of those terrible seasons and again,

2909
01:46:54,019 --> 01:46:57,610
thank you Mr. Long for what you did in response

2910
01:46:57,610 --> 01:46:59,943
to help us there in Montana.

2911
01:47:00,859 --> 01:47:02,722
Much of the discussion here today has been on,

2912
01:47:02,722 --> 01:47:06,555
on Puerto Rico, and the devastating hurricane,

2913
01:47:09,711 --> 01:47:11,794
and the loss of the grid.

2914
01:47:13,017 --> 01:47:15,104
Mr. Long, I will tell you I was,

2915
01:47:15,104 --> 01:47:18,036
I was a bit surprised when I heard the story of

2916
01:47:18,036 --> 01:47:20,052
a small contractor of two people

2917
01:47:20,052 --> 01:47:23,635
most have never heard of, including myself,

2918
01:47:26,136 --> 01:47:29,351
being awarded a contract that was worth, what,

2919
01:47:29,351 --> 01:47:33,018
300 million dollars to rebuild Puerto Rico's

2920
01:47:33,060 --> 01:47:33,977
power grid.

2921
01:47:35,531 --> 01:47:36,781
In the contact,

2922
01:47:37,086 --> 01:47:41,086
the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, PREPA,

2923
01:47:41,319 --> 01:47:45,314
claimed it met all the guidelines and regulation

2924
01:47:45,314 --> 01:47:46,814
set forth by FEMA,

2925
01:47:47,922 --> 01:47:51,505
and that it had been reviewed also by FEMA.

2926
01:47:51,727 --> 01:47:53,754
Would you explain FEMA's involvement in the

2927
01:47:53,754 --> 01:47:54,587
contract process?

2928
01:47:54,587 --> 01:47:55,837
- [Brock] Sure.

2929
01:47:56,420 --> 01:48:00,060
- And how you monitor federal dollars before

2930
01:48:00,060 --> 01:48:01,047
they're allocated.

2931
01:48:01,047 --> 01:48:03,297
- Sure. So let me be clear,

2932
01:48:03,463 --> 01:48:06,637
the Whitefish contract was not a FEMA contract.

2933
01:48:06,637 --> 01:48:08,389
PREPA entered into this contract

2934
01:48:08,389 --> 01:48:09,889
in late September.

2935
01:48:10,285 --> 01:48:13,290
We were notified several weeks after the fact.

2936
01:48:13,290 --> 01:48:15,758
Our lawyers, there's no lawyer inside FEMA that

2937
01:48:15,758 --> 01:48:17,045
would have ever agreed to the language that was

2938
01:48:17,045 --> 01:48:18,942
in that contact to begin with,

2939
01:48:18,942 --> 01:48:20,920
so let me be very clear about that.

2940
01:48:20,920 --> 01:48:23,958
And, uh, we raised the red flag in basically

2941
01:48:23,958 --> 01:48:25,699
saying, 'we're not sure this is a

2942
01:48:25,699 --> 01:48:28,878
sole-source contract or a competitive rate'.

2943
01:48:28,878 --> 01:48:30,353
There were many things wrong,

2944
01:48:30,353 --> 01:48:32,339
that was also language in there that would

2945
01:48:32,339 --> 01:48:33,912
suggest that the federal government would never

2946
01:48:33,912 --> 01:48:35,501
audit Whitefish, which,

2947
01:48:35,501 --> 01:48:37,259
there's not a lawyer inside FEMA that would

2948
01:48:37,259 --> 01:48:39,469
ever agree to that type of language.

2949
01:48:39,469 --> 01:48:40,999
So the bottom line is,

2950
01:48:40,999 --> 01:48:41,999
is that, um,

2951
01:48:43,761 --> 01:48:47,761
as I understand, not one dollar has gone towards

2952
01:48:47,767 --> 01:48:49,761
that contract from FEMA.

2953
01:48:49,761 --> 01:48:51,311
And what we're doing is rectifying to make sure

2954
01:48:51,311 --> 01:48:54,468
that PREPA has not requested any funding for

2955
01:48:54,468 --> 01:48:57,135
that, that reimbursement effort.

2956
01:48:57,351 --> 01:48:59,564
We have, we have a lot of work to do when it

2957
01:48:59,564 --> 01:49:00,893
comes to grant monitoring

2958
01:49:00,893 --> 01:49:02,309
in all levels of government.

2959
01:49:02,309 --> 01:49:03,419
It's not just FEMA,

2960
01:49:03,419 --> 01:49:05,249
but it's at the state and local governments when

2961
01:49:05,249 --> 01:49:08,721
it comes to the grant entities that are there.

2962
01:49:08,721 --> 01:49:11,663
We asked them to always follow pre-disaster bid

2963
01:49:11,663 --> 01:49:14,020
laws and policies because when you change those

2964
01:49:14,020 --> 01:49:15,655
policies after disaster,

2965
01:49:15,655 --> 01:49:18,572
it's gonna hang you up in an audit.

2966
01:49:18,777 --> 01:49:20,765
We also ask them to follow emergency bid laws

2967
01:49:20,765 --> 01:49:22,379
when it comes to the procurement process

2968
01:49:22,379 --> 01:49:24,379
according to 2CFR, okay.

2969
01:49:25,773 --> 01:49:27,859
And so we have a lot of work to do when it comes

2970
01:49:27,859 --> 01:49:29,945
to training and ensuring the grant monitoring

2971
01:49:29,945 --> 01:49:32,344
but in that case that was not our contract.

2972
01:49:32,344 --> 01:49:33,177
- [Senator Dane] Yeah.

2973
01:49:33,177 --> 01:49:34,010
- Yeah.

2974
01:49:34,010 --> 01:49:35,036
- Thank you, Long. I'll be interested as you

2975
01:49:35,036 --> 01:49:37,040
dig into that one for what the learnings are.

2976
01:49:37,040 --> 01:49:38,290
- [Brock] Sure.

2977
01:49:38,296 --> 01:49:40,327
- From that situation and how we can improve

2978
01:49:40,327 --> 01:49:41,410
that process.

2979
01:49:41,892 --> 01:49:42,725
It's always one of the concerns

2980
01:49:42,725 --> 01:49:44,725
when we have a disaster.

2981
01:49:45,058 --> 01:49:47,334
Of course we want to move quickly,

2982
01:49:47,334 --> 01:49:50,220
people are in need, people are dying.

2983
01:49:50,220 --> 01:49:52,444
But we also want to make sure we're accountable.

2984
01:49:52,444 --> 01:49:53,673
- [Brock] Sure.

2985
01:49:53,673 --> 01:49:54,673
- Efficient.

2986
01:49:55,916 --> 01:49:58,191
And there's often times opportunity for a

2987
01:49:58,191 --> 01:50:00,779
tremendous amount of waste in some kind of,

2988
01:50:00,779 --> 01:50:04,111
in a situation we're throwing billions of

2989
01:50:04,111 --> 01:50:05,602
dollars at at some of these disasters.

2990
01:50:05,602 --> 01:50:06,665
So um, I'll look forward to that follow up

2991
01:50:06,665 --> 01:50:09,458
what you learned from that, Mr. Long.

2992
01:50:09,458 --> 01:50:11,117
And thank you Mr. Chairman.

2993
01:50:11,117 --> 01:50:13,784
- [Sen. Johnson] Senator Peters.

2994
01:50:14,827 --> 01:50:16,770
- Thank you Mr. Chairman.

2995
01:50:16,770 --> 01:50:17,853
Mr. Long, um,

2996
01:50:17,882 --> 01:50:21,497
one of my constituents volunteered through the

2997
01:50:21,497 --> 01:50:24,675
AFLCIO to provide assistance in Puerto Rico.

2998
01:50:24,675 --> 01:50:27,280
He was there from October fourth through the

2999
01:50:27,280 --> 01:50:30,345
18th and, uh, he certainly said the citizens

3000
01:50:30,345 --> 01:50:32,345
remarked how grateful they were for the

3001
01:50:32,345 --> 01:50:35,206
assistance that was being provided by his group

3002
01:50:35,206 --> 01:50:37,538
because no one else seemed to be there to help

3003
01:50:37,538 --> 01:50:41,038
was at least his experience on the ground.

3004
01:50:41,855 --> 01:50:44,206
I know a group of National Nurses United had a

3005
01:50:44,206 --> 01:50:47,246
similar experience and also made some of the same

3006
01:50:47,246 --> 01:50:48,496
comments to me.

3007
01:50:49,315 --> 01:50:51,152
So it seems to be a common perception that

3008
01:50:51,152 --> 01:50:54,174
assistance wasn't reaching the people in need

3009
01:50:54,174 --> 01:50:55,424
in Puerto Rico,

3010
01:50:55,864 --> 01:50:57,535
that there were some distribution problems,

3011
01:50:57,535 --> 01:50:59,892
that stuff may have gone to distribution centers

3012
01:50:59,892 --> 01:51:02,059
but it wasn't getting out,

3013
01:51:02,302 --> 01:51:03,877
actually out to the individuals.

3014
01:51:03,877 --> 01:51:04,710
So my question is, why why,

3015
01:51:04,710 --> 01:51:08,297
why were we hearing that from volunteers and

3016
01:51:08,297 --> 01:51:10,255
do you believe that was an issue.

3017
01:51:10,255 --> 01:51:12,160
- I can't speak to the gentleman sir,

3018
01:51:12,160 --> 01:51:14,574
to the constituents direct experience but I can

3019
01:51:14,574 --> 01:51:17,054
explain the logistical complexities that we face

3020
01:51:17,054 --> 01:51:18,849
when it came to the humanitarian issues of

3021
01:51:18,849 --> 01:51:20,921
getting meals and water out.

3022
01:51:20,921 --> 01:51:23,421
As we were discussing earlier,

3023
01:51:23,467 --> 01:51:24,697
all the ports were damaged.

3024
01:51:24,697 --> 01:51:26,428
It took us time to not only rebuild the air

3025
01:51:26,428 --> 01:51:30,178
traffic control system but open up the ports.

3026
01:51:30,346 --> 01:51:32,334
You know we pre-staged quite a bit of food in

3027
01:51:32,334 --> 01:51:35,844
our Caribbean area division before the storm.

3028
01:51:35,844 --> 01:51:37,924
You can only stage so much on the island.

3029
01:51:37,924 --> 01:51:40,590
We also checked with Governor Rosello and

3030
01:51:40,590 --> 01:51:41,458
the school systems,

3031
01:51:41,458 --> 01:51:44,369
they had a lot of food inside the shelters,

3032
01:51:44,369 --> 01:51:47,142
multiple multiple days of food in each one

3033
01:51:47,142 --> 01:51:48,740
of the school shelters that were there.

3034
01:51:48,740 --> 01:51:50,141
So we tried to put as much food forward

3035
01:51:50,141 --> 01:51:52,891
as possible before the storm hit.

3036
01:51:52,970 --> 01:51:55,637
When it came to the diminished capacity,

3037
01:51:55,637 --> 01:51:57,756
obviously the state and local governments,

3038
01:51:57,756 --> 01:52:00,050
they were disaster survivors.

3039
01:52:00,050 --> 01:52:03,800
As we began to push in the food to the island

3040
01:52:04,308 --> 01:52:06,808
we had to quickly mobilize 11,

3041
01:52:08,012 --> 01:52:08,845
excuse me,

3042
01:52:08,845 --> 01:52:11,215
ten regional distribution hubs where we would

3043
01:52:11,215 --> 01:52:14,821
fly it in, set up and stage all the commodities

3044
01:52:14,821 --> 01:52:17,575
and then force the food and water to

3045
01:52:17,575 --> 01:52:19,914
each one of these distribution hubs.

3046
01:52:19,914 --> 01:52:21,553
We had to establish communication with all

3047
01:52:21,553 --> 01:52:24,764
78 mayors because there was no survivable calms

3048
01:52:24,764 --> 01:52:26,097
that were there.

3049
01:52:26,605 --> 01:52:28,494
We started communicating and sending liaisons to

3050
01:52:28,494 --> 01:52:30,167
mayors and making sure that we got the

3051
01:52:30,167 --> 01:52:32,584
commodities to them directly.

3052
01:52:32,687 --> 01:52:34,914
If they couldn't get it to the final mile,

3053
01:52:34,914 --> 01:52:36,367
then we would actually air drop it.

3054
01:52:36,367 --> 01:52:38,186
If there were isolation issues and I don't know

3055
01:52:38,186 --> 01:52:41,565
how many isolation based air drops we've made

3056
01:52:41,565 --> 01:52:43,982
but they're continuing today.

3057
01:52:44,274 --> 01:52:45,268
Did we get to everybody?

3058
01:52:45,268 --> 01:52:46,685
It's hard to say.

3059
01:52:46,886 --> 01:52:48,835
Part of it was the lack of communications and the

3060
01:52:48,835 --> 01:52:51,388
ability that we recognized that people weren't

3061
01:52:51,388 --> 01:52:52,805
sure where to go,

3062
01:52:53,265 --> 01:52:55,524
and in some cases what I saw with my own eyes,

3063
01:52:55,524 --> 01:52:58,553
I went to Atuabo in the central portions,

3064
01:52:58,553 --> 01:53:00,742
mountainous regions of Puerto Rico where

3065
01:53:00,742 --> 01:53:02,540
some of the folks in the isolated communities

3066
01:53:02,540 --> 01:53:03,876
are being really resilient and they're not

3067
01:53:03,876 --> 01:53:07,543
choosing to come to the areas where food and

3068
01:53:07,692 --> 01:53:08,525
water is.

3069
01:53:08,895 --> 01:53:11,125
And so, the bottom line is,

3070
01:53:11,125 --> 01:53:14,518
I know that this is one of the (stutters),

3071
01:53:14,518 --> 01:53:16,104
I feel certain that this is probably one of

3072
01:53:16,104 --> 01:53:17,436
the largest humanitarian missions that we've

3073
01:53:17,436 --> 01:53:19,769
ever conducted in the United States and there

3074
01:53:19,769 --> 01:53:21,961
are tens of millions of meals and water that were

3075
01:53:21,961 --> 01:53:25,019
pushed and there is a lot of assets on there.

3076
01:53:25,019 --> 01:53:28,355
I've also asked the office of Inspector General

3077
01:53:28,355 --> 01:53:31,228
to look into how our commodities were being used

3078
01:53:31,228 --> 01:53:33,367
by some of the mayors as well and it's my

3079
01:53:33,367 --> 01:53:35,490
understanding that the FBI may be looking at that

3080
01:53:35,490 --> 01:53:36,323
as well.

3081
01:53:37,712 --> 01:53:39,969
- Well I appreciate your candor and I know that

3082
01:53:39,969 --> 01:53:43,043
this was a incredibly difficult task that you

3083
01:53:43,043 --> 01:53:44,937
were involved in and continue to be involved in

3084
01:53:44,937 --> 01:53:46,528
probably for quite some time,

3085
01:53:46,528 --> 01:53:49,340
and I appreciate your efforts on that.

3086
01:53:49,340 --> 01:53:51,628
And you've been very candid in this hearing today

3087
01:53:51,628 --> 01:53:54,190
and that's refreshing to have that kind of candor

3088
01:53:54,190 --> 01:53:57,385
'cause the idea is that we have to learn,

3089
01:53:57,385 --> 01:53:58,632
celebrate what we did right and learn from

3090
01:53:58,632 --> 01:54:01,684
our mistakes to be ready for the future.

3091
01:54:01,684 --> 01:54:03,279
But what would you be, your assessment in

3092
01:54:03,279 --> 01:54:06,362
Puerto Rico on a scale of one to ten,

3093
01:54:06,401 --> 01:54:08,705
in your expert capacity as to FEMA's

3094
01:54:08,705 --> 01:54:11,122
ability to meet the disaster?

3095
01:54:11,297 --> 01:54:12,663
- Well I think we have a lot of work to do.

3096
01:54:12,663 --> 01:54:14,580
One of the first things I want to do is come back

3097
01:54:14,580 --> 01:54:15,912
and have an after action.

3098
01:54:15,912 --> 01:54:18,083
I want to figure out the grant funding that went

3099
01:54:18,083 --> 01:54:21,315
to FEMA, or, excuse me, went to Puerto Rico.

3100
01:54:21,315 --> 01:54:22,816
What did we get in return of that?

3101
01:54:22,816 --> 01:54:24,566
I want to make sure that, you know,

3102
01:54:24,566 --> 01:54:27,288
are the commodity capabilities that are

3103
01:54:27,288 --> 01:54:29,654
on the island are obviously too small.

3104
01:54:29,654 --> 01:54:32,630
How do we set up island territories to be more

3105
01:54:32,630 --> 01:54:35,498
self sufficient that it doesn't require a massive

3106
01:54:35,498 --> 01:54:38,609
DOD mission to be able to fly these things in?

3107
01:54:38,609 --> 01:54:39,775
There are whole host of improvements that

3108
01:54:39,775 --> 01:54:42,395
need to be made and I recognize that.

3109
01:54:42,395 --> 01:54:44,825
I'll be dedicated to making sure that we find out

3110
01:54:44,825 --> 01:54:47,471
and do an exhaustive after action and if there

3111
01:54:47,471 --> 01:54:50,219
are issues where I need the Senate's support,

3112
01:54:50,219 --> 01:54:51,863
I'll be definitely coming back to you to ask

3113
01:54:51,863 --> 01:54:54,143
for that support to change the way that we do

3114
01:54:54,143 --> 01:54:55,385
business in the future.

3115
01:54:55,385 --> 01:54:56,218
Trust me,

3116
01:54:56,218 --> 01:54:57,750
I do not want to go through this event again.

3117
01:54:57,750 --> 01:54:59,243
- [Sen. Peters] Right.

3118
01:54:59,243 --> 01:55:01,318
- As much as anybody else.

3119
01:55:01,318 --> 01:55:03,367
- Well, and I asked the one to ten,

3120
01:55:03,367 --> 01:55:04,577
that may be tough for you to do,

3121
01:55:04,577 --> 01:55:07,459
but perhaps for the average Puerto Rican,

3122
01:55:07,459 --> 01:55:09,032
how would they rate the federal government's

3123
01:55:09,032 --> 01:55:09,865
response?

3124
01:55:10,446 --> 01:55:11,352
You've been on the ground an awful lot,

3125
01:55:11,352 --> 01:55:12,520
I appreciate that.

3126
01:55:12,520 --> 01:55:13,388
- [Brock] Senator.

3127
01:55:13,388 --> 01:55:14,221
- From one to ten,

3128
01:55:14,221 --> 01:55:15,054
what do you think they would say?

3129
01:55:15,054 --> 01:55:16,956
- With all due respect,

3130
01:55:16,956 --> 01:55:18,773
obviously people have different experiences,

3131
01:55:18,773 --> 01:55:20,487
I'm not interested in giving myself a grade

3132
01:55:20,487 --> 01:55:22,237
or rating each other.

3133
01:55:22,274 --> 01:55:23,107
Quite honestly that'd be the only thing that

3134
01:55:23,107 --> 01:55:25,690
the media picked up today about

3135
01:55:26,581 --> 01:55:28,125
this congressional hearing if that's the case.

3136
01:55:28,125 --> 01:55:28,958
Could we have done better?

3137
01:55:28,958 --> 01:55:30,658
Did we move as fast as people want?

3138
01:55:30,658 --> 01:55:32,908
Obviously in some cases no,

3139
01:55:33,009 --> 01:55:34,264
but if you look at.

3140
01:55:34,264 --> 01:55:37,014
In the Miami Herald this morning,

3141
01:55:37,030 --> 01:55:40,946
the State Department Representative Luis Rivera,

3142
01:55:40,946 --> 01:55:43,842
read his assessment and go talk to the mayors,

3143
01:55:43,842 --> 01:55:46,070
go talk to the 78 mayors and all of them

3144
01:55:46,070 --> 01:55:48,070
and get your assessment from them, please,

3145
01:55:48,070 --> 01:55:50,834
because for me to sit back and say

3146
01:55:50,834 --> 01:55:51,927
'we did things perfectly',

3147
01:55:51,927 --> 01:55:53,344
I know we didn't.

3148
01:55:53,712 --> 01:55:57,156
Of course there's things that I wish had gone

3149
01:55:57,156 --> 01:55:59,855
better or things that I had known going into

3150
01:55:59,855 --> 01:56:01,523
that event, obviously.

3151
01:56:01,523 --> 01:56:03,681
But uh, the bottom line is is that

3152
01:56:03,681 --> 01:56:05,155
I know at the end of the day,

3153
01:56:05,155 --> 01:56:07,635
we pushed as hard as we could.

3154
01:56:07,635 --> 01:56:09,619
Our partners pushed as hard as we could.

3155
01:56:09,619 --> 01:56:12,744
And we moved as fast as the situation allowed.

3156
01:56:12,744 --> 01:56:15,132
And this is one of the most logistically complex

3157
01:56:15,132 --> 01:56:18,119
disasters that this nation has faced.

3158
01:56:18,119 --> 01:56:20,656
- Well you mentioned talking to local mayors

3159
01:56:20,656 --> 01:56:23,396
actually leads into the second question I have

3160
01:56:23,396 --> 01:56:24,229
is that as you know,

3161
01:56:24,229 --> 01:56:26,351
Isabella County and Midland County Michigan

3162
01:56:26,351 --> 01:56:28,150
experienced some catastrophic flooding

3163
01:56:28,150 --> 01:56:29,150
this summer,

3164
01:56:29,195 --> 01:56:31,043
one of the long list of issues that you had,

3165
01:56:31,043 --> 01:56:33,876
that were on your plate this year.

3166
01:56:35,034 --> 01:56:35,867
And I head from county administrators,

3167
01:56:35,867 --> 01:56:37,104
emergency responders as well as impacted

3168
01:56:37,104 --> 01:56:39,314
constituents in general that they very

3169
01:56:39,314 --> 01:56:41,642
appreciative of the work that FEMA did to help

3170
01:56:41,642 --> 01:56:44,289
them in responding to that flooding.

3171
01:56:44,289 --> 01:56:45,173
But that said,

3172
01:56:45,173 --> 01:56:46,743
they also thought that FEMA could have done a

3173
01:56:46,743 --> 01:56:48,939
much better job of coordinating with local

3174
01:56:48,939 --> 01:56:50,893
officials at the beginning of

3175
01:56:50,893 --> 01:56:52,643
the response efforts.

3176
01:56:53,826 --> 01:56:54,659
And in our experience,

3177
01:56:54,659 --> 01:56:55,492
I think as you mentioned,

3178
01:56:55,492 --> 01:56:57,464
up front coordination with local authorities

3179
01:56:57,464 --> 01:56:58,935
can go a long way to facilitating

3180
01:56:58,935 --> 01:57:00,768
that kind of response,

3181
01:57:01,096 --> 01:57:01,929
but that's what I heard from

3182
01:57:01,929 --> 01:57:03,620
my folks in Michigan,

3183
01:57:03,620 --> 01:57:05,414
although again being overly,

3184
01:57:05,414 --> 01:57:06,863
being supportive of your efforts,

3185
01:57:06,863 --> 01:57:09,103
but thinking that that was a lack

3186
01:57:09,103 --> 01:57:12,147
in FEMA's efforts was the local coordination

3187
01:57:12,147 --> 01:57:13,117
with local officials.

3188
01:57:13,117 --> 01:57:16,063
What do you think we should be doing to better

3189
01:57:16,063 --> 01:57:18,730
that type of cooperative effort?

3190
01:57:20,202 --> 01:57:21,298
- Personally I would like to expand

3191
01:57:21,298 --> 01:57:22,465
our footprint.

3192
01:57:23,637 --> 01:57:26,027
You know I would like to change our footprint

3193
01:57:26,027 --> 01:57:29,173
and graduate beyond the regional offices.

3194
01:57:29,173 --> 01:57:31,742
I would like to develop what we call state

3195
01:57:31,742 --> 01:57:33,781
integration teams that are multi-faceted that

3196
01:57:33,781 --> 01:57:35,927
are there working with the state every day

3197
01:57:35,927 --> 01:57:36,817
and being able to drive out

3198
01:57:36,817 --> 01:57:37,971
to your local counties,

3199
01:57:37,971 --> 01:57:40,316
and doing things such as approving mitigation

3200
01:57:40,316 --> 01:57:43,714
plans with having, having had it to come all the

3201
01:57:43,714 --> 01:57:46,412
way back through the region or up to headquarters.

3202
01:57:46,412 --> 01:57:47,653
I'd like to change the work force.

3203
01:57:47,653 --> 01:57:49,672
I would like to make our reservist cavalry more

3204
01:57:49,672 --> 01:57:52,777
in line with what the National Guard approach is

3205
01:57:52,777 --> 01:57:54,547
so that you can have a full-time job,

3206
01:57:54,547 --> 01:57:56,963
step away from your job to go support FEMA in a

3207
01:57:56,963 --> 01:58:00,380
disaster without losing that daytime job.

3208
01:58:00,497 --> 01:58:02,029
I would like to change our entire workforce

3209
01:58:02,029 --> 01:58:04,430
program to be more like an FBI model.

3210
01:58:04,430 --> 01:58:06,901
We're the only public safety agency in

3211
01:58:06,901 --> 01:58:08,549
the country that doesn't have a true academy

3212
01:58:08,549 --> 01:58:12,132
style model of hiring and graduating people

3213
01:58:12,268 --> 01:58:13,272
through our system,

3214
01:58:13,272 --> 01:58:15,626
so that we're training everybody to be the next

3215
01:58:15,626 --> 01:58:18,240
Federal Coordinating Officer that understands

3216
01:58:18,240 --> 01:58:20,573
all aspects of this program.

3217
01:58:21,098 --> 01:58:23,016
I'm frustrated by our hiring processes.

3218
01:58:23,016 --> 01:58:24,595
I would like to rewrite the book on

3219
01:58:24,595 --> 01:58:25,826
how we do that.

3220
01:58:25,826 --> 01:58:28,690
And how we maintain and utilize disaster

3221
01:58:28,690 --> 01:58:30,016
reservists who are critically important

3222
01:58:30,016 --> 01:58:31,266
to our mission.

3223
01:58:31,838 --> 01:58:33,333
- Well I think those are all really good thoughts

3224
01:58:33,333 --> 01:58:34,720
so I look forward to working with you on those

3225
01:58:34,720 --> 01:58:35,553
issues going forward.

3226
01:58:35,553 --> 01:58:37,136
Thank you Mr. Long.

3227
01:58:37,752 --> 01:58:38,879
- Senator Peters you know,

3228
01:58:38,879 --> 01:58:40,182
one of the concerns I have,

3229
01:58:40,182 --> 01:58:41,392
just kinda of listening to some of the dialogue

3230
01:58:41,392 --> 01:58:42,225
here is

3231
01:58:42,952 --> 01:58:45,081
I don't want to see FEMA be the primary

3232
01:58:45,081 --> 01:58:46,331
responder here.

3233
01:58:47,213 --> 01:58:49,568
I believe the role is to support state and

3234
01:58:49,568 --> 01:58:51,932
local governments, to support them.

3235
01:58:51,932 --> 01:58:54,010
And the more we expect out of FEMA,

3236
01:58:54,010 --> 01:58:57,549
first of all we're gonna spread them thinner,

3237
01:58:57,549 --> 01:58:58,785
and now you're gonna have again a one size

3238
01:58:58,785 --> 01:59:00,683
fits all model and it's gonna be the federal

3239
01:59:00,683 --> 01:59:02,867
government that's gonna have to decide where

3240
01:59:02,867 --> 01:59:04,584
all these assets have to be deployed

3241
01:59:04,584 --> 01:59:05,751
ahead of time.

3242
01:59:06,115 --> 01:59:08,066
States and local governments need to understand

3243
01:59:08,066 --> 01:59:09,803
that, they need to understand risk,

3244
01:59:09,803 --> 01:59:12,115
they need to be held responsible as well.

3245
01:59:12,115 --> 01:59:13,347
And so I think we need to be very careful

3246
01:59:13,347 --> 01:59:15,012
as we go down this road and say,

3247
01:59:15,012 --> 01:59:16,412
'well hey, how come FEMA didn't do the

3248
01:59:16,412 --> 01:59:17,662
job perfectly'.

3249
01:59:18,424 --> 01:59:19,717
And listen to people's complaints,

3250
01:59:19,717 --> 01:59:21,010
'ah, they didn't coordinate quite as well as

3251
01:59:21,010 --> 01:59:21,976
we'd like to'.

3252
01:59:21,976 --> 01:59:24,028
Again, it's to help them.

3253
01:59:24,028 --> 01:59:25,027
FEMA's role is to help,

3254
01:59:25,027 --> 01:59:26,152
to be subordinate to that,

3255
01:59:26,152 --> 01:59:28,461
so I think that's incredibly important.

3256
01:59:28,461 --> 01:59:29,929
I've only got one other point I want to make

3257
01:59:29,929 --> 01:59:31,745
'cause it was pretty interesting in talking

3258
01:59:31,745 --> 01:59:33,162
to you, Mr. Long,

3259
01:59:35,166 --> 01:59:38,583
we have so much foodstuffs and water to a

3260
01:59:38,849 --> 01:59:40,843
certain extent down in Puerto.

3261
01:59:40,843 --> 01:59:42,320
You pointed out the fact the private sector is

3262
01:59:42,320 --> 01:59:43,570
now asking you,

3263
01:59:43,635 --> 01:59:46,552
'we need to reestablish ourselves.'

3264
01:59:46,645 --> 01:59:50,276
If our population's gonna rely on FEMA and the

3265
01:59:50,276 --> 01:59:52,566
federal government to provide meals,

3266
01:59:52,566 --> 01:59:54,887
we're not gonna have the private sector firing

3267
01:59:54,887 --> 01:59:56,676
back up and have grocery stores

3268
01:59:56,676 --> 01:59:57,753
operating properly.

3269
01:59:57,753 --> 01:59:58,981
Can you just kind of talk about what?

3270
01:59:58,981 --> 02:00:00,428
- Sure, you're absolutely right.

3271
02:00:00,428 --> 02:00:03,904
So, um, the goal is always to get the retail

3272
02:00:03,904 --> 02:00:06,197
industry back up and running and the last number

3273
02:00:06,197 --> 02:00:08,239
I saw was roughly 90 percent.

3274
02:00:08,239 --> 02:00:11,972
Obviously, um, as the retail industry comes up we

3275
02:00:11,972 --> 02:00:15,884
should be drawing down on the commodity mission.

3276
02:00:15,884 --> 02:00:18,610
In many cases the mayors have asked us to stop

3277
02:00:18,610 --> 02:00:21,846
the flow of food but continue the water issues

3278
02:00:21,846 --> 02:00:24,901
until the water system is fully back online.

3279
02:00:24,901 --> 02:00:28,223
So it's a constant communication battle every day,

3280
02:00:28,223 --> 02:00:29,141
or not battle, uh,

3281
02:00:29,141 --> 02:00:32,655
it's just constant communication every day with

3282
02:00:32,655 --> 02:00:33,661
the mayors to understand what the need is,

3283
02:00:33,661 --> 02:00:35,985
where the private sector market is.

3284
02:00:35,985 --> 02:00:38,103
But as we go forward I do think that we have to

3285
02:00:38,103 --> 02:00:40,991
form tighter bonds with the private sector and

3286
02:00:40,991 --> 02:00:42,965
understand the modeling to see this,

3287
02:00:42,965 --> 02:00:44,939
not only in Puerto Rico but in California,

3288
02:00:44,939 --> 02:00:47,106
or Florida or Texas to say

3289
02:00:47,529 --> 02:00:48,470
here's where the market is,

3290
02:00:48,470 --> 02:00:50,853
here's where the gas stations are coming

3291
02:00:50,853 --> 02:00:53,365
back online so that we can tailor the response

3292
02:00:53,365 --> 02:00:54,948
day in and day out.

3293
02:00:55,945 --> 02:00:58,712
- I think your name describes what your function

3294
02:00:58,712 --> 02:01:02,045
is: Federal Emergency Management Agency.

3295
02:01:02,806 --> 02:01:05,139
It's not 'Federal Recovery',

3296
02:01:05,848 --> 02:01:07,265
it's not 'Long term Recovery'.

3297
02:01:07,265 --> 02:01:08,871
There's gonna be other federal agencies but

3298
02:01:08,871 --> 02:01:11,169
hopefully more state and local governments that

3299
02:01:11,169 --> 02:01:14,015
are going to really take up the responsibility

3300
02:01:14,015 --> 02:01:16,972
of recovering in their local jurisdictions.

3301
02:01:16,972 --> 02:01:19,139
With that, Senator Carper.

3302
02:01:19,257 --> 02:01:22,424
- Mr. Long what the chairman's saying,

3303
02:01:23,399 --> 02:01:25,232
the last hundred years

3304
02:01:25,294 --> 02:01:27,627
33 category five hurricanes,

3305
02:01:29,208 --> 02:01:32,512
this Fall, two, within a matter of weeks

3306
02:01:32,512 --> 02:01:33,465
of one another.

3307
02:01:33,465 --> 02:01:37,132
- We've seen uh, very interesting chart that

3308
02:01:37,282 --> 02:01:38,699
the chairman has,

3309
02:01:38,764 --> 02:01:41,484
very instructive chart that the Chairman has shown

3310
02:01:41,484 --> 02:01:43,502
that indicates what's happening in terms of

3311
02:01:43,502 --> 02:01:47,335
frequencies, this uh, kinda crazy weather that

3312
02:01:48,236 --> 02:01:49,653
we're faced with.

3313
02:01:50,702 --> 02:01:52,288
And I would, uh, just uh,

3314
02:01:52,288 --> 02:01:54,414
this is a shared responsibility but I would feel

3315
02:01:54,414 --> 02:01:57,477
that we had failed in our responsibilities

3316
02:01:57,477 --> 02:02:00,310
collectively if we simply rebuild,

3317
02:02:00,392 --> 02:02:04,059
help rebuild an electric grid in Puerto Rico

3318
02:02:05,351 --> 02:02:07,110
is just as vulnerable,

3319
02:02:07,110 --> 02:02:10,027
that is just as energy inefficient,

3320
02:02:10,344 --> 02:02:13,098
and that is just as polluting as what

3321
02:02:13,098 --> 02:02:16,431
they largely have faced in past decades.

3322
02:02:16,692 --> 02:02:20,442
I think we'd really missed a, an opportunity.

3323
02:02:21,527 --> 02:02:24,058
Our colleague, Senator Peters, asked you

3324
02:02:24,058 --> 02:02:27,808
Mr. Long to evaluate or maybe provide a grade

3325
02:02:27,812 --> 02:02:29,062
of some sort to

3326
02:02:29,300 --> 02:02:31,300
the work of FEMA so far.

3327
02:02:32,377 --> 02:02:34,213
We have a saying in Delaware when a little

3328
02:02:34,213 --> 02:02:36,713
fighter, we're a little state,

3329
02:02:37,212 --> 02:02:39,234
a little fighter fighting a big fighter and wins

3330
02:02:39,234 --> 02:02:41,380
say that the little fighter fights above

3331
02:02:41,380 --> 02:02:42,880
his or her weight.

3332
02:02:43,292 --> 02:02:45,700
And I think FEMA is punching above it's weight.

3333
02:02:45,700 --> 02:02:47,700
And we uh, applaud that.

3334
02:02:48,002 --> 02:02:49,441
I think the grade to be assigned is probably

3335
02:02:49,441 --> 02:02:52,225
incomplete 'cause there's plenty of work still

3336
02:02:52,225 --> 02:02:54,725
to do and think you know that.

3337
02:02:57,967 --> 02:02:58,800
Richard Nixon used to say,

3338
02:02:58,800 --> 02:02:59,653
I'm the only Democrat I know that

3339
02:02:59,653 --> 02:03:00,719
quotes Richard Nixon,

3340
02:03:00,719 --> 02:03:02,469
but Nixon used to say

3341
02:03:04,026 --> 02:03:05,467
"the only people who don't make mistakes

3342
02:03:05,467 --> 02:03:07,331
are people who don't do anything".

3343
02:03:07,331 --> 02:03:08,330
Think about that.

3344
02:03:08,330 --> 02:03:10,020
Tom Carper always says,

3345
02:03:10,020 --> 02:03:12,365
'everything I do I know I can do better'.

3346
02:03:12,365 --> 02:03:13,716
And if it isn't perfect, make it better.

3347
02:03:13,716 --> 02:03:14,965
So that's our goal, we know perfection

3348
02:03:14,965 --> 02:03:18,548
is probably not achievable but we certainly

3349
02:03:18,624 --> 02:03:19,850
wan to head in that direction regardless of

3350
02:03:19,850 --> 02:03:23,564
if we sit on this side of the dius or your side.

3351
02:03:23,564 --> 02:03:26,772
Senator Peters also talked about the interaction

3352
02:03:26,772 --> 02:03:30,609
interface between state and local folks and FEMA,

3353
02:03:30,609 --> 02:03:31,442
and I would,

3354
02:03:31,442 --> 02:03:32,991
this would be one short question for you

3355
02:03:32,991 --> 02:03:36,223
Administrator Long that there's been some

3356
02:03:36,223 --> 02:03:37,753
feedback that there's been a disconnect between

3357
02:03:37,753 --> 02:03:41,405
the governor of Puerto, government of Puerto Rico,

3358
02:03:41,405 --> 02:03:43,191
FEMA, the Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers,

3359
02:03:43,191 --> 02:03:45,710
various contractors on the ground regarding roles

3360
02:03:45,710 --> 02:03:48,280
and responsibilities who is doing what activity.

3361
02:03:48,280 --> 02:03:50,411
I don't think that's to be totally surprising.

3362
02:03:50,411 --> 02:03:51,911
But um, I just uh,

3363
02:03:51,953 --> 02:03:54,049
what are you doing to ensure that a cohesive

3364
02:03:54,049 --> 02:03:57,720
effort that supports the governor of Puerto Rico

3365
02:03:57,720 --> 02:03:59,770
is ultimately in charge of recovery efforts.

3366
02:03:59,770 --> 02:04:01,284
Will you just respond to that?

3367
02:04:01,284 --> 02:04:03,228
- Sure it's a great question.

3368
02:04:03,228 --> 02:04:05,231
So, clear communication is the line,

3369
02:04:05,231 --> 02:04:07,040
is what's needed to succeed.

3370
02:04:07,040 --> 02:04:10,873
And I speak to Governor Rosello multiple times

3371
02:04:11,074 --> 02:04:13,241
a week on a regular basis,

3372
02:04:13,250 --> 02:04:14,500
but what we do,

3373
02:04:14,594 --> 02:04:17,125
obviously to have wide area management capability

3374
02:04:17,125 --> 02:04:19,346
over the magnitude of everything that's happened

3375
02:04:19,346 --> 02:04:21,500
is I have to rely very heavily on Federal

3376
02:04:21,500 --> 02:04:25,125
Coordinating Officers and for the example of

3377
02:04:25,125 --> 02:04:25,958
Puerto Rico,

3378
02:04:25,958 --> 02:04:27,833
Mike Burn is my Federal Coordinating Officer.

3379
02:04:27,833 --> 02:04:29,282
Technically he's appointed by the President

3380
02:04:29,282 --> 02:04:31,464
if you look at the Stafford Act.

3381
02:04:31,464 --> 02:04:33,384
And so I have Federal Coordinating Officers over

3382
02:04:33,384 --> 02:04:35,466
each one of these disasters that I stay in touch

3383
02:04:35,466 --> 02:04:38,420
with but I also reach out very regularly to,

3384
02:04:38,420 --> 02:04:39,837
Governor Rosello.

3385
02:04:40,669 --> 02:04:42,318
And I gotta tell ya,

3386
02:04:42,318 --> 02:04:44,327
every day that man goes to work trying to do

3387
02:04:44,327 --> 02:04:46,893
the best that he can for Puerto Rico and uh,

3388
02:04:46,893 --> 02:04:49,529
I have deep respect for the governor and

3389
02:04:49,529 --> 02:04:51,643
what he's trying to do and work through.

3390
02:04:51,643 --> 02:04:55,276
And he's facing the most complex disaster of

3391
02:04:55,276 --> 02:04:56,359
many of them.

3392
02:04:57,235 --> 02:04:58,965
And so the communication's good,

3393
02:04:58,965 --> 02:05:02,436
but I have to set up recovery command on site

3394
02:05:02,436 --> 02:05:04,800
and allow the decisions to be made onsite rather

3395
02:05:04,800 --> 02:05:07,271
than all the way back up here in D.C.

3396
02:05:07,271 --> 02:05:08,853
Incident command decisions have to be made

3397
02:05:08,853 --> 02:05:11,090
closest to where the disaster is,

3398
02:05:11,090 --> 02:05:12,090
not up here.

3399
02:05:12,395 --> 02:05:14,113
- Sometimes when I see adult children of

3400
02:05:14,113 --> 02:05:16,201
my friends who gone on to do great things with

3401
02:05:16,201 --> 02:05:19,044
their life I say they picked the right parents.

3402
02:05:19,044 --> 02:05:21,245
And uh, I would say to Rick,

3403
02:05:21,245 --> 02:05:22,995
Rosello governor now,

3404
02:05:23,997 --> 02:05:24,830
that he picked the right parents.

3405
02:05:24,830 --> 02:05:25,884
My old colleague Pedro was there

3406
02:05:25,884 --> 02:05:29,717
with whom I served from '93-2001 as governors.

3407
02:05:30,294 --> 02:05:31,127
I um,

3408
02:05:32,467 --> 02:05:34,636
I wanna ask one question for each of you

3409
02:05:34,636 --> 02:05:38,219
and then I'm done but the question is this.

3410
02:05:39,646 --> 02:05:41,184
Just name one thing,

3411
02:05:41,184 --> 02:05:43,360
each of you just name one thing,

3412
02:05:43,360 --> 02:05:45,556
that folks on our side of the aisle,

3413
02:05:45,556 --> 02:05:47,274
those who which serve here

3414
02:05:47,274 --> 02:05:48,107
in the Senate and the House,

3415
02:05:48,107 --> 02:05:49,606
the one thing that we need to be doing to

3416
02:05:49,606 --> 02:05:51,811
enable you and your folks to do a better job.

3417
02:05:51,811 --> 02:05:52,968
Just one thing, please.

3418
02:05:52,968 --> 02:05:55,705
And we'll just start (stutters)

3419
02:05:55,705 --> 02:05:56,538
if I can,

3420
02:05:56,538 --> 02:05:57,871
with Dr. Kadlec.

3421
02:05:58,009 --> 02:05:59,155
Are you an Air Force Academy graduate?

3422
02:05:59,155 --> 02:05:59,988
- Yes sir I am.

3423
02:05:59,988 --> 02:06:00,951
- Navy salutes Air Force.

3424
02:06:00,951 --> 02:06:02,019
Good, good for you.

3425
02:06:02,019 --> 02:06:03,366
- Sir you beat us at football, though.

3426
02:06:03,366 --> 02:06:04,940
- Thank you for your service.

3427
02:06:04,940 --> 02:06:05,773
- Thank you sir.

3428
02:06:05,773 --> 02:06:07,638
I think one of the issues that came up was

3429
02:06:07,638 --> 02:06:09,868
about streamlining processes and

3430
02:06:09,868 --> 02:06:11,785
effects and activities.

3431
02:06:12,454 --> 02:06:14,319
For the healthcare we talk about minutes

3432
02:06:14,319 --> 02:06:17,449
and hours really depending life and death

3433
02:06:17,449 --> 02:06:20,626
decision and being able to intervene positively.

3434
02:06:20,626 --> 02:06:22,532
And I think one of the areas that Congress should

3435
02:06:22,532 --> 02:06:24,380
look at is dependencies.

3436
02:06:24,380 --> 02:06:28,011
Dependencies affect all the activities here.

3437
02:06:28,011 --> 02:06:29,503
What makes it more streamlined,

3438
02:06:29,503 --> 02:06:30,725
what makes it more efficient,

3439
02:06:30,725 --> 02:06:34,336
what makes it more, most importantly, effective?

3440
02:06:34,336 --> 02:06:36,494
And those are the areas that I would identify as.

3441
02:06:36,494 --> 02:06:37,327
- [Sen. Johnson] Okay.

3442
02:06:37,327 --> 02:06:38,160
- Most important.

3443
02:06:38,160 --> 02:06:38,993
- Good, thanks.

3444
02:06:38,993 --> 02:06:39,826
General Jackson.

3445
02:06:39,826 --> 02:06:40,659
Thank you.

3446
02:06:40,659 --> 02:06:41,492
- Senator, thanks for the question.

3447
02:06:41,492 --> 02:06:43,422
Since we've spoken mostly about the power grid

3448
02:06:43,422 --> 02:06:46,098
restoration I think that's where my comment

3449
02:06:46,098 --> 02:06:46,931
would come from.

3450
02:06:46,931 --> 02:06:49,916
And that is, I think that if Congress can decide

3451
02:06:49,916 --> 02:06:51,999
what in-state looks like.

3452
02:06:52,272 --> 02:06:54,158
There's multiple requirements that could

3453
02:06:54,158 --> 02:06:54,991
be out there,

3454
02:06:54,991 --> 02:06:56,361
multiple things that could be done,

3455
02:06:56,361 --> 02:06:57,704
they all cost different amounts of money but

3456
02:06:57,704 --> 02:06:59,414
what is in-state look like and what does the

3457
02:06:59,414 --> 02:07:01,164
nation want us to do?

3458
02:07:02,100 --> 02:07:03,414
Whether it's what the Corps is doing or what,

3459
02:07:03,414 --> 02:07:06,581
whoever will do in terms of, you know,

3460
02:07:06,841 --> 02:07:08,552
what the power generation will look like.

3461
02:07:08,552 --> 02:07:09,733
What the transmission lines and such

3462
02:07:09,733 --> 02:07:10,983
will look like.

3463
02:07:11,345 --> 02:07:14,628
Being able to craft what in-state looks like with

3464
02:07:14,628 --> 02:07:16,180
the resources to match

3465
02:07:16,180 --> 02:07:17,723
would be my recommendation.

3466
02:07:17,723 --> 02:07:19,817
- Good. Thanks, thanks so much.

3467
02:07:19,817 --> 02:07:21,356
- Senator thanks for the question.

3468
02:07:21,356 --> 02:07:22,504
I'd say to continue to support the

3469
02:07:22,504 --> 02:07:23,649
men and women in uniform,

3470
02:07:23,649 --> 02:07:25,515
specifically the Department of Defense

3471
02:07:25,515 --> 02:07:28,968
did enormous work in all of these hurricanes.

3472
02:07:28,968 --> 02:07:30,417
As you know, the number of Navy ships,

3473
02:07:30,417 --> 02:07:32,197
that strategic airlift that was

3474
02:07:32,197 --> 02:07:33,030
involved in those,

3475
02:07:33,030 --> 02:07:34,765
the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps

3476
02:07:34,765 --> 02:07:36,462
active, reserve and guard.

3477
02:07:36,462 --> 02:07:38,200
That made a huge different in each one

3478
02:07:38,200 --> 02:07:39,557
of these hurricanes.

3479
02:07:39,557 --> 02:07:41,512
The Defense Department has evolved greatly

3480
02:07:41,512 --> 02:07:44,512
in that responsibility of supporting

3481
02:07:44,644 --> 02:07:45,762
civil authorities and that needs to continue

3482
02:07:45,762 --> 02:07:46,990
because it makes all the difference to our

3483
02:07:46,990 --> 02:07:47,823
citizens.

3484
02:07:47,823 --> 02:07:48,656
- Yeah.

3485
02:07:48,656 --> 02:07:50,118
Well I know when I'm talking with the folks

3486
02:07:50,118 --> 02:07:52,846
from different armed services other than the Navy

3487
02:07:52,846 --> 02:07:53,929
I uh, the uh,

3488
02:07:54,008 --> 02:07:55,176
sometimes I'll, I'll,

3489
02:07:55,176 --> 02:07:56,772
there's a friendly inter service rivalry,

3490
02:07:56,772 --> 02:07:57,633
as you know,

3491
02:07:57,633 --> 02:07:59,930
not just on the football field.

3492
02:07:59,930 --> 02:08:01,064
But I always say to them at the end of those

3493
02:08:01,064 --> 02:08:04,104
conversations, 'different uniforms, same team'.

3494
02:08:04,104 --> 02:08:05,410
And that's a great team.

3495
02:08:05,410 --> 02:08:06,993
Administrator Long.

3496
02:08:07,221 --> 02:08:09,567
- Externally for the entire country I think

3497
02:08:09,567 --> 02:08:11,364
survivable communications is something that we

3498
02:08:11,364 --> 02:08:13,471
have to address with the private sector.

3499
02:08:13,471 --> 02:08:15,226
We become more and more vulnerable every day

3500
02:08:15,226 --> 02:08:17,196
as we go to digital networks.

3501
02:08:17,196 --> 02:08:20,877
And uh, when you don't have redundant systems

3502
02:08:20,877 --> 02:08:23,807
or mitigated systems designed to handle

3503
02:08:23,807 --> 02:08:26,541
all hazards then it creates panic.

3504
02:08:26,541 --> 02:08:27,824
And as we've seen,

3505
02:08:27,824 --> 02:08:29,649
we basically just went through a complete

3506
02:08:29,649 --> 02:08:31,990
and total communication blackout for an island.

3507
02:08:31,990 --> 02:08:32,849
And it creates a lot of panic,

3508
02:08:32,849 --> 02:08:34,276
a lot of misunderstanding,

3509
02:08:34,276 --> 02:08:36,276
a lot of misinformation.

3510
02:08:36,502 --> 02:08:38,636
And that was incredibly frustrating,

3511
02:08:38,636 --> 02:08:40,281
so I think we have a lot of work to do

3512
02:08:40,281 --> 02:08:41,610
for survivable comms.

3513
02:08:41,610 --> 02:08:42,527
Internally,

3514
02:08:43,132 --> 02:08:44,215
fix the NFIP,

3515
02:08:46,035 --> 02:08:47,313
do more pre-disaster mitigation,

3516
02:08:47,313 --> 02:08:49,576
and let's come back to the drawing board on

3517
02:08:49,576 --> 02:08:51,576
the disaster on the DRF,

3518
02:08:52,910 --> 02:08:54,993
the Disaster Relief Fund.

3519
02:08:55,581 --> 02:08:57,050
- Thanks to all of you and the teams you lead.

3520
02:08:57,050 --> 02:08:57,980
Thanks so much.

3521
02:08:57,980 --> 02:08:59,308
- [Brock] Thank you.

3522
02:08:59,308 --> 02:09:00,141
- Thank you.

3523
02:09:00,141 --> 02:09:01,470
So my final comment,

3524
02:09:01,470 --> 02:09:03,824
I appreciate that my colleagues liked this chart.

3525
02:09:03,824 --> 02:09:07,015
There's a number of factors that are built into

3526
02:09:07,015 --> 02:09:09,725
the dramatic increase in the FEMA declarations.

3527
02:09:09,725 --> 02:09:12,047
One of them is just so we declare more disasters

3528
02:09:12,047 --> 02:09:13,380
a FEMA disaster.

3529
02:09:13,890 --> 02:09:15,807
And my concern is that,

3530
02:09:16,072 --> 02:09:18,536
I won't say the work abdication,

3531
02:09:18,536 --> 02:09:20,480
but certainly local and state authorities

3532
02:09:20,480 --> 02:09:21,947
are happy to have the federal government

3533
02:09:21,947 --> 02:09:24,923
spend their money and be responsible for

3534
02:09:24,923 --> 02:09:27,075
greater share for greater share of these things

3535
02:09:27,075 --> 02:09:28,178
that are occurring within their state.

3536
02:09:28,178 --> 02:09:29,356
So I mean that's part of the factor here.

3537
02:09:29,356 --> 02:09:32,059
But again, I want to thank all of you.

3538
02:09:32,059 --> 02:09:35,074
I think your efforts have been extraordinary.

3539
02:09:35,074 --> 02:09:37,793
I would give you pretty high grade, personally.

3540
02:09:37,793 --> 02:09:38,626
Again, I,

3541
02:09:38,801 --> 02:09:41,579
this is unprecedented what has happened here.

3542
02:09:41,579 --> 02:09:44,162
You get 51 inches in any place,

3543
02:09:44,645 --> 02:09:45,796
there's no way to plan for that.

3544
02:09:45,796 --> 02:09:47,933
That's gonna create a lot of destruction.

3545
02:09:47,933 --> 02:09:49,984
You get category five hurricanes going over

3546
02:09:49,984 --> 02:09:51,401
an entire island,

3547
02:09:51,417 --> 02:09:54,726
even when it's in the Caribbean that, you know,

3548
02:09:54,726 --> 02:09:56,559
is used to hurricanes,

3549
02:09:57,679 --> 02:09:59,141
that's gonna cause disaster you just don't snap

3550
02:09:59,141 --> 02:10:00,140
your fingers and alleviate all

3551
02:10:00,140 --> 02:10:01,455
pain and suffering.

3552
02:10:01,455 --> 02:10:03,030
So again, I think the men and women who

3553
02:10:03,030 --> 02:10:04,959
have worked with you have done

3554
02:10:04,959 --> 02:10:06,115
an extraordinary job.

3555
02:10:06,115 --> 02:10:07,528
I thank all of them and I thank all of you.

3556
02:10:07,528 --> 02:10:08,388
And with that,

3557
02:10:08,388 --> 02:10:10,240
this hearing record will remain open for 15 days

3558
02:10:10,240 --> 02:10:12,278
until November 15th, 5:00 pm for the

3559
02:10:12,278 --> 02:10:13,921
submissions of statements and questions

3560
02:10:13,921 --> 02:10:14,754
for the record.

3561
02:10:14,754 --> 02:10:15,699
This hearing's adjourned.

3562
02:10:15,699 --> 02:10:18,449
(gavel pounding)