Central Louisiana News

Legislation spearheaded by U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. and Gary Peters (D-MI) has made headway in the Senate. The bill, aimed at directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to formulate a comprehensive plan for efficient workforce management, is designed to ensure communities are adequately equipped to handle natural disasters.

FEMA has historically faced difficulties in deploying staff with the requisite training and skills to effectively address diverse natural disasters across the nation. This proposed legislation seeks to enhance FEMA’s recruitment and retention efforts, devise strategies for efficient workforce training and deployment, and utilize data to identify and rectify staffing gaps.

The bill received approval from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and now proceeds to the full Senate for consideration.

"FEMA’s workforce must be given the tools to effectively do their job and help a community recover,” said Dr. Cassidy. “The Senate is taking steps to ensure FEMA has the necessary staff to care for and assist Americans hit by natural disasters.”

Senator Peters echoed these sentiments, stating, “FEMA is vital to communities as they work to recover from natural disasters. We must ensure this agency has a strong and reliable workforce that is prepared to assist in any emergency. My bipartisan legislation will help build and maintain FEMA’s staff to ensure survivors get proper assistance after a natural disaster.”

The proposed FEMA Workforce Planning Act mandates that FEMA submit a human capital operating plan every three years to Congress. This plan should outline specific retention and recruitment goals, strategies for workforce training and deployment, along with an analysis of current workforce demographics including areas requiring attention.

Furthermore, the bill stipulates that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) should audit this plan within six months of its submission.

Historically, FEMA has struggled with deploying appropriately trained staff in response to natural disasters. A GAO report from October 2017 revealed that 54 percent of staff were serving in roles for which they were not formally certified according to FEMA’s qualification system standards.