Washington, D.C. - This week, Rep. Harley Rouda, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, held a hearing on “Recovery, Resiliency and Readiness- “Contending with Natural Disasters in the Wake of Climate Change (Climate Change, Part III)."
TAKEAWAYS
* Chairman Rouda announced in his opening statement that the Deputy Administrator of FEMA, Dr. Daniel Kaniewski, who was unable to testify in today’s hearing due to medical reasons, will be called to testify before the Subcommittee “as soon as he is able."
* Expert witness Dr. Michael Mann dismissed misinformation that climate change is not impacting the frequency and severity of natural disasters and James Lee Witt, the Former Director of FEMA, pressed the Trump Administration to reconsider their policy of not taking into account climate change in disaster relief planning.
* Chairman Rouda, Subcommittee Members, and expert witnesses on disaster recovery in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands highlighted the still-dire state of the regions nearly twenty months after Hurricanes Maria and Irma.
* Local officials from Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands voiced concern over the bureaucratic hurdles in place that prevent communities from accessing recovery funds from FEMA. For example, Omar Marrero testified that, in Puerto Rico, 20,000 families still live in homes with blue tarps, which is only temporary roofing.
* Mark S. Ghilarducci and Christopher P. Currie, who testified about the federal response to the 2017-2018 California wildfire season, expressed concern about communications and housing shortages following the fires, and stressed the need for emergency preparedness at the state and federal levels in order to prepare for longer and more intense wildfire seasons.
WITNESSES
Christopher P. Currie
Director
Emergency Management, Disaster Recovery, and DHS Management Issues
Homeland Security and Justice Team
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Dr. Michael E. Mann
Distinguished Professor of Meteorology
Director, Earth System Science Center
The Pennsylvania State University
James Lee Witt
Former Director
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Stephen Costello
Chief Recovery Officer
City of Houston
Mark S. Ghilarducci
Director
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
Omar J. Marrero
Executive Director
Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction, and Resilience
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Adrienne L. Williams-Octalien
Director
Office of Disaster Recovery
Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority
Dr. Judith Curry (minority witness)
President
Climate Forecast Applications Network
VIDEOS
Watch Chairman Rouda’s opening statement.
Watch Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s question line.
Watch Rep. Plaskett’s question line.
Watch Rep. Velazquez’s question line.
