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• FEMA Housing: An Examination of Current Problems and Innovative Solutions, Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, First Session, July 8, 2009

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  From the opening statement of Bennie G. Thompson: "Today's hearing will examine FEMA's [Federal Emergency Management Agency] ability to provide interim housing after a catastrophic event. While we intend this hearing to look toward the future, we must recall the past. [...] On January 16, 2009, in the last week of the Bush administration, FEMA released a housing strategy. That strategy called for developing an operational plan and building disaster housing capabilities. In essence, it is a plan to make a plan; I think that leaves us without a plan. Administrator Fugate, under your leadership, I want FEMA to develop a comprehensive housing plan. This plan can neither ignore the people who remain homeless after Katrina nor continue to rely on the same old solutions. I hope this hearing today will begin a dialogue to create innovative, cost-effective, and more temporary housing." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Bennie G. Thompson, Mark E. Souder, W. Craig Fugate, Richard L. Skinner, Gerald H. Jones, Erica Rioux Gees, Reilly Morse, Don Kubley, Braddon B. Rininger, and Walter J. Boasso.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2009
• Review of the General Accounting Office Report on FEMA's Activities After the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change, and Nuclear Safety and the Committee of Environment and Public Works, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session, September 24, 2003

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  Form the opening statement of George V. Voinovich, Chairman, Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change, and Nuclear Safety, Before the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change, and Nuclear Safety and the Committee of Environment and Public Works, United States Senate, from the hearing entitled "Review of the General Accounting Office Report on FEMA's Activities After the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001" held on September 24, 2003: "Today's hearing is also the first FEMA oversight hearing we have held since the Agency was transferred into the Department of Homeland Security. The attacks of September 11 were unprecedented in scope and have served as a catalyst for major reform within the Federal Government in its ability to prevent and respond to such events in the future. Also unprecedented was our Nation's response to the attacks. Thousands of workers and volunteers from around the country responded to those in need at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, including 74 Ohioans who arrived in New York City within 24 hours of the attacks as part of Ohio Task Force One, one of FEMA's urban search and rescue teams. The attacks of September 11 were the most costly disaster in U.S. history. President Bush pledged $20 billion in aid, and approximately $7.4 billion of it is being distributed through FEMA's Public Assistance Program. The Public Assistance Program is used throughout the country to provide grants to State and local governments to respond and to recover from disasters." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Michael D. Brown, JayEtta Hecker, Bud Larson, Dale Shipley and Rick Skinner.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2003-09-24
• US Macroeconomic Policy Response to COVID-19: Spillovers to the Euro Area

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  This document is a compilation of the following papers: "Looking Through and Past COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]: Do Spillovers Matter?" by Pierre L. Siklos; "Implications for the Euro Area of US Macroeconomic Policies" by Karl Whelan; "Monetary and Fiscal Spillovers Across the Atlantic: The Role of Financial Markets" by Luigi Bonatti, Andrea Fracasso, and Roberto Tamborini; "Could the Euro Area Benefit From the US Stimulus Packages?" by Chrisophe Blot, Caroline Bozou, and Jérôme Creel; and "Once More, the US Leads Europe" by Charles Wyplosz."

  European Union; European Parliament

  Siklos, Pierre L., 1955-; Whelan, Karl; Bonatti, Luigi . . .

  2021-06
• Hardrock Mining Management: Selected Countries, U.S. States, and Tribes Have Different Governance Structures but Primarily Use Leasing, Report to the Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, House of Representatives

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  From the Highlights: "Hardrock minerals such as gold, silver, and copper play a significant role in U.S. and global economies--in 2018, hardrock minerals extracted worldwide were valued at about $981 billion. However, extracting these minerals creates the potential for public health, safety, and environmental hazards. Different approaches exist to manage these hazards and hardrock mining. GAO [U.S. Government Accountability Office] recently reported on the number and characteristics of mining operations on federal lands in GAO-20-461R [hyperlink] and was also asked to review the methods different governments use to manage mining. This report describes the governance structures and approaches used to manage mining on (1) selected mineral-producing countries' land, (2) state-owned land in selected U.S. states, and (3) tribal lands subject to federal laws and regulations. GAO reviewed laws, regulations, government documents, legal guides, and nongovernmental and industry reports. GAO also interviewed nongovernmental and mining association representatives and officials from selected states and countries. GAO selected countries that were top mineral producers, perceived by researchers to have good mining governance, and were attractive to mining investors. GAO selected states in the western region of the U.S. that produced the highest value of hardrock minerals compared with other U.S. regions. GAO examined federal laws and regulations that generally govern mining on tribal land and interviewed one tribe on mining approaches used."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2021-06-30
• H. Rept. 117-94: Energy Emergency Leadership Act, Report to Accompany H.R. 3119, July 19, 2021

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  From the Purpose and Summary: "H.R. 3119, the 'Energy Emergency Leadership Act', amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to include energy emergency and energy security among the functions that the Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary shall assign to an Assistant Secretary. H.R. 3119 provides that the functions to be assigned to an Assistant Secretary include responsibilities with respect to infrastructure, cybersecurity, emerging threats, supply and emergency planning, coordination, response, and restoration. It also provides that these functions include the provision of technical assistance, support, and response capabilities with respect to energy sector threats, risks, and incidents to State, local, and Tribal governments, and the energy sector. Finally, H.R. 3119 requires the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to ensure that the departmental functions added by this legislation are performed in coordination with relevant Federal agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security."

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2021-07-19
• H. Rept. 117-93: Enhancing Grid Security Through Public-Private Partnerships Act, Report to Accompany H.R. 2931, July 19, 2021

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  From the Purpose and Summary: "H.R. 2931, the ''Enhancing Grid Security through Public-Private Partnerships Act'', introduced on April 30, 2021, would require the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a program to facilitate and encourage public-private partnerships to promote and advance physical security and cybersecurity of electric utilities. The Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) is directed to carry out a program to (1) develop, and provide for voluntary implementation of, maturity models, self-assessments, and auditing methods for assessing the physical security and cybersecurity of electric utilities; (2) provide training and technical assistance to electric utilities to address and mitigate cybersecurity supply chain management risks; and (3) increase opportunities for sharing best practices and data collection within the electric sector."

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2021-07-19
• Report of the Defense Critical Supply Chain Task Force

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  From the Document: "The goal of the Task Force was to work with the Department to identify actionable legislative proposals for incorporation in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, and to set the Department on a path toward improved Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) and resilience against further shocks to the supply chain. With this goal in mind, Task Force Members carefully scoped the purpose statement to identify three elements: (1) the processes through which DOD analyzes supply chain vulnerabilities and develops mitigation strategies; (2) DOD's process to prioritize and mitigate those identified vulnerabilities; and (3) the steps Congress and others can take to help build resilience against future shocks to the supply chain, both in the near term with respect to these selected cases, and over the longer term, leveraging the lessons learned from the initial actions and scaling appropriate responses to meet the Department's priority strategic requirements."

  United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services

  2021-07-22
• Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 15, Protecting Seniors from Emergency Scams Act

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  This is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on April 28, 2021. From the Document: "S. 15 would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to report to the Congress on scams targeting senior citizens. The bill also would require the FTC to update its website to include the latest information on scams targeting seniors and work with media and law enforcement to distribute the latest information on such scams. Using information from the FTC, CBO estimates that implementing S. 15 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2021-2031 period[.]"

  United States. Congressional Budget Office

  2021-07-26
• Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: H.R. 3119, Energy Emergency Leadership Act

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  This is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Cost Estimate as passed by the House of Representatives on July 19, 2021. From the Document: "H.R. 3119 would amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to add energy emergency and energy security functions to the duties assigned by the Secretary to assistant secretaries in the Department of Energy (DOE). Those assistant secretaries also would provide energy security-related technical support and response assistance to state, local, and tribal governments."

  United States. Congressional Budget Office

  2021-07-26
• FEMA's Fiscal Year 2011 Priorities and Beyond: Aligning Budget, Mission, and Vision, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, April 27, 2010

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  From the opening statement of Laura Richardson: "Over the last several months, we have witnessed the destruction caused by some of the most powerful earthquakes to hit our neighbors to the south. Not only do these disasters serve as humbling reminders of the massive responsibilities that come with your job, they require us to ask whether FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] has the resources to carry out its mission here at home today. While I am--excuse me--while I am supportive of the overall proposed budget increase for FEMA, I do have several concerns. First, the budget processes--when you consider about a 4 percent reduction for State and local grants, training, and technical assistance, is an issue. In particular, the budget request includes a $200 million cut to vital firefighter grant programs, much of which I have heard many of my colleagues express in our own appropriations meetings here on the Hill. Collectively, these two programs are often the last lifeline for fire departments struggling to sustain their capabilities in this economic downturn. I would like to hear from you why--of all the grant programs, especially given your background--that FEMA manages, these two programs would be singled out to be cut to such a large degree. I am also extremely concerned about the proposal to consolidate several freestanding grant programs, such as the Citizen Corps, the Interoperable Emergency Communications within the State Homeland Security Grant Program." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Laura Richardson, Mike Rogers, Bennie G. Thompson, W. Craig Fugate, Peter T. King, and William L. Owens.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2011
• Ensuring Strong FEMA Regional Offices: An Examination of Resources and Responsibilities, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, March 16, 2010

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  From the opening statement of Laura Richardson: "Few reforms are more important than the ones designed to reinvigorate FEMA's [Federal Emergency Management Agency] ten regional offices. For FEMA to truly be effective, it must develop strong relationships with its State, local, and Tribal partners. For me, having come from local government, that is a particular focus that I think we need to kind in mind. These relationships are best built and nurtured at the regional level. Headquarters should largely develop the agency's policies, and the regions should lead the implementation of those same policies. Of course, that is easier said than done. I am very encouraged though, however, that Administrator Fugate has taken some of the necessary key first steps to empower the regions to do that very task. Shortly after being confirmed, Mr. Fugate delegated ten authorities at the regional offices. We want to use today's hearing to get an understanding from FEMA directly on how these regions have implemented those ten authorities and, more broadly, FEMA's future plans for further enhancing the region's participation." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Laura Richardson, Mike Rogers, Bennie G. Thompson, David Garratt, Tony Russell, Christine Gibbs Springer, Brock Long, and Dina Titus.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2011
• Catastrophic Preparedness: How Ready is FEMA for the Next Big Disaster? Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session, March 17, 2011

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  From the opening statement of Joseph I. Lieberman: "We convened this hearing, which had been long planned, long scheduled on the ability of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to respond to a major catastrophe against the compelling backdrop of the tragically catastrophic events unfolding in Japan, an earthquake and tsunami in rapid succession that have already resulted in twice as many deaths as al-Qaeda's attack on America on September 11, 2001. And, of course, no one believes that the deaths and the finding of the dead is over yet. The earthquake and tsunami have also caused fires and explosions at nuclear power plants that could have nightmarish consequences for Japan and perhaps other countries as well. Japan has been considered the gold standard of earthquake preparedness because they have had repeated experience with earthquakes, but this earthquake registered 9.0 on the Richter scale." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: W. Craig Fugate, Richard L. Skinner, William O. Jenkins, Jr., Joseph I. Lieberman, Susan Collins, Scott P. Brown, Daniel K. Akaka, and Mary L. Landrieu.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2012
• Hurricane Katrina: How Is FEMA Performing Its Mission at this Stage of Recovery? Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, First Session, October 6, 2005

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  From the opening statement of committee chairman Susan M. Collins, "This morning the Committee holds its third hearing into the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Our focus today will be on the recovery efforts being directed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Our purpose is to identify the bureaucratic roadblocks, inflexible policies, outdated laws, and wasteful practices that impede the prompt and compassionate delivery of needed assistance." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Susan M. Collins, Joseph I. Lieberman and R. David Paulison.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2006
• FEMA Reauthorization and Cutting the Red Tape in Recovery, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session, July 14, 2011

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  From the opening testimony of Jeff Denham: "At our hearing in March, we focused on how prepared we are to respond to a catastrophic disaster in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Today we will look at what happens next. After the initial response, how do we help communities pick up the pieces and recover quickly? So far this year, we have had 48 major disaster declarations, from tornadoes hitting communities in States like Missouri, Alabama, and Tennessee, to flooding in Vermont and Mississippi and wildfires in Texas." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Jeff Denham, Craig Fugate, Jerome Hatfield, Cline Griggs, Phyllis Little, Chad Berginnis, the BuildStrong Coalition, and the U.S. Travel Association.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2012
• S. Hrg. 108-136: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS): Hearing before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress First Session, Special Hearing May 2, 2003

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  On May 2, 2003, the Senate Severe Committee on Appropriations convenes to discuss and hear testimony regarding Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Testifying are Julie Gertberding, MD, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Luther Rhodes MD of the Lehigh Valley Hospital Division of Infectious Disease, Anthony Fauci, MD, of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. John Combes of the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania. Chairman Arlen Spector explains that "The world is now suffering from an enormous problem of SARS, originated in China, has been a problem in many parts of the world, recently in Toronto and also in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania." He adds, "it is difficult to say this, but the Centers for Disease Control is in a dilapidated state". Julie Gerberding testifies that "the Chinese Government was unwilling to provide the information to the global health communities for quite some time. I think initially they misunderstood the problem as being caused by chlamydia infection or some other infectious disease" and that "we need a global system for detecting and diagnosing and responding to emerging infectious disease threats." Dr. Fauci states that "I think at the present time given the burden of cases that we have now, the level of alertness that we have been put on, the measures that the CDC has taken in surveillance and public health and infection control, that the risk is relatively small."

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2003-05-02
• S. Hrg. 108-367: SARS: Is Minnesota Prepared? Hearing before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session, Field Hearing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 8, 2003

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  This hearing focuses on how Minnesota officials are preparing for a possible outbreak of SARS in the upcoming flu season. In the first outbreak of SARS, there were 8,098 cases in 28 countries. The United States experienced 29 total probable cases of SARS-with the median age being 33-and thankfully no fatalities. Throughout the world, however, 916 people died of SARS-related complications. This hearing discusses what can be done to ensure that the next outbreak of SARS isn't summarized with statistics of who got sick and died-but rather a case study that illustrates how lives can be saved when government and the health care communities- at every level-work together, not just hoping for the best, but being prepared for the worst. "Today's hearing gives us an excellent opportunity to assess our preparedness. We will hear from two of Minnesota's leaders in the area of public health and infectious disease. We will also hear from local officials, and, in particular school, officials who represent the front line of our effort to contain any future outbreak." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Dianne Mandernach, Michael T. Osterholm, Jeff Spartz, Mary Quinn Crow, Ann Hoxie, Debra Herrmann, Rob Benson, and Donna J. Spannaus-Martin.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2004
• Accountability at FEMA: Is Quality Job #1, Hearing Before the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Intergovernmental Affairs of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred and Twelfth Congress, First Session, October 20, 2011

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  From the opening statement of Mark Pryor: "We are here today to assess FEMA's progress in its effort to balance quick disaster response with good stewardship of taxpayer money. FEMA has responded to 87 major disasters this year, at least 10 of which caused damages in excess of a billion dollars. [...] Today, I want to make sure quality control is a priority at FEMA. My goal is to review the organization and leadership of FEMA components, their emphasis on front-end accountability processes and how we can make additional improvements so that the American people can rest assured that their tax dollars are being put to good use." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Mark Pryor, Richard Serino, Matt Jadacki, Maurice McTigue, Craig Killough, and Ron Johnson.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2012
• Increasing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among Members of Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities: A Guide for Developing, Implementing, and Monitoring Community-Driven Strategies

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  From the Purpose: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Vaccination Supplemental Funding to IP19-1901 requires use of 10% of total funding for high-risk and underserved populations. This guide aims to support immunization awardees in establishing a community-driven approach and work plan for developing, implementing, and monitoring strategies to increase vaccine uptake among communities of focus. The guide focuses on racial and ethnic minority communities as an example due to the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 among these groups, but it is applicable to other communities that are hard to reach, experience marginalization or discrimination, and/or demonstrate vaccine hesitancy. This guide may be supplemented with additional materials and resources as more is learned about effective strategies and interventions. When finalized, CDC-RFA-1P21-2108, 'Partnering with National Organizations to Support Community-Based Organizations to Increase Vaccination Coverage Across Different Racial and Ethnic Adult Populations Currently Experiencing Disparities,' can help support the partner network described in this guide; planned partnerships and organizations to be funded are still in development."

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); United States. Department of Health and Human Services; National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (U.S.)

  2021-01-28
• Climate Models and the Use of Climate Projections: A Brief Overview for Health Departments

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  From the Introduction: "When assessing and preparing for the human health effects of climate change, public health practitioners will likely need to access climatological information. Projected climate data, such as future temperature and precipitation, can be used to assess vulnerability and project disease burden. However, state and local health departments often do not have the capacity to utilize climate data or climate projections. This document provides a definition for climate outlooks and climate models and describes particular outlooks and models that may be useful in anticipating the human health effects of climate change. It also includes a topic overview and some suggested initial methods for state and local health departments. This guidance is in accordance with Step 1 of CDC's [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's] Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) framework."

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects

  Schramm, Paul J.; Uejio, Christopher K.; Hess, Jeremy J. . . .
• Pandemic Influenza Preparedness: Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, Second Session, Special Hearing, January 31, 2006

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  From the opening statement of Arlen Specter: "This hearing is designed to acquaint the public with the scope of the potential problem. It could be enormous, or it might not be a major problem. That will depend upon what happens in many distant places around the world, what happens in Asia, what happens in Turkey and what happens by way of an influenza-contagious outburst. We have already seen some 160 people infected by bird flu. We have seen some 85 die. We have seen the problem move in a number of directions from Asia to Turkey. We are concerned about the problem of transmission from birds to humans and then from humans to humans and the complex question of mutation and the fact that we are not prepared at this moment for what could occur. We are looking at issues of vaccines where we are not prepared, and we'll get into the details of that. We're looking at antiviral drugs, again, where we are not prepared. The pandemics have a cyclical effect. In 1918, a pandemic-it is estimated it killed some 50 million people around the world. We have had one as recently as 1968." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Tom Harkin, John Agwunobi, Julie L. Gerberding, John M. Barry, Richard Webby, George B. Abercrombie, Daniel Soland, Christopher Viehbacher, Mary Mincer Hansen, Calvin B. Johnson, Bruce W. Dixon, Joanne Godley, and Larry Craig.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2007
• Wildfire Smoke: A Guide for Public Health Officials, Revised 2019

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  From the Executive Summary: "Wildfire smoke events can occur without warning - but we can be prepared. This Guide is intended to provide state, tribal, and local public health officials with information they need to be prepared for smoke events and, when wildfire smoke is present, to communicate health risks and take measures to protect the public. Although developed for public health officials, the information in this document could be useful to many other groups including health professionals, air quality officials, and members of the public. The document is divided into five Chapters and five Appendices."

  United States. Environmental Protection Agency

  Stone, Susan Lyon; Sacks, Jason; Lahm, Peter . . .

  2019-08
• FEMA Contracting: Reviewing Lessons Learned from Past Disasters to Improve Preparedness, Joint Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery and the Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability, House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, First Session, May 9, 2019

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  This is the May 9, 2019 joint hearing on "FEMA Contracting: Reviewing Lessons Learned from Past Disasters to Improve Preparedness," held before the House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery and the Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability. From the Opening Statement of Donald M. Payne, Jr.: "Unfortunately, there are still real questions about FEMA's preparedness for disasters, not the least of which is that there is not a confirmed administrator at the helm of FEMA. I am particularly concerned about FEMA's contracting for disasters. Proper disaster contracting is crucial to the successful response efforts, as disaster contracts provide for several survival and comfort items like food, water, blankets, and cots that communities need following a major devastation. Disaster contracts also provide for important response-related services like debris removal, translators, and housing inspectors. While the magnitude of the effects of hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and the like are obvious, FEMA seems to continually fall short in the realm of disaster contracting. [...] To make matters worse, the President has again proposed cuts to the agency's discretionary funding, further complicating FEMA's ability to address disaster contracting work force challenges. Furthermore, the recent Federal Government shut down, roughly 6 months before the start of hurricane season, caused FEMA to order a stop on outstanding contracts, causing the agency to lose valuable disaster contracting preparation time. Emergency preparedness, response, and recovery is too important of a mission for this agency to consistently struggle with disaster contracting." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Brian Kamoie, Marie A. Mak, and Katherine Trimble.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2019
• MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 16, 2021

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  The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Vaccination Coverage Among Insured Persons Aged ≥16 Years, by Race/Ethnicity and Other Selected Characteristics -- Eight Integrated Health Care Organizations, United States, December 14, 2020-May 15, 2021"; "COVID-19 Vaccine Administration, by Race and Ethnicity -- North Carolina, December 14, 2020-April 6, 2021"; "Acceptability of Adolescent COVID-19 Vaccination Among Adolescents and Parents of Adolescents -- United States, April 15-23, 2021"; "SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant COVID-19 Outbreak Associated with a Gymnastics Facility -- Oklahoma, April-May 2021"; and "'QuickStats': Percentage, of Men and Women Aged 25-49 Years Who Spent at Least One Night in the Past 12 Months at an Alternate Location Because They Did Not Have a Permanent Place To Stay, by Type of Location -- National Survey of Family Growth, United States, 2017-2019." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2021.html].

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2021-07-16
• FEMA: Prioritizing a Culture of Preparedness, Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, Second Session, April 11, 2018

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  This is the April 11, 2018 hearing titled "FEMA: Prioritizing a Culture of Preparedness" held before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. From the opening statement of Ron Johnson: "We want you to do a better and better job, but what we really want is we want State and local governments to be completely prepared so that it really can be State managed, locally executed, federally supported." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: William B. "Brock" Long.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2019
• 'Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016': Alcohol and Drug Use and Treatment Reported by Prisoners

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  From the Document: "Among all state and federal prisoners (1,421,700), nearly 4 in 10 (38%) reported using drugs and 3 in 10 (30%) reported drinking alcohol at the time of the offense for which they were serving a sentence. Statistics in this report are based on self-reported data collected through face-to-face interviews with a national sample of state and federal prisoners age 18 or older in the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates (SPI). Nearly two-thirds (64%) of state and federal prisoners reported using at least one drug in the 30 days prior to arrest for the offense for which they were serving time. Among state and federal prisoners who were not incarcerated for the entire 12 months prior to admission to prison for the offense for which they were serving a sentence (916,900), nearly half (47%) met the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders', Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for substance use disorder in the 12 months prior to admission to prison."

  United States. Bureau of Justice Statistics

  Maruschak, Laura M.; Bronson, Jennifer; Alper, Mariel

  2021-07
• Wildfire Smoke Factsheet: Prepare for Fire Season

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  From the Document: "If you live in an area where the wildfire risk is high, take steps now to prepare for fire season. Being prepared for fire season is especially important for the health of children, older adults, and people with heart or lung disease."

  United States. Environmental Protection Agency

  2020-05-28
• Aging Water Infrastructure: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, July 25, 2013

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  This is the July 25, 2013 hearing, "Aging Water Infrastructure" before the United States Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water and Power. From the opening statement of Brian Schatz: "Many challenges exist in managing and financing the upgrades and repairs needed to mitigate the impacts of aging water infrastructure. Further, severe weather events are increasing stresses on existing facilities. Floods will strain waste water systems and ongoing drought will mean reduced hydroelectric power generation. I'm hopeful that today's hearing will provide the subcommittee with a holistic look at aging water infrastructure by including the Federal perspective from the Bureau and the Army Corps, as well as the local perspective with DC Water. I hope we can begin the discussion on possible solutions to address this ongoing problem." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: John Barrasso, Lowell Pimley, Gerald E. Galloway, James R. Hannon, Charles Stern, Brian Schatz, and Charles Kiely.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2014
• Hurricane Katrina: The Roles of U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency Leadership: Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, Second Session, February 10, 2006

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  From the opening statement of Susan Collins: "Our panels today separate witnesses from a Federal agency, FEMA, from those of its parent organization, DHS. The separation is deliberate. It reflects, in part, the differing perspectives on Katrina that we have heard consistently from officials of the two entities. It also reflects tensions between the two that predate the storm-tensions over resources, roles, and responsibilities within the Department. This tension is clear in Mr. Brown's response when Committee investigators asked him why FEMA was not better prepared for Katrina. Mr. Brown responded 'its mission had been marginalized. Its response capability had been diminished. There's the whole clash of cultures between DHS's mission to prevent terrorism and FEMA's mission to respond to and to prepare for responding to disasters of whatever nature.' By almost any measure, FEMA's response to Katrina has to be judged a failure. I must say that I have come to this conclusion with a sense of remorse because I've been struck throughout this investigation by the extraordinary efforts of many FEMA professionals in the field as well as some FEMA and DHS officials at headquarters who literally worked around the clock to try to help bring relief to the people in the Gulf States. But the response was riddled with missed opportunities, poor decision making, and failed leadership."

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2007
• Hearing to Examine the Potential Modernization of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Related Energy Security Issues, Hearing Before the United States Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, First Session, October 6, 2015

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  "This testimony compilation is from the October 6, 2015 hearing on the 'Potential Modernization of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve' before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. From the opening statement of Lisa Murkowski: 'We have some pretty unparalleled opportunities here in the United States with regards to our oil and our oil production and well it is good and strong I think it's important that we be ever vigilant in this area. OPEC's [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] spare capacity has fallen, unplanned production outages persist in Iraq, Libya, and elsewhere, and further trouble always seems to lurk just over the horizon. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve remains critical to our nation's energy security and it is an asset. And you will hear me repeat as often as I possibly can that this is about a national security asset. And I think it's important that we focus on the energy security aspect of it. It is an insurance policy absolutely. It is a source of leverage and stability for us from a geopolitical perspective absolutely. And while I believe it should be modernized, I think the question that many of us have asked is: What exactly does modernization really mean?' Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Ernest Moniz, Dennis C. Blair, Jason Bordoff, Kevin Book, and Sarah Ladislaw."

  United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

  2015-10-06
• Examination of FEMA's Limited Role in Local Land Use Development Decisions, Hearing Before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, Second Session, September 21, 2016

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  This hearing compilation is from the September 21, 2016 hearing "Examination of FEMA's Limited Role in Local Land Use Development Decisions" before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. From the statement of Michael Grimm: "FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] will do everything within our authorities granted by Congress to administer the NFIP [National Flood Insurance Program] to reduce flood risks, first and foremost, while supporting the complementary responsibility of environmental stewardship. To that end, FEMA has undertaken a national assessment of the NFIP to consider its potential environmental impacts as modified by recent legislation and other proposed program modifications. The purpose for the proposed modifications to the NFIP is to implement legislative requirements of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Act of 2012, and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, and to demonstrate compliance with the ESA [Endangered Species Act]. FEMA and the Services have different primary missions and priorities, but we share the common obligation of species conservation under the ESA. Healthy floodplains reduce risk of loss of life and property, and benefit threatened and endangered species. Decisions and actions that are beneficial for wildlife habitat and floodplains can also be good for hazard reduction and community resilience." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Michael Grimm, Chris Shirley, Denny Doyle, Heather Carruthers, and Jon Chandler.

  United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

  2016-09-21