Contact: Anne Lupardus, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162
Signs Legislation to Coordinate Response to Emergencies
LAKE GENEVA – Governor Doyle today called on Wisconsin’s Congressional Delegation to reverse proposed cuts in President Bush’s budget that would harm state and local emergency management programs. The Governor released a report by Wisconsin Emergency Management detailing a $13.1 million cut to the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) Program, the only federal grant available to the states to fund planning, preparedness, and response efforts for all types of hazards.
During his address at the 39th Annual Governor’s Conference on Emergency Management and Homeland Security being held today in Lake Geneva, Governor Doyle told Wisconsin’s first-responders that cutting federal funding for emergency management programs made no sense following the inadequate planning and response to Hurricane Katrina and the potential for new threats of terrorism and pandemic Avian influenza.
“I am concerned that the President and Congress are heading in the wrong direction,” said Governor Doyle. “Last August, after the worst tornados in Wisconsin history, FEMA let us down. The federal government pitted disaster victims in Stoughton and Viola against victims on the Gulf Coast. Now Washington is proposing more cuts to emergency response planning. Now is not the time to cut corners on public safety. I urge Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to stand up to President Bush and do what is right for Wisconsin.”
The EMPG funds are dedicated to local and state planning, first responder training and equipment, public education programs, early warning systems, and emergency preparedness exercises. Wisconsin receives $3.34 million in EMPG funding. Two-thirds of those dollars go directly to county emergency management programs. If the proposed cuts are enacted, Wisconsin would lose a quarter million dollars, resulting in major cuts to training and exercise programs, personnel, emergency planning, and public education at both local and state emergency management offices. Any cutback to these areas could delay updating emergency response plans, and limit public awareness campaigns such as working with school students, conducting emergency tornado and fire drills, and assisting families and businesses with developing emergency preparedness plans.
The White Paper on EMPG funding is available at: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=6669
Governor Doyle also signed legislation, Senate Bill 642, to ensure that all levels of government coordinate their response efficiently in the event of a large-scale emergency.
Emergency responses were delayed after Hurricane Katrina due in part to the lack of a centralized system that coordinated assistance between state and local agencies. Following Katrina, Governor Doyle ordered a complete review of Wisconsin’s Emergency Response Plans. The Governor’s Homeland Security Council, under the leadership of General Al Wilkening, found that many Wisconsin municipalities have mutual aid compacts that do not extend beyond adjacent counties.
The Homeland Security Council recommended legislation to provide a statewide protocol for responding to a disaster in order to ensure that the same mistakes made during the Hurricane Katrina response are not repeated in Wisconsin.
Last month, Governor Doyle added two additional members to the Homeland Security Council – representatives from the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection to respond to new threats such as agroterrorism and avian flu.
