House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Oversight, Investigations, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Follow-Up Questions from June 9, 1999, Hearing 5. Please provide copies of the last two Reports to Congress submitted pursuant to section 624 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. FEMA thanks the Subcommittee for bringing this reporting requirement to our attention. Should the annual budget submission not suffice, we will work with the Subcommittee to provide the necessary information. 6. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Oversight, Investigations, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Follow-Up Questions from June 9, 1999, Hearing What annual goals and measures developed by FEMA pursuant to the Government Performance and Results Act relate to preparedness against terrorist attack? Terrorism is one hazard among many; FEMA's strategic plan includes goals and objectives for improving Federal, State, and local capabilities to respond to all hazards. Thus, there is no terrorism-specific performance measure in the FY 1999 annual performance plan. One performance indicator, the Capability Assessment for Readiness (CAR), includes terrorism-related information. Similarly, followon surveys of students receiving FEMA training or evaluation of exercises would include information on terrorism-related training and terrorism-related exercises. Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington, DC 20533 STATEMENT BY MRS. BARBARA Y. MARTINEZ DEPUTY DIRECTOR NATIONAL DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS OFFICE BEFORE THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT "PREPAREDNESS FOR TERRORISM RESPONSE" JUNE 9, 1999 Good morning, Madam Chairman and thank you for this opportunity to speak before distinguished members of Congress and my colleagues regarding the proposed role of the National Domestic Preparedness Office in combating terrorism within the United States. My intent is to highlight the importance of achieving coordination across the federal government of the various individual agency efforts that provide valuable assistance to states and local communities in preparing them to face the challenge that terrorism presents. As over 40 federal agencies would have a role in the response to a terrorist attack involving weapons of mass destruction, so too are many of these agencies in a logical position to provide various forms of expert assistance to their state and local counterparts - the men and women of this country whose job it is to save lives and protect the security of our communities if such an event occurs. The mission of the proposed National Domestic Preparedness Office, consistent with the recommendation to the Attorney General by State and local authorities, will be to serve as the central coordinating body for federal programs that can help emergency responders prepare for terrorist incidents, particularly those involving weapons of mass destruction. atial TV of a Terrorist Attack involving Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorist events such as the World Trade Center bombing, the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City, and the pipe bomb at the Olympic Games in Atlanta revealed the united states' increased susceptibility to terrorist assaults. These attacks, coupled with the March 1995 Tokyo subway attack, where the weapon was the chemical nerve agent sarin, exposed the threat of use of WMD within the united states. The threat of WMD use in the United States is real, however, we must not inflate nor understate the actual threat. The United States is experiencing an increased number of hoaxes involving the use of chemical or biological agents perpetrated by individuals wishing to instill fear and disrupt communities. Yesterday's bomb threat has been replaced with a more exotic biological or chemical threat. While the FBI continues to investigate these hoaxes, other on-going investigations reveal that domestic extremists, as well as international terrorists with open anti-U.S. sentiments, are becoming more interested in the potential use of chemical and biological agents. Examining the increased number of WMD criminal cases the FBI has opened over the past several years highlights the potential threat of use we face. WMD criminal cases are those cases primarily dealing with the use, threatened use, or procurement of chemical and biological materials with intent to harm within the United States. These criminal cases have shown a steady increase since 1995, rising from 37 in 1996 to 74 in 1997, 181 in 1998, and 114 to date for 1999, with three-quarters of these cases threatening a biological release. The biological agent most often cited in 1998 and 1999 was anthrax, Despite the increase in fabricated threats, the WMD threat remains. Since the early 1990s, the FBI has investigated a number of domestic extremist groups and associated individuals interested in procuring or ready to employ chemical or biological agents against innocent civilians. In February 1999, members of a right-wing splinter group were sentenced to 292 months (over 24 years) in prison for threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction against federal officials. These individuals intended to modify a cigarette lighter in order to shoot cactus quills tainted with HIV-blood or rables. 60-220 00-5 It is impossible to eliminate all vulnerabilities in an open society without taking draconian measures that impinge on civil liberties. However, it is possible to reduce susceptibility to WMD terrorist attacks by taking security precautions, remaining vigilant in pursuing WMD terrorist activity, and improving preventive measures, as well as civil preparedness. The FBI is currently undertaking all of these steps. The United States is preparing itself for unconventional threats like WMD terrorism by coordinating federal, state, and local law enforcement and emergency responders in their ability to ferret the fabricated threats and meet the challenges posed by a potential chemical or biological terrorist attack. As you know, in the past few years, the President of the United States and Congress have taken significant steps to increase our national security and to promote interagency cooperation. Most recently, cooperative efforts against terrorism have been extended to include state and local agencies and professional and private sector associations as well, For example, in the preparation of the Administration's Five-Year Interagency Counterterrorism and Technology Crime Plan, the Attorney General directed the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, to host a meeting of individuals who represent the various emergency response disciplines that would most likely be involved in the response to a terrorist event. More than 200 stakeholders representing local and State disciplines of fire services and HAZMAT personnel; law enforcement and public safety personnel; emergency medical and public health professionals; emergency management and government officials; and various professional associations and organizations attended the two-day session. Collectively, they made recommendations to the Attorney General; James Lee Witt, Director of FEMA; Dr. Hamre, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and other Federal officials on ways to improve assistance for state and local communities. These recommendations have been incorporated in the Administration's Five-Year Plan mentioned above. The most critical issue identified by stakeholders was the need for a central federal point of coordination. Due to the size and complexity of both the problem of terrorism and of the federal government itself, it was no surprise that the many different avenues through which aid may be acquired, by state and local officials, and the potential inconsistency of those programs was deemed to be simply overwhelming. In essence, the federal government, though well intentioned, was not operating in an optimal manner nor was it effectively serving its constituents with regard to domestic preparedness programs and issues in an optimal manner. State and local emergency response officials made a strong recommendation to the Attorney General for the coordination and integration of all federal assistance programs that reach state and local agencies for terrorism preparedness. In heeding that recommendation and seeking to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of federal support programs that provide grants for equipment, training, exercises, and information sharing, the Attorney General proposed the establishment of the National Domestic Preparedness Office. In proposing the establishment of the NDPO, the Attorney General consulted the National Security Council, Department of Defense, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, and other relevant agencies regarding the creation of |