Performance Measures and Comprehensive Funding Data Could Enhance Management of National Capital Region Preparedness Resources.

摘要

Given its political and historical significance as home to the most important institutions in the nation, protecting the National Capital Region (NCR) from both man-made incidents and natural disasters is of particular concern. Regional stakeholders at the local and state levels receive preparedness funding from a variety of federal grant programs, but the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant program is the primary source of federal homeland security funding for the NCR. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allocated over $560 million through the UASI grant program to the NCR from fiscal years 2003 through 2012. However, the region's response to emergencies in 2011, including a significant snowstorm and an earthquake, as well as a severe storm in June 2012, raised questions regarding the effectiveness of regional preparedness capabilities. The NCR is a geographic region that includes the District of Columbia and local jurisdictions in the State of Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia. A network of committees--composed of senior federal, state, and local officials and subject matter experts--works together to build the preparedness capabilities needed to implement the homeland security strategic plan for this region. A key federal stakeholder in this network is a federal office called the Office of National Capital Region Coordination (NCRC), established by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to oversee and coordinate federal programs for and relationships with state, local, and regional authorities in this region. In 2007, the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (Post-Katrina Act), transferred NCRC into the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).