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Legislative Affairs Division

• Organizational Structure
• Reference Links

The Legislative Affairs Division is the Federal Emergency Management Agency's primary liaison with the United States Congress. Our mission is to proactively engage and communicate with Members of Congress and their staffs to build strong working relationships that will advance the agency's legislative and emergency management priorities.

We accomplish this mission by:

• Informing Congress of agency efforts to support our citizens and first responders in preparing for, protecting against, responding to, recovering from, and mitigating all hazards;
• Responding to various Congressional inquiries related to emergency management and disaster response/recovery issues;
• Providing Members of Congress and their staffs with regular updates on key developments in Presidentially-declared disasters; and
• Advising the FEMA Administrator, and other senior agency officials, on legislative matters pertaining to emergency management.

Staff & Contact Information

Organizational Structure

The Legislative Affairs Division is led by Acting Director Pamela Williams. It consists of three branches: The Appropriations and Budget Branch, The Disaster Response Branch, and the Program and Policy Branch.

The Appropriations and Budget Branch

• Communicates with Members of Congress and staff on budget- and appropriations-related matters.
• Coordinates with the Agency's Chief Financial Officer and other senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security on the roll out of the President's annual budget.
• Tracks the Congressional budget and appropriations process for senior Agency officials.

The Disaster Response Branch

• Provides information and direct support to Members of Congress and Congressional staff who represent areas impacted by presidentially-declared disasters.
• Coordinates with FEMA Congressional Affairs counterparts who are working in the Agency’s Regional Offices, Joint Field Offices and Recovery Offices.
• Responds to disaster-related Congressional inquiries.

The Program and Policy Branch

• Facilitates FEMA’s participation in Congressional hearings, including the preparation of Congressional testimony and the response to any Congressional inquiries regarding the hearing.
• Conducts regular calls, meetings, briefings, and informal discussions with Members of Congress and staff regarding FEMA’s programs, policies, and initiatives.
• Assists Congressional offices in responding to constituent inquiries regarding FEMA’s programs and policies.

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Reference Links

• The Office of Management and Budget
• Budgets of the United States (Fiscal Years 1996 - 2011)
• Department of Homeland Security Budget and Finance Documents
• A Guide to the Disaster Declaration Process
• List of Presidential Disaster Declarations
• FEMA Regional Contacts
• The Stafford Act (PDF)
• Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations
• Statements of Administration Policy 
• FEMA Program Fact Sheets 

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Last Modified: Monday, 13-Feb-2012 11:06:27 EST