ORAL TESTIMONY: FEMA HOUSING: An Examination of Current Problems and Innovative Solutions July 8, 2009 • Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Rogers and Distinguished Members of the committee, I am honored to appear before you today to discuss disaster housing. • Disaster housing, particularly following a catastrophic event, is one of the biggest and most complex challenges that face our agency, and our partners in state and local government. • Storms like Hurricane Katrina and Rita illustrated the limitations of state and local governments, the federal government, and industry to respond effectively to a catastrophic disaster. • By their very nature, catastrophic events immediately overwhelm the response capacities of affected state and local first responders and require outside action and support from the federal government and other entities. • These are not the types of events FEMA is called to respond to on a daily basis. • For example, after a powerful EF-5 tornado nearly destroyed the small town of Greensboro, Kansas on May 4, 2007, FEMA responded swiftly to the needs of the approximately 1,400 people living there prior to the tornado. • Nearly 300 families were housed in temporary housing units that FEMA provided. We consider that operation a success because we have the resources, inventory, and capabilities to get it done efficiently and effectively, • However, disaster housing, particularly following a catastrophic incident like Hurricane Katrina, is more complex because of the number of evacuees; the damage to rental housing stock, the loss of utilities and emergency support services, and the long-term impacts to the community. • When these types of events occur, it has been made clear that these are not housing missions that FEMA can or will ever be able to handle alone. • Congress, NEMA, and others have issued reports on the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, identifying various shortcomings, including those related to the federal government’s efforts to provide housing assistance to victims of this storm. • And let me make one thing perfectly clear. We agree. • The emergency management community has developed several very real, potential catastrophic scenarios, and the number of potential disaster survivors that may need housing is staggering. • For example: • Planning experts anticipate that following a New Madrid Seismic Zone no-notice earthquake, a projected 2.6million people will require shelter. • The Florida Catastrophic Planning Initiative anticipates that following a Category 5 Hurricane impacting the most populous areas of Florida; as many as 3.6 million households will seek either short- or long-term shelter. • The California Catastrophic Disaster Readiness Planning team estimates that 100,000 short-term housing units and 36,000 long-term housing units would be needed to house the affected population of San Francisco, Alameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateo Counties. • After a catastrophic hurricane affecting Honolulu and the island of Oahu, it is project that there would be a requirement to shelter 650,000 residents because of widespread damage to single-wall-constructed dwellings in the State. • These numbers can increase significantly due to the unknowns - significant aftershocks and ensuing fires, safety and security concerns, additional significant weather conditions could also affect population movements, and temporary sheltering requirements depending on the seasonal weather conditions. • Current Federal disaster response capabilities are not robust enough to successfully address all the anticipated effects of catastrophic disasters. • While FEMA is certainly prepared to provide a number of housing resources following a disaster, the sheer size, scope, and duration of the housing demand after a catastrophic event requires the coordinated involvement of federal agencies, state, local and tribal governments, the private sector, and voluntary agencies. • I have often been asked “When do we know a community has “recovered” from a disaster?” My answer? “It is when the community’s tax base has returned to its pre-disaster level.” Restoring the tax base requires a labor force, and a labor force needs housing, making temporary housing a key mission following any disaster. • The next question becomes, “What is needed to support these populations forced from their homes?” Mr. Chairman, I can honestly say, that I do not believe that any housing mission that solely relies on the use of manufactured housing will meet the needs of these populations already devastated by these disaster events. • Even if we had the manpower to support such an operation, the industry would not be able to provide delivery swiftly enough, nor would FEMA be able to work through the myriad of issues related to restoration of critical facilities and infrastructure, jurisdictional issues and other challenges, as well as ensure that all applicants would want the options we present • We must then ask the questions, “At what time does manufactured housing stop being a viable option for catastrophic housing?” or “When is it appropriate to use manufactured housing and when shouldn’t it be used?” • In the case of catastrophic disasters, it is not always the best, most efficient, most cost-effective way to house people, and in some cases it is not a feasible option either. • When we need to relocate tens of thousands of households while the rebuilding process continues, we must look at other options, such as relying on host state, and our voluntary organization partnerships, and our federal, state, and local partners, to address the full spectrum of needs associated with migrating a large group of people to available suitable housing in these host states and returning them home again once housing stock can be repaired or replaced, and critical infrastructure and emergency services return. • In disaster after disaster follow Hurricane Katrina, and including in the example I gave earlier of Greensboro, Kansas, FEMA has proven it is able to carry out our statutory authorities - providing immediate, emergency, temporary housing to disaster survivors. • It is clear that the American public expects FEMA to be able to coordinate the resources needed to respond to a catastrophic event, and while we work with our state and federal partners to move forward toward the long-term goal outlined in the National Disaster Housing Strategy, we must also continue to address short-term initiatives as well. • I am glad to say today that the work on both fronts is ongoing. • And, while our work is not yet complete, we have made significant progress toward improving our temporary housing resources. • The written statement that I have submitted to the committee details this progress. I would just like to take a few minutes to summarize some of the key efforts that FEMA has taken to reshape and retool our housing resources. Planning • In January, FEMA released the National Disaster Housing Strategy, which provides, for the first time, a comprehensive framework for a national disaster housing effort. • The Strategy clarifies the roles and responsibilities of all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to meet the urgent housing needs of disaster survivors and enable communities to recover and rebuild following a disaster. • In addition, this Strategy established the National Disaster Housing Task Force, including representatives from several Federal agencies. This Task Force will engage and interact with all levels of government, as well as with the private sector, industry, and voluntary agencies. • In April and May of this year, the Task Force convened with representatives from FEMA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. • The Task Force has already completed a draft implementation plan, and has begun developing guidance for the State-led Housing Task Forces. • Next steps for the Task Force will include finalizing the Implementation Plan, focusing on a Con Ops, and continuing outreach activities and coordination to identify resources and gaps in disaster housing planning. We will continue to keep you updated on these efforts. • Last month, FEMA released an updated 2009 Disaster Housing Plan; a streamlined document that provides guidance to state and local governments describing the specific types of housing assistance that they can expect FEMA to provide under a presidentially declared disaster. Temporary Housing • In many cases, the damage that a storm or other disaster has caused leaves us no other choice than to provide temporary housing units for survivors as the work to rebuild their homes. • Providing safe, cost effective and useful temporary housing units is an ongoing challenge, and we have made tremendous progress in improving the quality of our units. • Alternative Housing Options • One of our areas of greatest progress has been in the area of exploring new forms of alternative temporary housing. • Our Joint Housing Solutions Group completed an initial assessment of numerous types of alternative units, which led to the award of a competitive contract for seven different models. • Under this contract, each of the vendors built and installed a prototype unit at our National Emergency Training Center, in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where we can closely monitor and evaluate their quality and durability as students occupy these units throughout the year. We are please that staff from this committee and others have taken the opportunity to visit the site to see these units first-hand. • Additional alternative units, which are currently housing some Hurricane Ike survivors, are also being evaluated in Galveston, Texas. • These prototypes allow us to assess these units in controlled conditions across all four seasons, and will help us determine whether these units will become part of our permanent inventory. • If needed, our contract allows us to purchase multiple units to support a disaster housing response immediately should the need arise. Improving Existing Options • We are also constantly working to make sure that the options we already have available in our inventory are both safe and can meet the needs of an impacted community. • For instance, while we do not believe that travel trailers are suitable housing solutions for a prolonged period of time, a number of states have made it clear that they want travel trailers to remain a part of our inventory. • In many cases, a travel trailer is the only unit that will fit on suburban private property and they provide an invaluable resource to states with homeowners who need a shorter period of time to repair their homes. • To ensure that the trailers that we use are the safest available in terms of air quality, FEMA has redefined the specifications for every unit that FEMA procures and made these specifications even more stringent • And in April, FEMA awarded four contracts for the manufacture of low emissions travel trailers with improved air exchange. The contractors are required to build, deliver and conduct air quality testing for temporary housing units for up to five years. • This contract award represents the agency’s continuing commitment to identify new alternative housing options that meet the complex, disaster-related housing needs of the survivors. Collaborative Efforts • And we don’t believe that we have the market cornered when it comes to improvements—in many cases our state partners have the best ideas about the support they need during and after a disaster. • Recognizing the critical role that States should play in the planning and character of any disaster housing response, the National Disaster Housing Strategy called for the establishment of State-led Housing Task Forces. • The concept of a State-led Housing Task Force grew out of lessons learned during the California Wildfires in 2007. The State of California and FEMA established a joint State and federal housing task force to coordinate housing issues, including resources, zoning and code concerns, services for survivors, and other areas of mutual interest. • We believe that these Task Forces empower states to have a decision-making role in providing disaster housing options at the beginning of a disaster. When formed as a preparedness activity during peacetime, prior to an event, these Task Forces can encourage States to effectively plan and organize for the multifaceted dimensions of a housing mission before a disaster. • These task forces have proven successful in the States of Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri. • State Agencies that are a part of these task forces typically include State Departments of Health, Housing, Community Development, General Services, Human Services, and numerous private non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and local low-income and accessible housing groups. • By working together, these state-led efforts will help to ensure that the housing needs of all disaster survivors are met. Conclusion • In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, while FEMA has made impressive progress improving our temporary housing assistance programs, I clearly recognize that we – FEMA and our partners across the nation – still have much more work to do. • We are not now, nor may FEMA ever be able to address a catastrophic housing mission on our own. The magnitude of such events were never intended to be addressed without the support of other federal agencies, state and local governments, the private sector, and voluntary organizations. • While the National Disaster Housing Task Force grapples with these complex issues, we have continued to move forward over the past three and a half years to: ? Provide clear guidance to states and local governments, and gather through input and feedback from our stakeholders, through the National Disaster Housing Strategy. ? Establish an interagency group which brings together the expertise of housing experts from throughout the Federal government to focus on identifying and working through the complex issues related to disaster housing. ? Work with industry to improve of the types housing units that we are currently using, and identified other alternatives for providing safe housing to disaster survivors. ? Encourage states to utilize best practices that have proven to work in larger scale disasters, such as the State-led housing task forces, which encourages greater state autonomy in decision making to meet the specific and individual needs of the populations they serve. • FEMA has enhanced its ability to support the state and local governments when they are faced with disaster housing needs, and has responded rapidly and effectively to every disaster housing operation we have been called upon to support. • Building an even better temporary housing program will be a challenge, but it is a challenge I fully accept. And I know I will be able to count on your support. • Thank you. This concludes my testimony. I am prepared to answer any questions the committee may have.