How DHS Is Preparing for the Next Emergency

Under Secretary for Preparedness at the Department of Homeland Security George Foresman talked about how the federal government is gearing up for the next disaster and the progress DHS has made on key preparedness documents, such as the national response plan and national preparedness goal. Foresman emphasized the importance of the fact that the DoD, DHS, and state and local governments are using the same planning documents.

Foresman argued that homeland security is not the sole responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security. It is also the responsibility of the state, local, and federal governments – DHS’s job is to coordinate and orchestrate all those pieces.

There remain major challenges for the nation’s emergency preparedness, including:

- Capturing the lessons of preparedness and response from Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 and translating them into tangible improvements, in particular at the federal level. These lessons must be documented and institutionalized.
- Retirement in federal government is a major problem for emergency preparedness—the people who have dealt with all the national disasters of the past 50 years are suddenly leaving. Training and education will be at a premium as a result.
- There is not a culture of preparedness in this country. Foresman argued that “we have made it much too hard” for the average American citizen to have a plan. As soon as we talk about WMDs and biological weapons, people automatically tune out. But the American people have to be a huge part of the solution.

Despite these difficult challenges, Foresman is optimistic about a “cultural shift” occurring in government, made up of professionals who are more collaborative and less likely to stove-pipe.