Comment Submitted by Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management would like to publicly thank the Federal Emergency Management Review Council for their work in formulating recommendations for the Agency’s reform. We commend the Council’s efforts in including stakeholder input into their process. We read with great interest the Council’s recommendation to replace the existing Hazard Mitigation Grant Program with a state-managed two-phase funding structure. Iowa believes this type of a program can be delivered in a more efficient and cost-effective manner than the present programs. Our own experience with mitigation programs indicates that money spent in support of mitigation directly improves local resilience. For individual assistance programs, the report discusses several actions that point towards delivering relief to the disaster survivors in a more efficient and timely manner. We tend to agree that the actions proposed would have the desired effect. One item that is not included is having survivors utilizing a single application to access the entire breadth of the federal recovery resources. While the report focuses on FEMA programs, it should not be forgotten that there are many other federal programs that exist in this same space and a survivor should only need to make a single application to access those resources. Iowa has long advocated for the Public Assistance program to move to a block grant funding model to expedite much needed federal recovery funding to SLTTs that have be adversely impacted by disasters. We are pleased that the council suggests a similar type of move that also includes suggestions to improve EHP and NEPA requirements. We recognize that many of the ideas put forth by the council will require further detail before moving to implementation. It is paramount that SLTT agencies and groups be included in that conversation. Historically, FEMA tends to forego this type engagement which has led to the overly complicated programs in place today. Proper engagement with those agencies that are being asked to assume a greater role in program delivery will ensure that the program expectations are compatible with actual local capabilities. Finally, all actions taken in response to the report that will impact SLTT programs must be given a proper on ramp to ensure that SLTT capability and, in some cases, funding are in place to properly support the delivery of the programs. Placing unrealistic timelines on SLTT agencies will adversely impact disaster survivors. Iowa stands ready to assist with this unique opportunity to implement meaningful reform that can positively impact our citizens in their time of need.