Report: Too little spent on emergency preparedness
Effect of next attack could be worse than 9/11
Two years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the United States is drastically underfunding local emergency responders and remains dangerously unprepared to handle a catastrophic attack on American soil.
That is the disturbing conclusion of a recent report by the Washington, DC-based Council on Foreign Relations, which says the underfunding is a particular danger if an attack involves chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-impact conventional weapons.
If the nation does not take immediate steps to better identify and address the urgent needs of emergency responders, the next terrorist incident could be even more devastating than 9/11, the report says.
The council sponsored the report from the Independent Task Force on Emergency Responders, a blue-ribbon panel of Nobel laureates, U.S. military leaders, former high-level government officials, and other senior experts.
The task force met with emergency responder organizations across the country and asked them what additional programs they truly need to establish a minimum effective response to a catastrophic terrorist attack.
These presently unbudgeted needs total $98.4 billion, according to the emergency responder community and budget experts.
The task force included many recommendations for remedying the situation, such as requiring that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) work with state and local agencies and officials and emergency responder professional associations to establish clearly defined standards and guidelines for emergency preparedness.
The report also suggests that Congress should establish within DHS a National Institute for Best Practices in Emergency Preparedness to work with state and local governments, emergency preparedness professional associations, and other partners to share best practices and lessons learned.
For the full report, go to the council’s web site: www.cfr.org. Select "publications" and then "new publications." The report, Emergency Responders: Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared, is under "independent task force reports."
Two years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the United States is drastically underfunding local emergency responders and remains dangerously unprepared to handle a catastrophic attack on American soil.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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