Spearheaded by Advocates for EMS and supported by prominent EMS organizations nationally, the Field EMS Bill was reintroduced in Congress in October, slightly revised from its initial introduction during the 2010 lame-duck Congress.
The Field EMS Quality, Innovation and Cost-Effectiveness Improvement Act is viewed by supporters as the opportunity to create a federal agency to support a neglected EMS service delivery, preparedness and response infrastructure. Debate over the most controversial aspect of the bill—which agency would house the main functions of EMS—resulted in a plan to create an Office of EMS and Trauma in an unspecified location within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The Office would manage grants, rural training and equipment assistance programs, medical research and alternative emergency care demonstration projects. A proposed Excellence, Quality, Universal Access, Innovation and Preparedness Grant would fund equipment and research. A new System Performance, Integration and Accountability Grant would fund regional collaboration, enhanced data collection and national certification standardization. And an Education Grant would fund programs to train EMS educators and other personnel and promote field EMS as a health care profession.
A designation on the federal income tax form would encourage voluntary contributions to help fund the programs. Appropriations authorized annually from fiscal years 2013 to 2016 include $265 million for the grant programs, $40 million for a research center, $4 million to expand the National EMS Information System, and $12 million to be divided among the other programs. Until voluntary contributions amass, the bill provides for $40 million annually in start-up funding in 2012 and 2013 from the HHS secretary’s discretionary funds.
The bill, introduced by Reps. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) and Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), is under consideration in the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees.
PPD-8 Preparedness Goals Established
The first document released under Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8): National Preparedness, signed by President Obama in March, fulfills the Directive’s vision for a national approach to preparing the country for the gravest risks to national security. PPD-8 reflects the Obama administration’s continued emphasis on the role of community response efforts over federal responsibility and directs the federal government to identify core capabilities and targets to measure progress in the five mission areas identified in PPD-8: prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery.
The “National Preparedness Goal” document describes an “all-of-nation” approach to achieving a secure and resilient nation able to prepare for and recover from the common threats of cyber and terror attacks, pandemics and natural disasters, among others. Under each of the five mission areas, capabilities and preliminary targets are identified, against which the achievements of federal and local governments and communities will be measured. Additional components of PPD-8 will begin to describe implementation programs, assign roles and responsibilities for implementation, and report on progress in achieving the preparedness goals.
The document is available at fema.gov/pdf/prepared/npg.pdf.
Final Disaster Recovery Framework Released
The first document to define how federal agencies will manage disaster recovery was published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in September. The National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) is a product of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, which requires FEMA to develop a National Disaster Recovery Strategy. The framework is also consistent with Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8): National Preparedness, issued in March, which instructs FEMA to work with other federal agencies to create operational plans to improve national response efforts.
Developed with the support of emergency response stakeholders in national meetings that began in 2009, the resulting document defines core recovery principles, recovery roles and responsibilities, a communications and collaboration structure and planning guidance. With a focus on providing assistance to individuals and local communities, the NDRF creates three personnel positions and outlines the authority and skill sets of each: federal disaster recovery coordinator, state or tribal disaster recovery coordinator, and local disaster recovery manager. The NDRF also establishes six core capabilities critical to recovery—such as housing, economic recovery and infrastructure—and links each with corresponding federal agencies to facilitate and coordinate federal assistance to communities.
The NDRF aligns with the National Response Framework (NRF) and replaces the NRF Emergency Support Function #14—Long-Term Community Recovery. The document is at fema.gov/pdf/recoveryframework/ndrf.pdf.
Jobs for Responders Denied
A piece of President Obama’s jobs plan that would fund teachers, firefighters and police was voted down in October when a 50-50 vote in the Senate failed to end Republican efforts to block the legislation. The Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act would spend $5 billion of a total $35 billion on first responder and law enforcement jobs. The money could fund up to 10,000 positions, according to supporters.
If the bill’s difficulties in the Senate weren’t enough, it has even less chance of passing in the House.
