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For Immediate
Release
3/28/07
CONTACT:
Craig Shuey (Sen. Madigan) 717-787-3280
Lee Ann Labecki (Sen. Baker) 717-787-7428
PA
Senate Republican Communications
(717) 787-6725
Senate Committees Plan
Hearings to Follow Up on Witt Report
HARRISBURG – The chairs of the Senate Transportation
Committee and the Senate Veterans Affairs and
Emergency Preparedness Committee today announced that
public hearings will be held on implementing
recommendations of a report on the Rendell
administration's response to the Valentine's Day
storm.
The report, issued by James Lee Witt Associates of
Washington D.C., at a cost of $130,000, plus an
additional $20,000 for expenses, evaluated the
performance of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management
Agency, State Police, Department of Transportation,
and the National Guard during February's snow and ice
event. The storm stranded hundreds of motorists on
I-78, I-81, and I-80 for up to 20 hours in
sub-freezing temperatures.
The Witt Report offered stinging criticisms of
Pennsylvania's emergency preparedness. "The
commonwealth government has not fully adopted
emergency management as a core principal and cultural
priority,"
according to the report's executive summary. "There is
a remarkable lack of awareness and understanding of
Pennsylvania's emergency management system, including
the emergency alert levels, even among senior agency
leaders."
Senator Roger Madigan (R-Bradford) and Senator Lisa
Baker (R-Luzerne) commended Mr. Witt for offering an
informed look at Pennsylvania's storm response and
state of emergency preparedness.
"In many respects, the Witt report confirmed the
conclusions which the committees reached after
reviewing the testimony offered by the Secretary of
Transportation, State Police Commissioner, Adjutant
General, and Director of PEMA following the Senate
hearing," Madigan said.
The Senate hearing, held a week after the February
14-15 storm, identified communication breakdowns, a
failure to fully implement the state's emergency
policies and protocols, and significant intra- and
interagency coordination problems.
Baker, who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs and
Emergency Preparedness Committee, added that the Witt
Report faulted the Commonwealth for not adopting
emergency management as a core principle, and found a
lack of awareness among all levels of the state's
system.
"It's time for the Rendell administration to
demonstrate engaged leadership and to embrace
emergency management as a core service of government.
This is not something that we can hope to get right
the next time," Baker said. "It's unacceptable, in a
post-9/11 world, for the leaders of our public safety
agencies to remain, as Witt noted, 'remarkably unaware
of emergency management systems, [policies], and alert
levels.'"
The Senate received nearly 1,000 emails from
individuals impacted by the storm, including many who
were trapped in their cars with no food or water, many
of who provided constructive criticism and suggestions
for improving Pennsylvania's emergency response.
Information from these responses was provided to Witt
and Associates under a confidentiality provision so
that the detailed accounts of stranded motorists could
be included in the record.
Madigan, who chairs the Senate Transportation
Committee, lauded Witt's recommendation for PennDOT's
immediate development of traffic diversion plans along
primary interstates and state highways, and to
immediately update communication procedures and
information technology.
Baker believes that the report should compel the
administration to take a hard look at the policy and
budgeting decisions that appear to have impacted
communications, staffing, and resource shortfalls at
PEMA, State Police, and PennDOT. "If costs are being
cut at the expense of public safety, then these
polices need to be changed," she said.
Beginning in April, the Senate Veterans Affairs and
Emergency Preparedness Committee and State Government
Committee will hold joint hearings to receive input on
legislation to establish the Department of Public
Safety and to improve local emergency services. The
Senate Transportation and Emergency Preparedness
committees plan to hold further joint hearings this
summer to ensure that state government agencies are
making appropriate progress in implementing the
recommended action steps.
This week, the Senate approved legislation introduced
by Senator Baker, which would make the Director of
PEMA a confirmable position. Currently, the Secretary
of Transportation, Commissioner of the Pennsylvania
State Police and Adjutant General of Veterans Affairs
are confirmed by the Senate. That legislation now
moves to the House for consideration.
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