DHS: Progress and priorities, II

mudslides, earthquakes, droughts, typhoons, and hurricanes. FEMA has provided direct material and financial assistance to more than four million individuals across the nation.

  • Federal grant programs: FEMA has provided extensive support to state and local governments to help them prepare for and mitigate the impact of natural and man-made disasters. Over the past five years, FEMA and DHS have provided over $23.8 billion for state and local projects through disaster grant programs, and an additional $2.5 billion in firefighter grants.  With more than $26 billion provided to state and local partners and involving non-profit and private sector elements, FEMA has helped provide grants to improve our nation’s preparedness for any disaster.
  • Sector partnership framework: The National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) was issued in 2006, and seventeen Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) Sector Specific Plans were issued in 2007. In September 2008, an eighteenth sector — critical manufacturing — was recognized. The NIPP serves as the national plan to unify and enhance CIKR protection efforts through an unprecedented partnership involving the private sector, as well as federal, state, local and tribal governments. It sets forth a comprehensive risk management framework and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for all security partners.
  • Disaster readiness and support activitiesFEMA’s expanded disaster operations and logistics management capabilities — including the creation of 214 pre-scripted mission assignments across twenty-seven federal agencies that strengthen and streamline response capabilities, and the coordination of numerous nationwide exercises that include leaders at all levels of federal state and local government — have greatly improved our nation’s ability to coordinate disaster response.
  • Supporting local security plans: Protective Security Advisors work in state and local Emergency Operations Centers providing expertise and support to local authorities, the Principal Federal Official and the Federal Coordinating Officer responsible for domestic incident management, including the Virginia Tech shootings in Blacksburg, Virginia, the Chevron Refinery Fire in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Florida and California wildfires, and throughout the annual hurricane season.
  • Building stronger response partnerships: DHS engaged state and local leadership, first responders, and stakeholders on developing the National Response Framework, which outlines how our nation prepares for and responds to all-hazard disasters across all levels of government and community sectors.
  • Saved more than ne million lives: The U.S. Coast Guard reached a milestone in 2007, saving more than 1,109,310 lives throughout its 217-year history.
  • Bolstering emergency communications: National Communication System’s (NCS) National Coordinating Center for Communications (NCC) is