A bill to authorize the President to utilize Federal equipment, supplies, facilities, personnel, and other non-monetary resources to assist utility companies that contribute to recovery efforts from the effects of a major disaster.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that would make a change to the Stafford Act that, in some cases, could facilitate recovery from natural disasters.

Governments on the local, State and Federal level have a primary and critical responsibility when it comes to responding to natural disasters. A wide variety of private organizations also play an important role in the recovery process that complements and facilitates public response efforts. In the case of private utility companies, their work to restore normal telecommunications, power, and other services in a disaster area can greatly speed the recovery process.

Our investigation into the response to Hurricane Katrina has shown that a number of utility companies were hampered in their recovery efforts by shortages of fuel, transportation, equipment, and other resources in the afflicted areas. In some cases, we also found that FEMA had supplies of scarce resources, received requests to share those resources but lacked the legal authority to do so.

What this bill would do is provide FEMA authority to share its resources during a disaster--at FEMA's discretion and for full compensation. This would allow FEMA--in those cases where it has sufficient resources to share--to advance the recovery process in the wake of a disaster at no expense to the Government.

Mr. President, I am introducing this commonsense legislation because it will incrementally improve our capacity to respond to disasters without additional costs to the Government. I ask for my colleagues' support.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that would make a change to the Stafford Act that, in some cases, could facilitate recovery from natural disasters.

Governments on the local, State and Federal level have a primary and critical responsibility when it comes to responding to natural disasters. A wide variety of private organizations also play an important role in the recovery process that complements and facilitates public response efforts. In the case of private utility companies, their work to restore normal telecommunications, power, and other services in a disaster area can greatly speed the recovery process.

Our investigation into the response to Hurricane Katrina has shown that a number of utility companies were hampered in their recovery efforts by shortages of fuel, transportation, equipment, and other resources in the afflicted areas. In some cases, we also found that FEMA had supplies of scarce resources, received requests to share those resources but lacked the legal authority to do so.

What this bill would do is provide FEMA authority to share its resources during a disaster--at FEMA's discretion and for full compensation. This would allow FEMA--in those cases where it has sufficient resources to share--to advance the recovery process in the wake of a disaster at no expense to the Government.

Mr. President, I am introducing this commonsense legislation because it will incrementally improve our capacity to respond to disasters without additional costs to the Government. I ask for my colleagues' support.