DPC | July 27, 2007

Senate Oversight Highlights Week of July 16, 2007

“It is the proper duty of a representative body to look diligently into every affair of government and to talk much about what it sees. It is meant to be the eyes and the voice, and to embody the wisdom and will of its constituents.…” — Woodrow Wilson

Congress has the Constitutional responsibility to perform oversight of the Executive Branch and matters of public interest. This report summarizes highlights from each week’s Senate oversight hearings.

 

Tuesday, July 17, 2007: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging

“Federal Response to the Alzheimer’s Epidemic”

• The economic and social costs of Alzheimer’s disease are high, and incidences of this disease are expected to rise. 
   
• More research is needed to understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease. 
   
• Earlier diagnosis is the key to providing treatment that can minimize the progression of Alzheimer’s. New tests are being developed to catch the disease sooner. 
   
• Collaboration is needed among agencies, researchers and private enterprises are needed to progress in discovering and applying early diagnosis and treatments.
   

Tuesday, July 17, 2007: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
“Federal Acquisition: Ways to Strengthen Competition and Accountability”

• The number of federal acquisition specialists who help write and oversee contracts is inadequate, and the problem is growing. 
   
• The federal government needs to employ better oversight in order to curb waste. 
   
• More competition is needed in the contracting process to produce fair and reasonable prices.

 

Wednesday, July 18, 2007: Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee
“Increasing Government Accountability and Ensuring Fairness in Small Business Contracting”

• Democrats in the Senate are dedicated to comprehensively addressing the barriers facing small businesses in the federal marketplace and to holding the Bush Administration accountable for failing to comply with the law.
   
• After years of inaction and failure to meet federal mandates for small business contracting, the lack of accountability in federal agencies for these failures allows these problems to persist.
   
• The abuse by prime contractors of small business subcontractors plays a major role in deterring small businesses from federal procurement projects.
   

Thursday, July 19, 2007: Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

“Hearing on Iraq: An Update from the Field”

• Ambassador Crocker described the prevailing feeling among Iraqis as “fear” and testified that violence continues to hinder the Iraqi government’s ability to function effectively.
   
• Ambassador Crocker retreated from the idea of using benchmarks to measure progress in Iraq, while Senator Kerry accused the Bush Administration of changing the definition of success in Iraq.
   
• Senators agreed that time is running out before America’s strategy in Iraq must be altered.

 

Thursday, July 19, 2007: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

“The Military’s Role in Disaster Response: Progress since Hurricane Katrina”

• Senators expressed concern about the military’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to homeland security missions. 
   
• State and local governments are not currently considered capable of effectively dealing with a catastrophe in the first twenty four hours. 
   
• The U.S. military is better prepared for a domestic catastrophe than it was prior to Hurricane Katrina. 

 

Thursday, July 19, 2007: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

“A Hearing on Discussion Draft Legislation to Amend and Reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act”

·Senators and witnesses discussed the current and historical lack of funding for the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act. 

·A lack of infrastructure and proliferation of despicable conditions lead to great problems in housing and health issues.

The economic and social costs of Alzheimer’s disease are high, and incidences of this disease are expected to rise. 

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC): We at CDC share your commitment to doing all we can to address the impact of cognitive impairment, which includes Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. We recognize the impact it has on individuals, families and society. As you know, the numbers of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are expected to increase substantially over the coming decades unless these conditions can be prevented….
 

The aging of the U.S. population is expected to place demands on our public health system, medical services and social services. The growth in the number and proportion of older adults is unprecedented in the history of the United States. A hundred years ago, only three million people in this country were aged 65 or older. Today, more than 36 million Americans are in this group, and that number is expected to grow during the next 25 years to more than 70 million as the baby boomers age. Public health’s prevention efforts and improved medical care have contributed to a significant increase in life expectancy in the United States during the past century. However, this success has been accompanied by a major shift in the leading causes of death for all age groups, including older adults, from infectious diseases to chronic and degenerative illnesses. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the top ten leading causes of death…. 

An estimated 4.5 million people currently have Alzheimer’s disease, and census population projections indicate that by 2050, as many as 16 million individuals will have the disease…. Studies from the United States and Canada have suggested that mild cognitive impairment may be a problem for 16 to25 percent of older adults aged 65 years and older… 

The adverse effects of cognitive decline go well beyond those suffering from it. Seven out of every ten people with Alzheimer’s disease live at home. Caregivers often find the task of caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease to be physically exhausting and emotionally challenging. The demands on caregivers adversely affect their lives and eventually impact our economy when caregivers must take time off from work, work part-time instead of full-time, take less demanding jobs, opt for early retirement, or stop working altogether. Because of these adjustments, Alzheimer’s disease costs American businesses billions of dollars each year more than $36 billion in lost productivity (absenteeism, productivity losses, and worker replacement costs) plus nearly $25 billion for the businesses’ share of coverage for health and long-term care expenses 

… 

DR. ANDREW VON ESCHENBACH, COMMISSIONER, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA): In the two recent hearings on Alzheimer’s disease before this subcommittee you heard current statistics recently released by the Alzheimer’s Association including that this disease now afflicts one in eight Americans over the age of 65 and some 47 percent of Americans over the age of 85. At the present rate, the estimated 4.5 million cases of Alzheimer’s disease today can be expected to rise to around 16 million by 2050. With the aging of the baby boom generation over the next several decades, without safe and effective treatments and preventatives, a huge population of seniors stands to be robbed by this disease of the enjoyment of their later years. In addition to the burdens placed on patients and their families, insurance programs surely will face overwhelming demands on their services and resources. 

… 

DR. RICHARD HODES, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING (NIA): Most Americans with AD [Alzheimer’s disease] today are cared for outside institutional settings by an adult child or in-law, a spouse, another relative, or a friend. Research has shown that the stress of caring for a loved one with AD can have a profoundly negative impact on health and well being.

 

More research is needed to understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease.

DR. GERBERDING: When asked to think about aging and losing either physical or mental capacity, 62 percent of respondents indicated they feared losing their mental capacity as compared to 29 percent who feared losing their physical ability. These fears of declining mental capacity and Alzheimer’s disease have led to increased attention by the public, the media and public health professionals. Despite all the attention, the public and even many health care providers still know very little about the specific factors that increase a person’s risk of experiencing cognitive decline. 

DR. HODES: The numbers are indeed stark and are growing with the aging population. But there is another part of the Alzheimer’s story that we can tell; although AD remains a major public health issue for the United States, we have made, and are continuing to make, dramatic gains in our ability to understand, diagnose, and treat the disease. This progress offers us hope of reversing the current trends so that the risk of AD can be reduced for millions of older adults and their families.

 

Earlier diagnosis is the key to providing treatment that can minimize the progression of Alzheimer’s. New tests are being developed to catch the disease sooner.

DR. HODES: Research suggests that the earliest AD pathology begins to develop in the brain long before clinical symptoms yield a diagnosis. Therefore, it is critical that we find a way to detect signs of the disease at the earliest point possible so that we can test interventions and, ultimately, treat the disease as early as we can. Toward that end, the NIA has embarked on ambitious efforts to find new ways to measure AD changes in the brain or in other systems including blood and cerebrospinal fluid. These programs are already yielding results. Improvements in brain imaging, coupled with the development of more sensitive cognitive tests, are enabling us to diagnose AD in the research setting with greater precision than ever before…. 

The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is currently the major venue for facilitating neuroimaging research relevant to AD. Early results from ADNI show that, in addition to aiding early diagnosis, researchers may be able to reduce the time and expense associated with clinical trials by improving methods and developing uniform standards for imaging and biomarker analysis. 

… 

DR. ELIAS ZERHOUNI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH): Because research suggests that the earliest AD pathology begins to develop in the brain long before clinical symptoms are apparent, scientists are now searching for reliable, valid, and easily attainable biological markers that can identify cases very early in the course of disease. Early diagnosis of AD benefits affected individuals and their families, clinicians, and researchers. For patients and their families, a definitive early diagnosis provides the opportunity to plan for the future while the patient can still take an active role in decision making. For clinicians, accurate early diagnosis facilitates the selection of appropriate treatments, particularly as new interventions are developed to stop or slow progression of symptoms. And for researchers, earlier and more accurate diagnosis will facilitate clinical studies of new therapies and preventive measures by allowing clinical trials on early intervention, before cognitive loss becomes significant. We expect programs such as the ongoing Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a public- private partnership which Dr. Hodes discusses in his statement, to provide a wealth of information about both brain pathology and biomarkers that can aid us in early diagnosis. 

Successful early diagnosis also depends upon the identification of people who are at particular risk for developing the disease. Although we do not yet fully understand what causes AD, it is apparent that genes play an important role, and NIH is supporting the development of new techniques to speed the identification of genes that are associated with AD. For example, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) rely on newly available research tools and technologies to rapidly and cost-effectively analyze genetic differences between people with specific illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease or diabetes and to healthy individuals. Identifying the differences may facilitate our understanding of genetic risk factors that influence the development or progression of disease. Several NIH Institutes recently launched, or are planning, GWAS initiatives with the expectation that the results will eventually accelerate the development of better diagnostic tools and the design of new, safe, and highly effective treatments. NIH is also developing a data-sharing policy for GWAS to harmonize the practices NIH-wide through which data will be made available for research use.

 

Collaboration is needed among agencies, researchers and private enterprises are needed to progress in discovering and applying early diagnosis and treatments.

DR. VON ESCHENBACH: FDA reviewers interact constantly with manufacturers and sponsors of prospective new products (drugs, biologics, medical devices or combination products) to help develop, and then to review, suitable clinical trials to test whether their products are safe and effective. This is a very intricate and time-consuming process. Our reviewers work with industry in all phases of the development of a new product, both before and during clinical trials, as requested by the sponsors. As always, FDA stands ready to expeditiously review applications for any breakthrough products that are presented to us…. 

FDA is working with the academic community, the public, the pharmaceutical industry, and other Federal health agencies (e.g., the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs) to modernize and transform the development and use of medicines. After intensive consultation with many stakeholders, last year the Agency published our Critical Path Opportunities Report, which details 76 specific scientific projects with great promise for smoothing the path from lab to bedside. Last December, we followed up by announcing more than 40 very promising scientific projects that we have helped launch. These projects support the development and approval of new treatments for conditions such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancer, and chronic pain…. 

FDA’s goal is to improve communication about neurological disease across the agency among the various groups charged with regulating these products. To accomplish this end, FDA has established a working group to serve as a forum for information exchange on leading-edge developments, enable sharing of technical and regulatory expertise, and provide for greater consistency of review standards and processes across the agency. Further, we are expanding patient advocate involvement in FDA neurological disease-related review and decision-making to include Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurological diseases as agency resources allow. 

… 

DR. ZERHOUNI: It is important to note that the NIH cannot and does not conduct its important work in a vacuum. We work closely with partners in academia, in the private sector, and elsewhere in the government to develop new diagnostic tools and methodologies, to conduct clinical trials, to disseminate the results of our research, and to implement new interventions and policies resulting from our research at the community level. For example, the AD Neuroimaging Initiative is a joint venture between NIH and a number of academic and industry partners. Another is the AD Cooperative Study, which I described earlier, is conducted in close collaboration with our partners at the University of California-San Diego and scores of clinical sites across the Nation. Compared to even a decade ago, the field of neuroscience is moving at an extraordinary pace. We know, however, breakthroughs cannot come quickly enough for the millions of Americans touched by Alzheimer’s disease. I can report to you today that real progress is being made, and that we at NIH are committed to seeing that progress continues toward treatment, and ultimately prevention, of Alzheimer’s disease. 

 

The number of federal acquisition specialists who help write and oversee contracts is inadequate, and the problem is growing.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: The number of federal acquisition specialists who help write and oversee these contracts has remained pretty much constant over that same period of time and that follows a significant downsizing of the acquisition workforce in the 1990. The numbers are particularly striking at the Department of Defense [DOD], where the workforce has declined by nearly 50 percent since the mid 1990s. Government-wide, the workforce is about to shrink even further if nothing is done, because roughly half the current workforce is eligible to retire within the next four years. 

… 

SEN. AKAKA: Many of the problems in acquisition management stem from an understaffed acquisition workforce. While contract spending has doubled, our acquisition workforce has remained steady at about 55,000 government employees. As a result, contractors are being used to supplement the acquisition workforce. Sometimes contractors are even hired to study whether or not certain government activities should be contracted out. One may wonder, are the foxes guarding the henhouse? 

… 

STAN Z. SOLOWAY, PRESIDENT, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES COUNCIL: The July 2007 report of the Partnership for Public Service highlighted that the federal government will need nearly 200,000 “mission critical” new hires over just the next two years to keep pace with the rising need for national security, evolving agency needs, and expected federal workforce retirements…. As the government’s workforce demographic problems grow and its need for advanced skills and capabilities increases, fostering meaningful and productive partnerships between the public and private sectors will be critical to ensuring that government functions effectively.

 

The federal government needs to employ better oversight in order to curb waste. 

SEN. CARPER: The U.S. government is the biggest buyer in the world, purchasing nearly half a trillion dollars in goods and services over the past seven years– an increase of almost 89 percent…. Most of those contractors have been awarded on a no-bid or cost-plus bias. As a result, billions of taxpayers’dollars have been wasted. Consider just a few examples over the past two years alone: Last year, the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) identified about $263 million as “potentially excessive or justified” costs charge by Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) – the government contracting firm formerly under Halliburton – under a no-bid contract known as “Restore Iraqi Oil.” Yet, the Department of Defense chose to pay $253 million of the disputed costs, despite the auditors’ strong objections. 

… 

SEN. COLLINS: We know that just as the problems are varied, so are the causes. They include a severe and growing shortage of qualified acquisitions professions, an over-reliance on sole-source contracts, inadequate specification of requirements and delivery dates, too many award fees in the face of poor performance, a lack of transparency in the process, deficient monitoring and evaluations, and even decision-making corrupted by individuals accepting gifts or seeking future private employment…. This strong, bipartisan package of reforms [S. 680] would tackle many of the problems we have seen in federal acquisition. It would help to strengthen the acquisition workforce, improve oversight of contracts, and promote competition and transparency…. The bill would mitigate the practice of awarding contracts missing key terms, such as price, scope or schedule… by requiring the contracting officer to unilaterally determine missing terms within 180 days or a specified completion percentage. 

… 

DAVID M. WALKER, COMPTROLLER GENERAL, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE: The next set of systematic acquisition challenges relate to those faced at the contract management level…. [W]e have observed challenges in setting contract requirements, using the appropriate contract with the right incentives given the circumstances, and ensuring proper oversight of these arrangements –especially considering the evolving and enlarging role of contractors in federal acquisitions. 
 

More competition is needed in the contracting process to produce fair and reasonable prices

MARCIA G. MADSEN, CHAIR, ACQUISITION ADVISORY PANEL: There is no government-wide requirement that all interagency contracts provide notification that a task order is available for competition. There is no visibility into sole-source orders, as there is no requirement for a synopsis or public notification for orders under multiple award contracts, regardless of the size of the order. Even where a best value selection is made at the order level, there is no requirement for a detailed debriefing, regardless of the amount of the order of the amount of bid and proposal costs expended by the eligible contractor, thus denying the contractor information that might enable it to be more competitive on future orders/contracts…. The Panel recommended expanding government-wide that the current DOD Section 803 requirements that include notifying all eligible contractors under multiple award contracts of order opportunities. We also recommend that the 803 procedure apply to supplies and services…. For single orders exceeding $5 million, the Panel recommended that agencies adhere to a higher competitive standard by: 1) providing a clear statement of requirements; 2) disclosing the significant evaluation factors and sub factors and their relative importance; 3) providing a reasonable response time for proposal submissions; and 4) documenting the award decision and the trade-off of price/cost to quality in best value awards.  

Democrats in the Senate are dedicated to comprehensively addressing the barriers facing small businesses in the federal marketplace and to holding the Bush Administration accountable for failing to comply with the law.

SEN. KERRY: Small businesses are challenged by a maze of complicated laws and regulations that make it difficult for them to succeed. Those barriers include contract bundling, size standards with loopholes for big businesses, a lack of protections for sub-contractors, and a difficult to navigate GSA [General Services Administration] schedule…. 

We have made a long and strong commitment here… to try to maximize small business’s ability to access the enormous amount of federal dollars that are part of our procurement and contracting process. We also want to… look at the Administration’s record… giving small businesses a fair opportunity to compete for federal contracts. 

… 

MAGDALAH SILVA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DMS INTERNATIONAL, INC.: Small businesses drive innovation. Whether it’s the federal government or whether it’s the private sector, we want the best quality for the best price. And when you tend to be focused on a single contractor and not opening up the opportunities for small business, you’re really limiting the amount of innovation opportunity and advancement overall for the country in terms of being able to draw resources from pools of businesses that have a wide area of expertise but don’t have accessibility or don’t have visibility and don’t have opportunity.

 

After years of inaction and failure to meet federal mandates for small business contracting, the lack of accountability in federal agencies for these failures allows these problems to persist.

MS. SILVA: I’ll just give you a quick story of a conversation with a small business representative for one of the major agencies…. I went to see him and actually talked about what happens to you if you don’t meet your goals. And he told me that actually what happens is he walks around the other side of the table and gives himself a stern talking to. And that I think in a nutshell represents what happens with the goals and when we have objectives that are set, we have goals… but nobody’s enforcing it and there’s no accountability. 

… 

SEN. KERRY: About this question on disabled veteran procurement. You said, and I’ll quote you, “it’s not because of lack of effort.” I want to respectfully disagree with you because I think when the military commits itself something that goes within the Pentagon they usually get it done. I think it is a lack there of is there a real commitment to it. I don’t think there’s enough awareness of it…. I hate to say that but I really think it’s just been off the radar screen for whatever reasons.… 

This issue got burning in January…. The fact is that long before you got there this committee lit a few burners on the issue on a bipartisan basis and even before that, there were a lot of questions being raised about it and particularly with Walter Reed and other things that have happened…. But I don’t think there’s been the effort to date…. 

The Army, as you know, says they never leave any of their wounded behind, the Marines don’t leave their dead, and the military is famous for committing never to leave anybody behind, But these folks, as we’ve seen, have been grievously left behind.
 

Contract bundling continues to create an uneven playing field for small firms trying to participate in the procurement process.

TODD MCCRACKEN, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION: Small-business concerns about contract bundling are not new. Unfortunately, they are persistent – as the love affair between federal procurement agents and bundled contracts continues unabated. This dalliance perseveres despite repeated governmental denouncements of its economic unseemliness.

… 

MS. SILVA: Federal agencies are confused over what constitutes “contract bundling”which results in poor accountability and disparity in reporting. While 928 bundled contracts were captured in the Federal Procurement Data System, only 24 of those contracts were reported by agencies to the GAO [Government Accountability Office]. We urge the committee to clear up the confusion for the agencies and continue its efforts to unbundle contracts.
 

The abuse by prime contractors of small business subcontractors plays a major role in deterring small businesses from federal procurement projects.

MR. MCCRACKEN: Simply increasing small-business opportunities for federal subcontracting is not sufficient. The federal government must do more to protect small-business subcontractors and to ensure that they are being paid in a timely manner…. [N]early a quarter of the respondents said that their small business had been included, as a subcontractor, in a multi-year contract for which the prime contractor has yet to provide any work or payment – and in almost 70 percent of the contracts in question work had commenced over 12 months ago. 

… 

MS. SILVA: The larger problem and one that the law does not address is prompt payment from a prime contractor to a subcontractor. Currently, the government does not have the authority to intervene because its relationship is with the prime contractor, not the subcontractor.… Nevertheless, we continue to hear stories from our members that this is an ongoing problem.

Ambassador Crocker described the prevailing feeling among Iraqis as “fear”

RYAN C. CROCKER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: If there is one word, I would use to sum up the atmosphere in Iraq on the streets, in the countryside, in the neighborhoods and at the national level that word would be “fear.” 
 

Ambassador Crocker testified that violence continues to hinder the Iraqi government’s ability to function effectively.

AMBASSADOR CROCKER: I will not present the Iraqi government as a model of smoothly running efficiency…. Because it is not…. The stresses and strains and tensions throughout society are reflected in the government.
 

Ambassador Crocker retreated from the idea of using benchmarks to measure progress in Iraq.

AMBASSADOR CROCKER: The longer I am here, the more I am persuaded that progress in Iraq cannot be analyzed solely in terms of these discreet, precisely defined benchmarks because, in many cases, these benchmarks do not serve as reliable measures of everything that is important – Iraqi attitudes toward each other and their willingness to work toward political reconciliation. 

...

SEN. BIDEN: You say that the benchmarks, in your statement, are not a reliable measure. Then what is the measure of whether or not political process and reconciliation is taking place? And I would add the very progress you show in Anbar Province is the very thing having Shia leaders call me here in Washington saying we’re picking sides, that we are aiding and abetting the Sunnis in a civil war. I’m not suggesting that’s right or wrong. I’m relaying the fear. The idea that we are making progress in the provinces relative to Al Qaida I respectfully suggest is making it harder for you to deal with the Shia generally in accommodating a real political reconciliation. But what are the benchmarks – not benchmarks. What are the objective criteria we should be looking at to determine whether or not Iraqi attitudes toward each other and the willingness to work together on reconciliation is happening?

 

Senator Kerry accused the Bush Administration of changing the definition of success in Iraq.

SEN. KERRY: In the absence of that political settlement, our troops are going to remain in the same trap they’re in today, where there’s, as Senator Lugar said, inadequate people to do the job and the ability of Al Qaida and others to use our presence to continue to be the magnet for terrorism and for jihadists and for naysayers and opponents and so forth. So where do we go in looking for that political compromise if you’re moving the goalposts at this point in time and what do Americans have to look forward to in terms of a real resolution, since there can only be a political settlement of this conflict?
 

Senators agreed that time is running out before America’s strategy in Iraq must be altered.

SEN. BIDEN: I believe there is no possibility we will have 160,000 troops in Iraq a year from now. It’s just not going to be the case. So time is running out in a big way. 

... 

SEN. VOINOVICH: There’s got to be some real evidence that action’s taking place there and everything you can do to convey to Mr. Maliki and his executive committee, to the other players in the region that the American people’s patience is running out. 

… 

SEN. HAGEL: So I’m a bit puzzled because if, in fact, we’re buying time, I think the question needs to be addressed, we’re buying time for what? How long is enough time? We’re in our fifth year and we still see no political reconciliation occurring. Actually, I think we’re going backward.

 

Senators expressed concern about the military’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to homeland security missions. 

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Today's hearing, which will focus specifically on the role of our nation's military in responding to disasters, is an important part of this committee's ongoing efforts to ensure that we won't ever have to ask that question that we asked after Katrina again…. We have a very impressive and important group of witnesses here today, and I hope that their testimony and answers can help us answer three questions. One, exactly what should we expect from our military in providing and carrying out the homeland security mission? Second, what's the Department of Defense doing to put in place the planning, programming and budgeting necessary to carry out that mission? And third, are the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security doing everything they can within the current structure to ensure an effective, coordinated response to a catastrophic disaster, not just a natural disaster, but a catastrophic disaster such as Katrina, including a catastrophic terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction?

 

The greatest security threats facing America comes from chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons.

PETER F. VERGA, ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The greatest threat in today's security environment is the nexus between transnational terrorism, chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. CBRN, as we call it, was highlighted in the NIE [National Intelligence Estimate]. You mentioned it in your opening remarks. That weapons proliferation does pose the greatest threat we have today. Unlike our adversaries during the Cold War, terrorist adversaries consider CBRN weapons weapons of first resort, not last resort. And should they ever acquire such weapons, we can be certain that they will use them against the United States at the very first opportunity. 

… 

GENERAL VICTOR E. RENUART, U.S. AIR FORCE; COMMANDER, NORTH AMERICAN AEROSPACE DEFENSE COMMAND AND U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND: One of the most challenging disasters that we prepare for is, as we've mentioned, the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear high yield explosive event – again, called CBRNE.
 

State and local governments are not currently capable of effectively dealing with a catastrophe in the first twenty four hours.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Policy-makers in Washington continue to believe that state and local officials will be able to control the situation the day after.… Do you agree, each from your own perspective, that policy-makers in Washington continue to believe that state and local officials are going to be able to control the situation in a catastrophe the day after? 

ACTING ASST. SEC. VERGA: No, sir. I don’t believe so…. 

GEN. RENUART: Mr. Chairman, no. I don’t believe that…. 

LIEUTENANT GENERAL H. STEVEN BLUM, Chief, National Guard Bureau: No, sir. I don’t think so…. 

MAJOR GENERAL JOHN W. LIBBY, Adjutant General, Maine National Guard; Commissioner, Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management: No, sir. 

… 
 

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Are we prepared for a coordinated response from the get-go, and specifically from the Department of Defense and Homeland Security? 

ACTING ASST. SEC. VERGA: We do not plan, program and budget for support to civil authorities' missions per se, with a few exceptions such as Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams – things like that.

 

The U.S. military is better prepared for a domestic catastrophe than it was prior to Hurricane Katrina.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: So are we better prepared now for a quick response by our military in the case of a local catastrophe in the U.S.? 

GEN. RENUART: Absolutely we are and I say that without any doubt…. Mr. Verga mentioned the Secretary signed out an order in the last couple of months that has given me authority to mobilize and deploy a substantial force, not just necessarily a standing brigade combat team, but rather tailored kinds of capability – the ability to do reconnaissance of a damaged area, communications capability so that we don't have a repeat of the gaps in communication and the inability for first responders at the state level and military responders in assistance to communicate, the ability during the exercises that I've mentioned for us to integrate command and control capabilities – it's not an issue of who's in command, but rather how do we get all of those nodes to talk to each other. 

Senators and witnesses discussed the current and historical lack of funding for the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA)

SEN DORGAN: For far too long the federal government has not upheld its responsibility to provide adequate housing conditions on Indian reservations. We are working to draft legislation to reauthorize and improve NAHASDA that will put the federal government on a path to meet its obligations to American Indians. 

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RODGER BOYD, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAMS, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD): We need to advance our collaboration with tribes, other federal agencies, and the private sector to clearly establish housing development as a key component, a building block, in the creation of sustainable economies on Indian reservations. Over many years, we have concentrated on the development and management of HUD-assisted housing; now we need to develop the capacity to expand beyond that. Through the leveraging of federal financial resources with private capital, we can create greater opportunities for housing, new businesses and jobs… all contributing to the creation of sustainable economies.

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ANEVA J. YAZZIE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NAVAJO NATION HOUSING AUTHORITY: The major failing of NAHASDA has not been caused by the law itself, but by the lack of sufficient funding. NAHASDA is a good law, but the funding for NAHASDA is too low for its real promise to be realized. 

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DAVID BRIEN, CHAIRMAN, TURTLE MOUNTAIN BAND OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS: Tribal members living in their homelands throughout this country suffer everyday from the most serious unmet housing needs in the nation. NAHASDA has been employed effectively to deliver federal funds that may be leveraged with other funding and financing. However, the continuing failure to appropriate sufficient funding for NAHASDA has proved to be a real roadblock in solving the often deplorable housing conditions we face on our reservations. Since the beginning of NAHASA ten years ago, there has been virtually no significant increase in the funding level and this must be corrected. 

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WALDO WALKER, CHAIRMAN, WASHOE TRIBE OF NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA: Since the 2000 Census the American Indian population doubled, but funding for the NAHASDA Block Grant did not reflect such a drastic increase in American Indian population.
 

A lack of infrastructure and proliferation of despicable conditions lead to great problems in housing and health issues.

CHAIRMAN WALKER: The passage of this crucial bill will only continue to benefit Indian Country supporting the past efforts to alleviate the severe shortage of decent, safe and sanitary housing for Indian people throughout the nation and continue to support innovation in services and programs as allowed under this bill. 

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MARTY SHURAVLOFF, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN HOUSING COUNCIL: Indian country needs NAHASDA reauthorized because it directly affects our health and welfare. We appreciate your adamant support, Mr. Chairman, and this committee, to focus on what this law means to Native people — providing desperately needed tools to our communities so we can continue to improve the housing conditions that our people face every day. 

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MS. YAZZIE: Housing cannot be built without infrastructure. Existing water and waste water facilities are hopelessly overburdened and in many areas of our land do not exist at all. In some areas of Indian Country units of housing sit vacant because they have no electricity or lack water and sewer hook ups. In Indian country, lack of infrastructure is an affordable housing problem.

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TERI NUTTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COPPER RIVER BASIN REGIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY: We also are often faced with permafrost conditions making our foundation systems complex and expensive; extreme weather conditions and short building seasons; and exceptionally high energy costs which in some of our communities means fuel costs which currently exceed $5.00 per gallon…. 

I would be doing a great disservice to our AAHA members if I did not at least briefly raise the intractable issue of our frustration over our difficulty in meeting our basic infrastructure needs.… [I]t is simply unacceptable that our members continue to be forced to construct new homes with federal resources that are contributing to the already serious health problems of our people, simply because there has not been a definitive meeting of the minds by the various involved federal and state agencies on a workable strategy to coordinate our infrastructure and building construction projects. 

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SEN DORGAN: These are third-world conditions…. [D]o you not agree the need to adequately fund the program is also a critical need?

DPC