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• IAEM-USA Signs onto Letter from Stakeholders to Support Increased Investment in NOAA in FY2020 (15 Nov 2018) IAEM-USA and a group of stakeholders on Nov. 13 sent a letter to Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., secretary, Department of Commerce; Mick Mulvaney, director, Office of Management and Budget; and Michael J. Kratsios, Deputy U.S. chief technology officer, urging increased investment in the National Oceania and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Fiscal Year 2010. The letter stated that the science, technology and stewardship provided by NOAA is essential for U.S. health, security and economic prosperity. For example, NOAA provides weather and drought forecasts that farmers use to plan crops, sea state conditions to bring super tankers safely into port, water quality information to detect harmful algae blooms that threaten public health and much more. The federal NOAA investment is part of a broader government effort to provide essential, high-quality data and observations, along with a better understanding of the underlying science which are necessary to many planning, strategy, and investment decisions in both the private and public sectors, including national security. The letter makes the case that increased investment in NOAA will provide a significant return to the U.S. economy. Read the stakeholder letter online.
• Emergency Managers Urge Congress to Pass Disaster Reforms
  IAEM Press Release, Sept. 25, 2018
• IAEM Urges FCC to Allow Use of Multimedia in Wireless Alerts (29 May 2018) IAEM, in coordination with Big City Emergency Managers and the National Emergency Management Association, sent a letter on May 29 to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging the FCC to allow the inclusion of multimedia in wireless alerts, a long over-due and desperately needed update to the WEA system. Download letter.

IAEM-USA member, Mary Jo Flynn, met May 29, 2018, on Capitol Hill with staff from the Senate
Commerce Committee to discuss the use and operation of autonomous vehicles during a mass
evacuation, an issue of interest to IAEM-USA's Emerging Technology Caucus.

• IAEM, NEMA, and NACO Submit a Joint Statement for the Record to the Senate Homeland Security Committee (17 Apr 2018) In conjunction with their hearing last week entitled “FEMA: Prioritizing a Culture of Preparedness,” the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee individually asked the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), and IAEM to submit a statement for the record. To demonstrate a united front to Capitol Hill, all three organizations opted to submit a joint statement to the Committee. Download the joint statement here.
• IAEM-USA and NEMA Release 7th Annual Report on "Emergency Management Performance Grants: Providing Returns on a Nation’s Investment" (06 Mar 2018) Without a robust emergency management system, the responses to many disasters would falter or require federal support. Capabilities afforded through Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG) allow these events to be managed without additional federal expenditures. As demonstrated in this report, local, tribal, and state governments managed 57,673 events without federal assistance in Fiscal Year 2017. While disasters remain unpredictable, and no investment can completely eliminate risk, supporting the development of nationwide capabilities continues minimizing disaster effects. This report represents a mere glimpse into how EMPG impacts the disaster preparedness and response landscape. However, there is so much more happening across the country that cannot be expressed on paper. EMPG stands as a beacon of Congressional support, and both IAEM-USA and NEMA remain appreciative of the support. We hope such support continues as emergency managers put these funds to good use and work tirelessly to demonstrate the return on the nation’s investment.
• FEMA Seeks Public Feedback by Feb. 5 for an Update of NIMS Implementation Objectives (16 Jan 2018) FEMA’s National Integration Center is seeking public feedback for an update of the state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) National Incident Management System (NIMS) Implementation Objectives for SLTT organizations and jurisdictions. The national engagement period opened on Jan. 16, 2018, and will conclude on Feb. 5, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. EDT. National engagement provides an opportunity for interested parties to comment on the draft implementation objectives, to ensure that they are relevant for all implementing partners. FEMA most recently revised the NIMS Implementation Objectives in 2009 and is now updating them to ensure they are consistent with the Third Edition of NIMS, to incorporate stakeholder input, and to make them a more useful tool for organizations as they implement NIMS. FEMA will host three webinars to discuss the proposed SLTT NIMS Implementation Objectives and answer related questions. For more information on the webinars and to review the draft objectives, visit the FEMA website. To provide comments on the draft, complete the feedback form and submit it to FEMA-NIMS@fema.dhs.gov.

FEMA will host a series of webinars to discuss the proposed SLTT NIMS Implementation Objectives and answer related objectives (Federal departments and agencies use a separate set of Implementation Objectives). Advance registration for the webinars is required due to space limitations. Registration is on a first come, first served basis. To register, click on your preferred webinar session from the list below:

Webinar 1: Thursday, January 18, 2:00 pm EDT
Webinar 2: Monday, January 22, 5:00 pm EDT
Webinar 3: Tuesday, January 23, 12:00 pm EDT
For more information on the webinars, visit the FEMA website.

• IAEM-USA and Other National Public Safety Organizations Call for Improvements in the Wireless Emergency Alert System (05 Jan 2018) IAEM-USA, along with NEMA, Big City Emergency Managers, US Conference of Mayors, and the National Emergency Number Association sent a letter to the FCC today urging expeditious implementation of much-needed improvements to the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system. Download letter.