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• IAEM Supports $25 Million Increase for EMPG (25 Oct 2019) IAEM and NEMA coordinated a group letter sent to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in support of the $25 million increase for EMPG in the House version. Supporters included International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), National Association of Counties (NACo), U.S. Conference of Mayors, Council of State Governments, Big City Emergency Managers, and National League of Cities. 
• IAEM-USA Provides Testimony for Congressional Hearing on Disaster Preparedness (22 May 2019) IAEM-USA Past President Nick Crossley, CEM, CPM, director, Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Hamilton, County, Ohio, provided a written statement and delivered oral testimony before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, U.S. House of Representatives, on May 22, 2019, in Washington, D.C. The subcommittee was holding a hearing on “Disaster Preparedness: DRAA Implementation and FEMA Readiness.”
• USGS Briefing on ED Elevation Program (06 May 2019) On May 1, Kevin Gallagher with the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a briefing on the status and future of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) to the 3DEP Coalition and Flood Map Coalition. The presentation slides can be viewed here.
• DHS Announces Release of FY 2019 Notice of Funding Opportunities (16 Apr 2019) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the release of FY 2019 Notice of Funding Opportunities for eight DHS preparedness grant programs totaling more than $1.7 billion. On Apr. 17, the DHS Office of Partnership and Engagement and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Grants Programs Directorate will host a conference call with State Administrative Agency Partners to discuss the grant program rollout. The conference call is set for Wednesday, Apr. 17, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. The call-in number is 877-414-2195, or use the Adobe Connect Link. The presentation slide deck can be downloaded here. DHS asks that you start dialing in 15 minutes before the start of the call; identify yourself, title, and the agency you are representing to the operator when you call in. The grant programs provide funding to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as transportation authorities, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector, to improve the nation’s readiness in preventing, protecting against, responding to, recovering from and mitigating terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies. Questions should be directed to (202) 646-3444 or at FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov.
• IAEM-USA UCC Urges Support of Funding Request for National Center for Campus Public Safety (29 Mar 2019) The International Association of Emergency Managers USA Council (IAEM-USA) – University and College Caucus (IAEM-UCC) urges the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies to include the $2 million funding request proposed by Representative Bobby Scott for the National Center for Campus Public Safety (NCCPS). The IAEM-UCC is comprised of more than 300 members who serve more than 150 institutions of higher education and more than 3.5 million students. Our members are found in 41 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces. Download letter. 
• IAEM Signs onto Letter to House and Senate Leadership in Support of Senate Action on the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (22 Mar 2019) IAEM, along with 70 other stakeholder organizations - representing public health, healthcare providers, emergency managers, environmental health, biotechnology innovators, and researchers - signed and sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging Senate action on the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness & Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAL, H.R. 269). The Bill overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives in January, but the path forward in the Senate is unclear. IAEM's Healthcare Caucus supports H.R. 269, and the Government Affairs Committee is advocating for the legislation on Capitol Hill.
• IAEM and NEMA Release 2019 Report on Return on Investment of EMPG (20 Mar 2019) Each year, IAEM and NEMA work together to report on the return on investment of the Emergency Management Performance Grants (part of FEMA’s suite of grants). The 2019 edition, released Mar. 20, 2019, represents input from 46 states, two territories, and 1,042 local emergency management agencies. One of the key data points in this report each year is the fact that state and local emergency managers respond to thousands of events which never reach the level of a Federal disaster declaration.  In 2019, there were 23,331 such events.  The report also provides data on planning, training, and exercise efforts, public outreach campaigns, communications systems, and maintaining thousands of mutual aid agreements. Please direct questions to Thad Huguley, IAEM-USA Government Affairs director, at thad@iaem.com. Download the report here.